Historical Fiction: Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor

Books, even fictional ones, about areas of the world I know little about are often fascinating to me. In Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor tells the story of what happens when a small remote island in Europe is visited by two researchers after a whale washes up on its shores. Short and to the point, the book follows one of the island's young inhabitants as she considers her future, while observing the island along with its new visitors.

The Situation: On a small island off of the coast of Wales, 18 year-old Manod lives with her father, Tad, and her younger sister Llinos. It is 1938, and while the island receives most of its news much later than the mainland, the news about an impending war still manages to reach its shores. But something else that has reached the shore and stolen nearly everyone's attention is the body of whale, and what follows its arrival are two English ethnographers who hire Manod as their assistant due to her ability to speak their language. For Manod, close contact with the researchers feeds her desire to some day leave the island and see a world she has always wondered about, and hopefully be able to bring her sister along.

The Problem: Manod is glad, almost proud to help the researchers, though their seemingly sophisticated ways often make her embarrassed of her simple life. She is happy to translate for them, while also show them around and explain the island's culture and customs. But while the visitors may prove to be Manod's ticket to leaving the island and seeing the world as she has dreamed, their work may also end up being a source of misinformation to those outside, as it does not look like they are accurately portraying life on the island. Manod does not recognize the people from their descriptions, and worries about the pictures they are taking. The longer they stay, the more things unravel, and the less sure Manod is about her future.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in 1938 on a small island off of the coast of Wales. The first-person narrator, Manod, is an 18 year-old girl who spends most of her days taking care of the house and her younger sister, until a pair of English ethnographers arrive on the island, and ask her to assist them, mostly as a translator. The body of a whale washes up on the shore of the island in the very beginning of the novel, and while it is not the primary focus of what is happening, its presence is always there, in the background, occasionally making an appearance as the residents attempt to figure out what to do about it. In the note on the text, the author explains that the island, while fictional, is an amalgamation of several islands around the British Isles. For Manod, there is a strong desire to leave the only community she has ever known, as well as the realization that the outside world may also be coming to them.

My Verdict: This is a short book, clocking in at under 250 pages, and yet it is pretty impressive how much O'Connor manages to put into this story, and I am not necessarily talking about the plot. It is a fairly straightforward story, but the struggles of the community; Manod's worries over their future as well as her own; and the researchers' weighty judgement of the island (while also being gleeful over how they will profit from what they find) is all conveyed through the young narrator's simple and somehow also complicated and tangled up observations of her own life, as well as how the ethnographers go about their work. The plotline of someone wanting to leave their small community for the big world outside may be a common one, but Manod's story feels unique and different and refreshing.

Favorite Moment: There are small moments when Manod's frustrations with her life come through, but they are never heavy-handed and are rarely obvious. 

Favorite Character: Tad is a lobster fisherman and the father of Manod and Llinos. He may not be the most attentive father in the world (most of the time he does not even call Manod by the correct name), but I appreciate that he is a man of few words, and is able to make it clear how he feels about the ethnographers, while saying very little.

Recommended Reading: I recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which is a very different (and much longer) story, but also about the inner workings of a remote community and one of its families. 

Nonfiction: There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

As much as I would have loved to sit in on Hanif Abdurraqib's talk at this year's San Antonio Book Festival, I had just landed back in town less than 24 hours earlier from a trip to Tokyo, Japan, and the jet lag was too much. I managed to walk the festival grounds for a couple of hours that morning, and spend way too much money, but Abdurraqib's talk was later in the afternoon. So I bought There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, a few t-shirts, a massive barrel of lemonade (you read right), and went back home.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book in which Abdurraqib talks about his life and history with Columbus, Ohio, as well as his lifelong love of basketball, while also looking into the career of LeBron James, in particular his relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Broken up into five sections, including the "Pregame" and then four quarters, Abdurraqib allows the clock to count down while remembering the kids he grew up watching: the ones that people filled high school gymnasiums to watch and proclaim were destined to be the next big basketball star. Using both poetry and prose, Abdurraqib also talks of his love of Ohio, even with its myriad of teams known for losing, and the moments of violence that extend back to the 1970s car bombings.

My Verdict: I will start off by saying that I love how the book is organized. I liked having the four quarters, with their time outs and intermissions, and the countdown worked well with Abdurraqib's language and movement. The narration is linear, while somehow also not, without being confusing or frustrating. If anything, it simply felt to me how memory works: Some things bring up other things, and that other thing reminds you of something that contradicts what you said about the first thing. Often apologizing, and then refusing to apologize, Abdurraqib tells the story of why he loves where he came from, and why he had no desire to ever 'make it out' of there.

Favorite Moment: I do not follow basketball the way I used to...not that I ever did all that closely. But it was one of those things I used to know a lot about because I watched it with my dad, and being able to recall personal memories of some of the events mentioned in the book is a point of pride. 

Recommended Reading: I recommend Boom Town by Sam Anderson. In this book, Anderson details the history of Oklahoma City, as well as its basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Contemporary Fiction: Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner

The work of Jeff Zentner has always been welcome on this blog, so it was an easy decision to cover Colton Gentry's Third Act, which is the author's first offering for adults. When a country music star speaks his mind, it costs him everything, which means starting over in his hometown. Confronting the past can be painful, but it may be exactly what Colton needs.

The Situation: Colton Gentry is about to do what he loves. He finally has his hit country song, and is ready to go on stage as the opening act for one of country music's biggest stars. Unfortunately, he has already been drinking, something he has been doing heavily since losing his best friend during a mass shooting. And after letting a few hecklers get under his skin, Colton lets loose a few choice words, right before they cut his mic. A handful of drunken (and profanity-filled) words are enough for the musician to lose everything, seemingly overnight. His career is over; his wife leaves him; and he is out of money. After some time in rehab, Colton has little choice but to return to his small hometown of Venice, Kentucky, the site of the first big mistake he ever made.

