Book Reviews Coming Soon

Book Reviews of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Dave Egger's What is the What coming soon!

Zadie Smith-- On Beauty

     This is my first encounter with Zadie Smith and I have to say that On Beauty was nothing like what I thought it would be. The novel chronicles a middle-aged African American mother and wife, Kiki, as she comes to terms with her disintegrating marriage to an Englishman who is a professor of Art History. They have three children, Jerome, Zora, and Levi, whose lives also take up a significant portion of the novel.
     Smith takes an outside approach to exploring race relations in this mixed family. The household is split-- Howard and Zora are a part of an intellectual community while Kiki and Jerome are non-conformists and somewhat clinging to their "Blackness". Jerome, the oldest, is somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. These characters didn't seem authentic to me at all-- they all seemed to be playing a role. None of them came across to me as real.
     To her credit, Smith is excellent at helping the readers see the minute details in life-- this is one of the few qualities I appreciate about this novel. This isn't to say that I'm disappointed, although, I am a little underwhelmed. I was hoping to glean a fresh look at the mixed-race experience, but I feel that a lot of Smith's material is recycled. I'm not stating that this is a bad thing, but I just wish she had gone a little further-- dug a little deeper. Overall, the novel introduces you to the lives of the characters on a surface level, avoiding or barely acknowledging all the shades in-between.
I will give Smith credit for some controversial arguments she makes. She discusses affirmative action a great deal and the educational divides between upper and lower class blacks. Still, Smith doesn't force you to think too hard about anything you don't want to; I walked away from this book feeling like something was missing, and as badly as I wanted to love this book about beauty, I just couldn't.

Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

     What can I say about Anna Karenina that hasn't already been said? In this case, I have to agree with the popular consensus: It's one of the greatest novels ever written. It's breathtakingly beautiful. I think instead of attempting to review this novel, I will just provide one of my favorite passages with a short analysis. Go out and buy it and read it if you haven't already done so! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
     "And truly Levin had never drunk any liquor so good as this warm water with green bits floating in it, and a taste of rust from the tin dipper. And immediately after this came the delicious, slow saunter, with his hand on the scythe, during which he could wipe the streaming sweat, take deep breaths of air, and look about at the long string of towers and at what was happening around in the forest and the country.
     The longer Levin mowed, the oftener he felt the moments of unconsciousness in which it seemed not his hands that swung the scythe, but the scythe mowing of itself, a body full of life and consciousness of its own, and as though by magic, without thinking of it, the work turned out regular and well-finished of itself. These were the most blissful moments." (Tolstoy 237)


     This is one of my favorite passages for several reasons. The natural setting automatically wins me over. However, what is truly magical is the way Tolstoy weaves the natural background with the character. He meshes Levin and nature together. The repeated use of the word "consciousness" emphasizes that feeling of being caught up in the moment, being present in the act of hard labor while simultaneously rejoicing in one's surroundings. Tolstoy is trying to get us to see the unspeakable and effortless beauty that is created when we place ourselves in a position to commune with the natural world. For example, Levin partakes of nature's gifts when he drinks the fresh stream water and he feels like he is a part of the natural environment. Tolstoy is stripping life down to the bear minimum of necessities and communicates to the reader that all we need is hard work and fresh air to really add meaning to our existence.

Sense and Sensibilty

I haven't been able to read any of the books on the list (the one's I'm dedicated to reviewing), so I'll just write a little bit about the books I'm reading in class. I just finished reading Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the novel in list form.

1) It's obvious that Jane Austen is a feminist writer, writing in the interest of women.

2) With that said, Austen's feminism is a "petty" or bourgeoisie feminism which does not include issues of class, race, etc. There is an entire group of working class women (mainly maids) who are not given a voice in her works. This shows us that not only is there inequality between the sexes but there also exists inequality between women.

3) The novel is the story of two sisters Marianne and Elinor who, of course, are looking to marry. There are other mitigating circumstances: their brother, who is married to an atypically overbearing wife, has inherited the house and the fortune which means the Marianne and Elinor are largely dependent upon his good will.

