September Book Review
Book Review time! Eleven books, with no audio books this month. That's because in addition to my usual podcasts, I've been binge listening to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Do you guys know about this podcast? It is amazing. I know that word gets overused, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's so good.
They describe it as "the English class you didn't know you missed and the meaningful conversations you didn't know you craved. This podcast creates time in your week to think about life’s big questions. Because reading fiction doesn’t help us escape the world, it helps us live in it." Each week the two charming, intelligent, insightful hosts, Casper and Vanessa, review a chapter from Harry Potter and explore it through a different theme (loyalty, faith, anger, integrity, guilt, delight, etc.). It's essentially a podcast that examines the human condition through the lens of Harry Potter. I really love it. If anyone else there listens to this, let me know because I am dying to discuss it!
Okay, onto the books I read this month! Some home runs, some strikes. And so it goes.
The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon 2 stars ⭐️⭐️
Disjointed. Disaffected. Disappointing. This book has flooded my #bookstagram over the last two months, which usually means one of two things: either people truly loved it and it’s legitimately gaining buzz, or the publisher has chosen it to be this season’s darling, and they plan to heavily promote it as this season’s Must Read. One means the book is good, one not necessarily so. I have a hard time believing people truly loved this book. If I were to read a detailed plot summary of this novel, I’d be super interested to read the book! But somehow, the author manages to take a compelling storyline and make it dull. She created two thoroughly unlikeable characters, and a third character we hardly know at all by the end, even though he is central to the entire story. Then there’s the narrative style itself. It’s off-putting. There’s no dialogue, it’s all just told to the reader from a distant remove. It made it really hard to connect, to any of it. This emperor has no clothes.
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book broke my heart, over and over again. But it's not one of those books that emotionally manipulates you; instead it explores the themes of marriage and family, patriarchy and polygamy. It examines how the culture you live in can permeate your life in ways you cannot control, even when you think you are able to rise above the pressures it exerts. I can't say much about the story without giving away what happens; the reader should discover that for themselves. There are surprises and twists that I did not see coming, and yet it's not that kind of book at all. Instead, I think the author did something masterful here: you think you understand a person, and create a narrative about them, forming perhaps harsh opinions about their character. Then as time passes and new information is revealed, you see those same characters and events in a new light, this time with forgiveness and grace; your whole perspective has changed. And isn't that just like real life? Who among us hasn't looked back and seen people in our lives differently over time? Who among us hasn't been humbled to discover that the narrative they told themselves about a person wasn't complete, and that they were judging someone unfairly, perhaps for years?
Clock Dance by Anne Tyler 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anytime Anne Tyler writes a new book, I am here for it. I've loved her novels since picking up The Accidental Tourist back in the '80s. She really is a national treasure, quietly publishing book after brilliant book. And she is the master of quietly studying people and relationships up close, in ways that feel real and true and relatable. Her books are why I love books. Because she is so prolific, publishing so many books, some are bound to be better than others. This one did not disappoint! I tend to love any book that follows one character through several stages of life; I like to see how the author has the character grow and change, particularly against the backdrop of the time in which the story is set. We meet Willa, the main character here, as a child in the '60s and eventually follow her to present day, and we see in her what we see in so many women of that generation: hopes and dreams of her own, quiet resignation of those dreams to marriage and family, awakening to her own small voice in late middle age. But because it's an Anne Tyler novel, she's not a cliche; it's the beautiful quotidian details that make the story feel so real. But like all of Anne Tyler's books, while it's not a plot-driven story, a lot happens in the narrative! If you enjoy literary fiction with characters that are regular people, no one is better than Anne Tyler at exploring the human condition on the page. You know how literary people rave about Anne Patchett? I think Anne Tyler is who Anne Patchett is striving to be, but isn't. Oh, snap.