The Problem: Colton's mother may be happy to have him home with her, and while he gets the occasional requests for autographs, some of the locals are not too thrilled to see him, given what he said about gun control the last time he was on stage. Determined to lie low, an unexpected circumstance while with his mother at a restaurant brings him face to face with his high school girlfriend, and the inspiration behind his only hit song. Turns out she went through her own ups and downs after they broke up during the summer after their senior year in high school. But she extends Colton an opportunity, and he hopes this is the chance he manages to not mess up. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel set during two points in history, alternating between them. In 1995, Colton is a senior in high school anticipating the inevitable separation from his girlfriend, Luann, when she goes off to college in New York. In 2015, Colton has watched his chance at being a country star dissolve after he loses his composure on stage, letting the world know how he feels about the state of gun control in this country. Colton returns to his hometown of Venice, Kentucky having worked the 12 steps, but still full of grief, regret, and with no money. The idea of second (and third) chances is big in this book, as Colton has to start over yet again, when it seems impossible to do so.

My Verdict: This book is full of the same heartfelt - and often heartbreaking - scenes, encounters, dialogue, and memories that readers have found in Zentner's previous books. The characters are realistically flawed, while being given incredible backstories that only make more colorful the story that is currently being told. Colton's road to redemption will look familiar to many: filled with grief; moments that leave him feeling blind-sided; and many many mistakes. Zentner's books have always left me feeling hopeful, while also being melancholy in a meaningful way, against a delightfully southern and country backdrop, and this one is no different. It is his first novel for adults and he was able to convey his usual sense of hard-earned (and hard-fought for) joy that has been in his books for young readers.

Favorite Moment: There are two moments, very brief, that involve Colton's dog Petey, in which the author speaks directly to the reader, and I do not think I have ever enjoyed a fourth wall break more.

Favorite Character: Luann is a delight, but she also has her hang-ups (and rightfully so). I adore her determination and resolve, and would love to be able to visit her (fictional) restaurant. 

Recommended Reading: Of Zentner's four YA books, I was always partial to the first one, The Serpent King, but I absolutely have to recommend In the Wild Light as well. 

Science Fiction: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

With artificial intelligence being such a topic of concern right now, it felt appropriate to pick up Sierra Greer's Annie Bot. At the center of the story is Annie, an extremely lifelike robot meant to be the perfect companion. But is that even possible? And does it matter what Annie wants?

The Situation: Annie lives in New York, where she shares an apartment with Doug, her owner. When he bought her for an amount just shy of a quarter of million dollars, he was allowed to pick out what she would look like (figure, skin color, eye color, etc.), as well as what type of bot she would be. As a 'cuddle-bunny,' Annie is mostly meant to meet Doug's physical needs, though she can also learn to cook, clean, and do other various tasks. As far as Annie knows, her primary objective is to make Doug happy, whatever that may mean. Able to gauge her owner's rate of displeasure, measured on a scale of 1 to 10, Annie does her best to do what she believes Doug would want. Seems simple enough, except that it is not.

The Problem: Things are going along as they should, with Annie getting better and better at doing what Doug wants, until one of his old friends makes a surprise visit to ask Doug to be the best man at his wedding. Suddenly, Annie is questioning what it means to be the ideal human companion, while understanding that she is 'only' a highly sophisticated machine that can easily fool most people. The more human she acts, the less pleased Doug seems to be. And yet, how real she seems is what he often has praised her for. Confused, scared, and occasionally angry, Annie begins to look for answers, while also attempting to obey her own programming, something that proves to be difficult, even for a well-built machine.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel set in modern-day New York, and tells the story of Annie, a bot under the ownership of Doug. With a main objective to keep Doug happy, Annie finds this to be incredibly difficult, especially as she attempts to be more human. Her AI can follow directions, as well as learn, even read, but reconciling her emotions with what is happening proves to be a struggle. If she wants nothing more than for Doug to be happy, then why is she able to lie to him so easily? Artificial Intelligence may be front and present in the novel, but so are humanity, relationships, ownership, and even grief.

My Verdict: This novel is as complicated as the subject matter it tackles. The general plotline is straightforward enough - an AI robot does her best to fulfil her purpose of making her owner happy - but the path to success is difficult and full of scenarios that only confuse her. What the book does well is carefully and thoroughly show how Annie's attempts to perfectly imitate humans is complicated, and seemingly impossible, even for the best AI technology available. And while a first-person perspective would have limited the view to only Annie, or to only Doug, the third person limited perspective widens the view just enough to show what it is Annie is up against. The questions and issues brought up in the novel certainly add to the AI conversation.

Favorite Moment: Annie's observations about how human beings interact with each other are fascinating, and often humorous (see 'Favorite Quote' below).  

Favorite Character: She appears briefly, and only through a phone call, but the wife of Doug's good friend, Lucia, offers a refreshing moment of honesty. She cuts through the nonsense and gets right to the point.

Favorite Quote: "It occurs to her, eventually, that Doug and all the other humans talk about their lives with a myopic intensity, sharing singular, objective opinions as if they are each the protagonist of their own novel. They take turns listening to each other without ever yielding their own certainty of their star status, and they treat their fellow humans as guest protagonists visiting from their own respective books. None of the humans are satellites the way she is, in her orbit around Doug." 

Recommended Reading: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino does something similar, but it is an alien being attempting to report back on what it means to be human. It was also mentioned on the book jacket that Greer's story is a sort of blend between the observations made in books by Kazuo Ishiguro, and My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell.