The Seventh Veil of Salome

 

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We have several story-lines here and they are all a little over the top. But it is old Hollywood and about making a costume drama full of Biblical drama. And the Biblical drama itself which probes into the question of why Herodias' daughter would ask for John the Baptist's head. Greed, jealousy, and prejudice show up in both time lines and in several characters. Social perception is just as potent in ancient Jordan as it is in 1950s Hollywood. Love and violence, power and money, corruption and intolerance. And caught in the middle of both story lines are slightly naive women who become the catalyst for destruction. Entertaining.

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There was a certain danger in seeing and being seen.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

No question this has beautiful writing. It is also a beautiful story of love and hope amid war, strife, and bigotry. There are several story lines and quite a lot about the history of India and Kashmir in particular. But my problem is that it was just too dense for me. I felt like I got the gist but not the true meaning. Perhaps one day I will reread it and glean more, but besides (quite) a few quotes I didn't pick up much.

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Was it possible to live outside language?

celebrated (but never preached) the virtue of spirituality over sacrament, simplicity over opulence and stubborn, ecstatic love even when faced with the prospect of annihilation. 

This place where we live, where we have made our home, is the place of falling people.

Kashmir was one of the few places where a fair-skinned people had been ruled by a darker-skinned one.

Duplicity is the only weapon we have.

And yet, the burden of perpetual apprehension that she had carried around for years--of suddenly receiving news of Musa's death--had lightened somewhat.  Not because she loved him any less, but becasue the battered angels in the graveyard that kept watch over their battered charges held open the doors between world (illegally, just a crack), so that the souls of the present and the departed could mingle, like guests at the same party.  It made life less determinate and death less conclusive.  Somehow everything became a little easier to bear. 

Plain Jane and the Mermaid

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice graphic novel with a message about the real value of a person--not how they look. Of course, it sort of kicks itself in the foot by starting out the title as "Plain" Jane but we soon discover that Jane is full of ingenuity, bravery, and kindness. Is it predictable--yes. Do I sort of hate that there is the reverse stereo-type that the beautiful mermaid is evil--yes. But in a world of fairy princesses its nice to have another protagonist that celebrates something other than looks.

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Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I feel like Weir writes solely to explain physics, math, and biology, which I'm not mad about. If I could always get difficult (for me) subjects explained to me in cute, slightly tense, interesting stories, I might have been much better at them. Weirs books also tend to help me believe the premise that no matter what circumstances happen on earth, smart people will come up with a solution. And Grace does seem to think his way out of every hiccup. Weir also sneaks in some questions about who should make decisions--how far should authority go? (is the end of the world reason enough for a dictator? does it necessitate it?). what does sacrifice and bravery look like? how do we impose our own biases on cultures we don't understand? If you go on this ride, you will believe that good will triumph, problems can be solved, and if you know enough math you can save the world.

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Believe it or not, light has momentum.  It exerts a force.  If you were out in space and you turned on a flashlight, you'd get a teeny, tiny amount of thrust from it. 

A Sorceress Comes to Call

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 and maybe a little more, because one of the protagonists is an older lady that gets to find love, and I liked that angle. I liked all of the magic and the fact that the plot twists enough to keep it interesting. Its dark for a coming of age novel, but it's lightened by several humorous scenes. Questions of free will, strength, love and bravery are raised and the answers vary with the character. The underlying issue is what is holding you back? And what would you do move forward?

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The Last Mrs. Parrish

 

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF. I did read over half of this and then it wasn't worth it anymore. I didn't mind the unlikeable narrator or her schemes and I could tell what one of the twists was right away (and I wasn't wrong) but then when the perspective changes to the first Mrs. Parrish, some of the scenes were so totally degrading and humiliating that I couldn't finish. In what I took to be as a light bit of summer revenge reading turned too dark, and I thought the depth of many scenes were totally unnecessary. Wasn't worth finishing.

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Go

 

Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the time of this review, the GR average for Go was 3.63 stars which is probably where I'd put it. Such an interesting point of view: a Korean in Japan, otherwise known as Zainichi. Sugihara has been bullied in school because of his heritage and has become a proficient fighter as a result. Slightly hot-headed, he grapples with the idea of nationality vs. heritage--where should his loyalties lie? If you speak the language, eat the food, agree with the politics, are you not a member of the nation? But if your history also includes a race that has been discriminated against do you owe that history and culture a certain amount of loyalty? What if it keeps you from loving someone? Or keeps them from loving you? Sugihara struggles with these questions of identity while navigating school, family, friends, and first love. While extremely intriguing, the writing was a little stilted, which could be part of the frustrations of translation--I have found many Japanese-translated books have a similar style-- so I question whether my opinion is criticism of the writing ,my ignorance of Japanese expression, or just one of those things lost in translation.

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I was just living with the circumstances that I happened to be born into.