Factualness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Ronnlund 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I saw this book on Bill Gates' summer reading list, and the subtitle drew me in; everything feels so dire and doomed right now, so why not read something based in fact to make me feel better about the state of things in this messed up world? Do I feel much better about the state of things? Not really. He definitely states his case and has the facts to back them up: things are much better than most of us think. He starts the book off with a quiz about global trends (girls and education, rates of global poverty, life expectancy, etc.), and most readers score pretty poorly because most of us have a pretty dim outlook. Each chapter is then based on each question, and he puts things in their proper context and gives us the facts. He presents facts with such optimism. For example, 20 years ago 29% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty. Today that number is just 9%. That is huge progress in a very short amount of time! It does seem like something to celebrate. And yet, his tone made me uncomfortable as I sat reading in my comfy chair in my air-conditioned home. If you are one of those in the 9%, you probably don't feel much like celebrating. But just as I was starting to feel myself turn on him, he addressed my concern with his progress narrative. He says it makes him angry when people call him an optimist, because he considers himself a "possibilist." "As a possibilist, I see all this progress, and it fills me with the conviction and hope that further progress is possible. This is not optimistic. It is having a clear and reasonable idea about how things are. It is having a worldview that is constructive and useful. When people wrongly believe that nothing is improving, they may conclude that nothing we have tried so far is working and lose confidence in measures that actually work. I meet many such people, who tell me they have lost all hope for humanity. Or, they may become radicals, supporting drastic measure that are counter-productive when, in fact, the methods we are already using to improve our world are working just fine." Okay, fair point. He lays a lot of the blame for our cynicism at the feet of the media. Bad news gets attention. We fear and despair over the wrong things. He cites the earthquake in Nepal in 2015 for example: 9,000 people died, a truly horrific tragedy. For ten days or so, the world watched the images of unimaginable suffering. During the same ten days, diarrhea from contaminated drinking water also killed 9,000 children across the world. He points out, "There were no camera teams around as these children fainted in the arms of their crying parents. No cool helicopters swooped in. Helicopters, anyway, don't work against this child killer (one of the world's worst). All that's needed to stop a child from accidentally drinking her neighbor's still-lukewarm poo is a few plastic pipes, a water pump, some soap, and a basic sewage system. Much cheaper than a helicopter." We focus on the wrong things. As an American, I especially appreciated his chapter on global health. The author was Swedish (sadly, he died in 2017), so he could approach our health care system without any political skin in the game. The United States spends more per capita on health care than any other country in the world, but 39 countries have longer life expectancies. He writes: "Instead of comparing themselves with extreme socialist regimes, US citizens should be asking why they cannot achieve the same levels of health, for the same cost, as other capitalist countries that have similar resources. The answer is not difficult, by the way: it is the absence of the basic public health insurance that citizens of most other countries on Level 4 take for granted." I mean, duh. Perhaps my favorite: "The health care system in the United States is also suffering from the single-perspective mind set: the seemingly reasonable but actually bizarre idea that the market can solve all a nation's problems. I can understand why people looking at the United States and its inequalities and health care outcomes would decide that private markets and competition should never be allowed anywhere near the delivery of public goods." Amen. Also, damn!!! He tempers his optimism (sorry Hans) at the end of the book with five global risks we should be worrying about: global pandemics, financial collapse, world war III, climate change, and extreme poverty. The book is all done in a very readable fashion, and I do feel like I learned a lot and have a better understanding of the world from having read this book. He apparently did a lot of TED talks and lectures, and that style comes through the pages. So while I feel like I have a more informed view of the world, based in fact instead of sensational media stories, I don't know if I feel better about the state of things. I wonder if Hans would write an addendum to this book now that we live in the Trump Era. Things definitely feel more perilous for the world now than when he was writing this book.
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Delightful! If you are a lifelong book nerd, you will thoroughly enjoy this book of essays. I related to every anecdote about being a diehard reader. This short book would make an excellent gift for any book lover in your life. A fun, quick read.
I know this author from her fantastic blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy, where she discusses all things books, has an online book club, and most importantly, has a wonderful podcast called What Should I Read Next?, which I highly recommend. I have read so many books because I heard about them on her podcast!
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book. I'm not sure how to review it. It's dark and darkly funny at times; it's deeply sad and hopeless and feels disconnected, because it's told from the point of view of a severely depressed person. If you're up for climbing into the mind of someone in that state of mind, this book will be unlike anything you've ever read. It's not "oh, I'm so sad, my life is hard, these things have happened to me..." The narrator of this story is too far gone for that. She's so removed from real life, we never even learn her name. She is too numb to feel anything, and when she is in danger of feeling anything, she takes pills. Lots and lots of pills. Life is hard, and all she wants to do is sleep. The story is told through the fog of narcotics. It takes place in the recent past. At first it's not clear why, but as the story progresses it becomes clear. I won't spoil anything here, but I found myself bracing for a dramatic ending, something to snap the narrator out of her stupor. Instead, I got to the last page and it was as if I was the narrator: there I was, a mere observer of this life, removed from what was happening in this story, only to find myself with tears in my eyes, stung by the pain and the beauty of being alive. Of being awake. This book will stay with me for a while.
