There, There

 

There There by Tommy Orange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful exploration into what it means to be Native American in a modern setting. At first I didn't realize that the individual stories were going to be tied together and characters were going to be followed throughout the book, since each chapter felt like a complete short story so I didn't track the characters like I should have to get the full complexity, and the relationships between the characters. Having so many characters allowed us to see so many different perspectives and histories--some grew up in the indigenous culture, others realized their roots later, others abandoned their culture, and others came to celebrate it. Perhaps with a re-read I will feel different, but I felt like maybe there were too many perspectives, and the focus got diluted. You see the ending coming, but it still is shocking, yet I wished for a bit more clarity in the end.

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Bad luck or just bad shit happening to you in life can make you secretly superstitious, can make you want to take back some sense of control.

Something was in her that came out, that seemed so creaturely, so grotesque yet magical, that the only readily available emotion she had for both occasions was shame, which led to secrecy in both cases.  Secrets lie through omission just like shame lies through secrecy. 

The Downstairs Girl

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jo is an unusual heroine--a Chinese-American living in Atlanta at the cusp of the women's vote and Jim Crow laws. She is resourceful and observant, courageous and intelligent. During the course of the book she discovers hidden talents, hidden roots, and hidden love. Its a YA romance that also encourages standing up for what's right, and for others, and for yourself.

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It is better to look out a window than into a looking glass; otherwise all you see is yourself and what's behind you.

An American Marriage

 

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this book was borne out of a desire to expose the racial injustice that is still prevalent in America, it also does a good job of exposing the precarious nature of marriage, especially in a country where people choose their partners based on "love". Can love really transcend differences in traditions, social class, and value systems? Can it withstand distance, trauma, and tragedy? What do we withhold from our partners--is there room for any secrets both in the present and in the past? I enjoyed how Jones broke the narrative into the three main character's voices--each one pleading their case for the reader, the truth both ambiguous and changeable, each motivation justified and faulty.

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The Deepest South of All

 

The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

These are my thoughts reading through this look at one of the more unique places in America: an Englishman stumbles across an eccentric place and takes advantage of his journalistic observations to write a book.
Then, perhaps it takes someone outside the US to really observe some of the problems with race in this country. It was fascinating how a mixture of denying the reality of the past, as well as the rationality of celebrating only part of our history, can lead to the violence of erasure which is almost as bad as the original sin of slavery. But living in a southern state myself, I can see the same patterns, although maybe to a lesser degree: historical sites down here tend to only focus on the Southern point of view, painting the Union soldiers almost as villains as they invaded forts, burned down cities. And the romancing of plantation wealth without focusing on how they maintained those buildings and landscapes.
Then, Grant seemed hyperfocused on how gay things were--several things were the gayest (gayest loafers, outer-stratosphere of gay, gay as a maypole, gayest man in Missippippi, etc.) , which made me contemplate how we still tend to separate others in categories--race, sex, sexual orientation, country, social class.
In the end, I appreciated a look at some of the extremes observed in Nanchez, which looks ridiculous in the extreme, but exists in lesser amounts elsewhere and Grant does a good job striping back the layers of absurdity to the common humanity that drives this community. I also appreciated the history of Prince that Grant weaves throughout the book--reminding us that those we judge as the least amongst us are unrecognized royalty .

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The problem with divisiveness is that it doesn't lead to prosperity.  It holds us back.

Becoming

 

Becoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not only is this a beautifully written memoir, including meaningful and interesting details about what it is like the be the First Lady, but it is an inspiring and motivating narrative of finding a higher purpose in life and striving to make a difference where you can.

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Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result.

the unknown wasn't going to kill me

We owed something to each one of these people.  we were asking for an investment of their faith, and now we had to deliver on what they'd brought us, carrying that enthusiasm through twenty months and fifty states and right into the White House.  I hadn't believed it was possible, but maybe now I did.  This was the call-and-response of democracy, I realized, a contract forged person by person.  You show up for us, and we'll show up fro you.  

Jade Legacy

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Jade universe expands exponentially in this last installment of the Green Bone Saga. Not only does the geography expand to multiple locations, and the cast of characters multiplies accordingly, but the time period covered is extended as well. About half-way in I despaired a little, thinking that by covering so much Lee was losing the thread (or at least I was). But I was still enjoying the larger chess game, so I persevered and was rewarded with a satisfying (if not completely happy) ending. While touching on broad themes such as immigration, global economics, race relations, underground rebellions, Lee keeps the idea of family, honor, and love foremost. A great series full of action and intrigue. I fell in love with all the main characters, and love that Lee includes things such as travel brochures in the back of the novel, because she knows we secretly wish we could visit Janloon.

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It was not the gems themselves that were worthy of reverence.  Jade had meaning because of the type of perosn one had to become to wear it.  Jade was the visible proof that a person had dedicated their life to the discipline of wielding power, to the dangers and costs of being a Green Bone. 

It wasn't a purposeful and powerful fortune that had always swept him along in its inexplicable currents, that trapped him in suffering yet in the oddest moments protected him.  It was insignificance.

Braving the Wilderness

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's not that anything Brown says is wrong. It's just that I feel like it's so obvious. So it makes me sad to think that people think this is buzz-worthy. Do we need to be reminded to be nice and reach out to each other? I also just don't jive with Brown's way of presenting. I feel like many of her stories are examples of people NOT doing those things, and shaming them for it. Give us positive examples. If this book helps people be nicer, than it's not bad.

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