4) That's about it. Of course they both marry and live happily ever after. That's the only thing that really bothers me about Austen-- the happy endings. It makes it harder for people to see past the fairy tale-- the seemingly idyllic life of the characters to the bigger issues at hand-- sexism, classism.

5) -Isms are a plague. Get rid of them. 

Ann Patchett's Bel Canto

     A house full of men and one woman-- how seductive. Ann Patchett's Bel Canto is suspenseful and romantic. It tells the story of famous opera diva Roxanne Coss, Mr. Hosokawa and his translator Gen, terrorist and beauty Carmen, and last but not least,  love-sick Monsieur Thibault. Their lives change completely all because of one fateful night-- Mr. Hosokawa's Birthday. In an attempt to kidnap the president and overthrow the government in hopes of a revolution, a group of terrorists hold a group of important people hostage for 4 and a half months. The story is about the intangible things that bring people together in trying and desperate times-- the main intangible thing being love.  Although this was a lovely read, the jury is still out on how I  feel about it. No doubt, Patchett is a talented writer with a penchant for beauty and decadence, but I couldn't help feeling that something was missing. Maybe I was expecting more romance? More terror? I think at some point I was waiting for a tear-jerker (I know that sounds horrible). In my defense, however, not all tear-jerkers make terribly cheesy literature. Ultimately I feel as though the main characters lack depth-- I think this is so mostly because the reader is not offered a real glimpse into a character's background, thereby making it difficult to form any real attachments. Albeit, I still couldn't help being attached to Carmen because I empathize with her desire to learn. Alas, I am every bit ambivalent about this novel.

     The most enjoyable parts of the novel where the ones involving the dissolving tensions between the terrorists and the hostages. At other times, I was inspired to listen to opera or maybe even learn to play piano. Patchett is just that good. Overall, it was a pleasant read, even though the ending is a little on the sad side. 

Toni Morrison's Sula

     If I could chose any one author to sit down with and have a little chat, Toni Morrison would be at the top of my list. I read this gem in one day. Sula is heavy, rich, and lighthearted all at once. The effect is intoxicating, just as strong as the spirits Shadrack drinks by pint.
    Sula is about the broken families and the broken women that make up the community of the Bottom, a section in a small town named Medallion. Morrison is capable of writing about race in a manner that is attentive, but not tedious in any way. Mostly though, this novel is about friendship and the bonds formed between women. It follows Sula and Nela, two girls who grew up together but eventually take separate paths-- one conventional and one eccentric. Two guesses who takes the eccentric path. Sula is a testament to energy, courage, and having a mine of one's own.
   On another level, the novel is about good and evil and questioning our conceptions of what is immoral as opposed to natural inclinations coined as evil. Of course Sula and Nel symbolize this dichotomy, with Shadrack as the perfect blend of both good and evil. Nel embodies and internalizes societal expectations while Sula debunks and subverts them. Shadrack on the other hand, who suffers from PTSD, is referred to as evil, when he is really misunderstood by those who surround him. He drinks and swears and yells at small children, but he is harmless. Ultimately, Morrison communicates that deciding what is good and evil boils down to human intent.
     I will probably pick this novel up again next year. It's haunting and acerbic. It left me speechless and aching.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

     "What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?"

     I just finished Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and I have to say that Kundera is a master at weaving stories. The novel is mostly about dualism, opposing forces, and the tensions and conflicts that arise as a result of being torn between two opposites. 

     Central to the novel is the concept of Einmal ist keinmal, or whatever happens might as well not have happened at all. There is no such thing as eternal return. Although Kundera makes this claim, his characters subvert and contradict it; their stories are recurring patterns, essentially repeating the same words, actions, and emotions. Kundera seems to be communicating that even though there are no second chances at life, there are opportunities to make wiser decisions, design a new pattern.

    Speaking of patterns, this is a book that I could read repeatedly, and find something new each time. It is a thoughtful and at times meticulous exploration into the human condition, lovely to read, and masterfully executed.