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I saw this one all over social media before it was published, which means one of two things: it's either a fantastic book that is getting legitimate buzz from people who got advanced copies, or the publisher chose it to be The Book They Are Promoting This Season. I can't tell which category this one falls into. I thought it was just okay, but maybe people genuinely loved it? This is a debut novel by a young author, and I could tell. I think this writer has potential; I could feel the potential as I read this, but there was an overall feeling of wanting more, while simultaneously feeling like some parts could've been shorter. The narrative follows four young musicians at the start of their professional careers, and tracks how their lives intertwine as they grow both professionally and personally. The portrait of their early years felt true to life. The chapters as they grew into middle age? Not so much. I can only assume it's because this author hasn't had that experience yet. I have read other young authors who do have the gift of writing outside of their own experience (Fatima Farheen Mirza A Place For Us comes to mind.) This author isn't there yet. Reading the synopsis on the book jacket, I thought it would be similar to Meg Wolitizer's The Interestings. It was, kind of. But not nearly as, for lack of better word, interesting. Having said that, if this author writes another book, I’ll likely read it. As I said, you can see she has great potential as a writer, and parts of this book were truly good. It just never grabbed me at any point and made me feel like it was that great.
Tin Man by Sarah Winman 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I saw many swooning stellar reviews here, and I’m wishing I read the same book. There were moments of tenderness and beauty, which is why I’m giving this three stars, but overall this felt like the outline of a story and characters that I got to read about through a screen. I couldn’t quite see them or grasp them; everything felt slightly out of reach the entire time I was reading it. The style of writing also kept me from fully enjoying this book. There is dialogue, but there are no quotation marks; it all just kind of flows together. The effect is almost dreamlike, which perhaps was the author’s intent, but it kept me from fully sinking into the story.
An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I see what the author was doing here. This is an allegory for immigration in our country, and the lengths that people will go to in order to help the people they love. We see how people can be at the mercy of arbitrary borders that keep them on the wrong side of wealth and prosperity, and how government changes and forces beyond your control can stand between you and the help you desperately need. She also explores the inhumanity of class and the brutality of law enforcement if you find yourself part of a marginalized population with no power. And no dystopian novel would be complete without a worldwide pandemic, which is always fun to ponder. Yikes. Dystopian novels aren't normally my thing, but I did enjoy the story. The books in this genre I don't enjoy are just dark for darkness sake; the very best ones are using a dystopian future to make social commentary on our current society, which this one does. But somehow, I could never quite picture the setting and place myself in the scene. The time travel aspects made the book seem disjointed. I'll put it this way: I could tell this was a debut novel. I will watch for this author's next book, though, because this was an ambitious first book with an original premise, and for the most part, she nails it.
Florida by Laura Groff 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Let me start by saying I generally stay away from short story collections. I just find the reading experience to be frustrating: it's all navigating a new setting and new characters, no sinking into a good story. Just as you start to settle in and find your groove, the story ends and you have to start all over again. I've heard it said that a true master of the form doesn't leave you feeling this way. A true master can craft a short story that feels complete. I must say, she accomplishes that here. And while each of the stories are very different in style and tone, the collection manages to feel cohesive. The only thread that holds each of them together is that they all take place in Florida. Hot, crazy, poor, wealthy, historical, alligator-ridden Florida. If you're looking for a short story collection, I highly recommend this one.
Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't know what to say here. I related to everything she had to say on such a visceral level. This book just happened to come off of my hold list at the library during the Kavanaugh hearings, so I was already feeling intense rage about what it's like to be a woman living under this white male patriarchy; reading it articulated, with stats and details and footnotes, why I am right to be so angry. The entire Kavanaugh hearings feel like we are taking a vote on whether women and girls matter. As of this writing, it looks like the vote is going to be No. We don't. I wish I could say something more inspiring here. Read it and literally weep.
*update: The vote happened and the verdict is in. In the face of white male privilege, women and girls don’t matter.
