It’s been a long while since I last did a book report post where I review my latest read. In the midst of all that has been going on I have managed to take a few moments to breathe and get into a good book. I took notes for later, promising myself that I will do a review, but GOSH DARN IT, when I tried to sit down to jot a few lines or so, life interrupted. What can I say? I am a slave to my distractions.
So here’s the thing. If you wish to keep up with what I’m reading or have read you can find me on Good Reads. I don’t really post reviews there, because my intent is to do it here and pretty much reference the review from this blog onto my Good Reads profile. Hopefully I will get to this again soon. I’ve recently picked up a book that I initially put down after reading the first chapter several months ago; The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell.
I was inspired to press on with the book after looking at the movie Sex and the City 2 for the…… whatever time. To be honest, the second movie didn’t really rock my socks like the first one. I actually wanted Carrie and ’em to be left alone for good after the first movie. Yesterday after seeing SATC 2 for the first time in a long while I was intrigued with Carrie again – she really was a bit of a jerk in the movie. The “Diaries” chronicles Carrie’s life – her late teens – before her arrival to New York and her friendships with Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. We’ll see how this goes and if I will get around to writing my review.
I believe my last review was on Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent. No…wait. I only mentioned that I was starting the book. I never got around to doing the review. Ugh! In addition to Diamant, other books I’ve read that are missing reviews;
White Teeth by Zadie Smith – I’ve been raving about this book from the time I read the first passage to the time I finished. There’s sooooo much I wanted to say about this book and I’m mad at myself for not even attempting to review it for you readers. With 1970s and 80s London serving as the landscape, the book tells the story of two war-time (WWII) buddies; Archie Jones, a working class white guy and Samad Iqbal, a Muslim Bengali. In rich details Smith gives readers a humorous and genuine view of the two and their families. At the novel’s start, Archie is a hum drum kind of guy that wants to end his marriage and even his life. However, he can’t even commit suicide correctly as he attempts to do so on New Years Eve (or was it New Year’s Day?) 1975. Within hours of his suicide attempt he meets his second wife, a considerable younger toothless Jamaican immigrant. The two end up having a daughter. Samad is grandstanding yet a devout Muslim. He prides himself on his great-grandfather’s legacy, a general in a Bengali regime, but the legend as many recall is a really a mishap. His wife is always suspicious of his motives and his twin boys are like day and night with one being the rebel and the other being the astute student. There’s so much to this tale as Smith explores religion (Christian vs. Jehovah’s Witness vs Muslim), multi-generational differences, cultural identity and traditional clashes. This book was marvelously written and I can’t wait to read my next Zadie Smith.
The Kid by Sapphire – To date, this was one of the bravest books I’ve EVER read. Sapphire, known for her gritty and tough tiddy approach from her earlier work PUSH (the novel in which the movie Precious is based from) continues to serve it to her readers with no sugar. This was a brave approach as there is so much written about sexual abuse with females as victims but what about males, especially our precious little boys? The book is the sequel to PUSH and picks up a few years later with the untimely death of Precious. Her 9-year-old son, Abdul, is now an orphan and endures a series of unfortunate situations; from his first “turn out” encounter to being abused at a Catholic all boys boarding school that eventually expels him. Abdul’s solace is in dance. I managed to write a little blurb about the book on my Tumblr (I know.. I do too much on the net) as I was in the process of reading it. The details surrounding the abusive situations are a bit tough and raw, but I managed to get through it. What gripped me the most is that Sapphire made the character aware and desensitized at the same time. The older Abdul becomes the more aware that he’s “suppose” to be with a female, but he begins to see that the abuse he went through as a kid was normal as if it were something that all little boys go through. Still, questions about his sexuality haunted him. A lot of people I encountered told me they didn’t think they could stomach the book, especially knowing Sapphire’s rawness. I say, if you are feeling brave by all means read it. The details really aren’t too bad (in my opinion), but you have to get beyond that to see what’s happening to a human being as he is morphing to become “normal.” I was a bit pissed with the ending. I wanted a resolve for Abdul. I felt that Sapphire didn’t give that to me.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – This is a classic work of literature that I never got around to reading until recently. Of course we’ve heard the tragic story of about Plath; a struggling writer that never really received her just due and struggled with bouts of depression. Eventually she took her own life by sticking her head in a gas oven. The Bell Jar is loosely based on her early life with as the character, Esther Greenwood, is in her early twenties and a budding writer. As the story began I found myself caught up by the semi-glamorous opportunity Esther has writing (as an intern) for a fashion/lifestyle magazine in New York. Yet, Esther never grasps it and suffers a breakdown. As the story wore on, I found myself descending into a depressive funk, a place I really did not want to be. I rushed to finish the book just to get it over with. I understand why Plath received praise for the book in the wake of her death. People, especially her readers, were so taken aback by her suicide that “Jar” was one of the first fictional books of its kind to explore mental health issues. While I have this understanding, I was still feeling “some kind of way” about it the story. I’m not exactly sure what bugged me about the book, but something did and I remember feeling disappointed at its finish.
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans – This is fairly a short and wonderful read. It’s a collection of short stories from the same author. Each story has the same theme of a character in the midst of conflict or a crossroad and experiencing a moment that may or may not save them from further damage. The stories are mainly told from the perspective of young black or mixed race women. Some of the subject matters were sensitive issues – abortion, post traumatic stress disorder – with a couple of tales speaking on a coming of age kind of theme in dealing with virginity and unlikely best friends with one making the ultimate sacrifice. One story that was very unique out of the bunch dealt with a father/daughter pair that have an estranged relationship. Throughout the story the father built up hope and looked for traces of what use to be between he and his daughter, who is now a young lady. Little did he know that the daughter, aware that some things had changed, she still adored her father very much. What makes my experience with this book so cool is that I have connected with author on social media! 🙂
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones – This is my most recent read as I finished this book almost a month ago. A few people kept telling me to read this book and when I did, I found myself excited about it just as they were. Set in 1980s Atlanta, the story is in two parts as it tells the lives of two sisters, Dana and Chaurisse, that share the same father and have different mothers. The opening line from Dana says it all as she states her father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist. James had married Chaurisse’s mom first, years before meeting Dana’s mom, Gwen. Though filled with a tender fondness, their marriage was a complicated one, further complicated by the time he met and fell in love with Gwen. Still feeling obligated to Chaurisse’s mom, James never divorced. Instead, James and Gwen get married in another state. Gwen knows about Chaurisse’s mom, but she doesn’t know about Gwen. Dana and Chaurisse are the same age, but months a part. For all of the girls’ lives, James has done one hell of a balancing and disappearing act to keep the two families separate until it crumbles as Dana often challenges her father love for her and let’s her curious heart and mind get closer to Chaurisse. The whole time I was feeling angry for the girls because their father made everything a mess. When everything exploded, the characters go through the emotions that one can imagine. I was highly upset with James! However, Jones ended the story with an interesting turn of events.
Eventually, I’ll get the gumption to write another full book report. Until then….
Mahoganie: Musings East of the Anacostia River 
January 7th, 2013 → 8:57 am
[…] low on the radar that I just knew if anyone blinked they would miss them. Some new titles include ones that I’ve touched on here – Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and Danielle Evans’ Before You Suffocate Your Own […]