A Prayer for Travelers

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, I loved Tomar's writing style. She used such an economy of language that was still descriptive and atmospheric. The amount of information packed into each sentence, without being esoteric was inspiring. The setting, a small town in the desert, as well as the core friendship of Cale and Penny, was well-developed, new and yet familiar. The odd circumstances of the plot, both of their adventures and their back stories felt authentic and tragic without being unbelievable. The way Tomar chose to tell the story, was both irritating and genius. The book starts at chapter 33 and you wonder if somehow the book didn't load correctly, until you realize that the story was told sequentially, then the chapters cut up and put in a blender. Every chapter you have to reorient yourself,--where does this chapter actually take place? And yet, I think it ultimately adds to the propulsiveness of the novel. Told simply sequentially this story might not pack the same punch. Still, between her economical sentences and the mixed up time-line I wanted a more definitive ending--what exactly happened in the trailer park when Cale went back? What exactly happened to Penny at the end? Just a few more sentences to clarify would have made the novel worth the work, imo.

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Lamb was bent over his bureau in a cotton undershirt clutching a fistful of loose denim at the waistband of the jeans, the sum total between his past and present selves.

How much easier for an object to inhabit a second life.

All of life a repetition, the details slightly changed.

The Silence Between Us

The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am delighted that there are more books about kids with problems more complex than who will take them to the prom. Maya is deaf and has a brother with cystic fibrosis. She's just moved so she has to navigate a new hearing school, find a job, and apply to colleges. Unearthing all the challenges, as well as prejudices, of a deaf ya attempting to make her way in a hearing world, complete with obtaining interpreters, and accepting her limitations as well as her true potential was truly heartening and eye-opening. I didn't really like Maya, though--she was defensive, caustic, and impatient (I suppose like a real teen would be with challenges). Also, despite wanting to like it, it was really was rather forgettable in the end. Still, so happy to see less traditional characters in YA fiction.

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Lungdon

Lungdon by Edward Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This review was bumped up to 4 stars for the whole series. As the wrap-up to the Iremonger trilogy, I felt it wrapped up satisfactorily. I admit some of the beginning was a bit troubling, as Clod manifests his anger and hostility, which seemed out of character--though I suppose it shows how power can change a person. Luckily, Lucy remains her irrepressible self and the queen even makes an appearance. Everything is explained and a happy ending for all involved (mostly). Original, fun series with deep themes about capitalism, class, and the things we are willing to do to have more stuff than someone else--do we ultimately let objects control us?

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We're what you might call walking lampposts, living breathing lampposts.

When do you stop being a person, I wondered, and be stamped as something else?

They've been objectified.

The First Mrs. Rothschild

The First Mrs. Rothschild by Sara Aharoni
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I did not realize this was a real person til I was quite far into the book. This realization made me a bit more forgiving, although the Wikipedia page may have been more fascinating than the actual book. I found the whole thing to be monotonous and uninteresting. The real Gutle must have had a bit more fire and opinion in her, I think. Although this is a diary--only written in once every few years--we get very little of her inner thoughts. I felt very little connection to her or her family. I suppose some of the history of the Jews in Frankfurt was a bit enlightening--that and it was about a real family is the only reason I gave it 2 instead of 1 star. Recommended for all those suffering from insomnia.

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Foulsham

Foulsham by Edward Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps not quite as captivating as the first, the strange little world created in Heap House expands to the outside town of Foulsham. Once again, the importance of names, our relationship with things, and our tendency to place people in classes based on how many things they have and what they do is explored, while also digging into exploitation, poverty, and greed. Clod is now starts out as a gold coin, so that is unique perspective, and we get to meet Binadit, who may seem simple, but usually sees things how it is.

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Mistress Winthrop, but so thick with gin that she was ever more gin than human, more bottle than body.

Steam out of my mouth, like I was an engine.

‘I cannot help my name!’

Coaxing the person back had to be done carefully.

Whatever they were they weren’t it any longer.

With each part pulled off, he was growing smaller.

For Mrs Whiting, every object was proof of her living;

I’m your thing.

Well then, who’s to say who’s a person?

I’m not afraid to die. I was, was very much in truth, when I was a coin, when I couldn’t do anything, only just be moved about by other people, that was frightening because I was lost then, but I’m me again now,

Why will you not protect your things?

Our house itself seems to move as if it has the shivers, I hope it’s not going to catch the ague, our own dear house.

Heap House

Heap House by Edward Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really, really enjoyed this strange little book. Clod is a member of the Iremongers, who have made their fortune in garbage, and as such, they have a curious relationship with things. They each have birth objects they must keep with them at all times, and Clod, weirdly can hear them call out names. Then there is Lucy, full of spunk, who comes and works at the Heap House where most of the Iremongers live. There is mystery and tension, it is funny and sad, weird but relatable. It is disguised as a YA book, but it deeply investigates our relationship with things and the nostalgia we attach to some. It also investigates what it is to be human without the usual technological parallels. Highly recommend.

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I went to bed thinking that it was a shame I had no keepsake of Lucy Pennant, some small thing, something to help me through the day, something to remember her by.  A portrait should be best, a likeness.

But I often come here, to look at their objects, wondering about them, as if I'll understand them more by studying the bits and pieces.  All those old lives.

Curtains and shutters alter time.

All the world, I thought, will be in grey flannel for you now.

Daisy and The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How do you write a book about a rock 'n roll band without getting lost in the sex, drugs, and rock'n roll? Set it up as interview answered a la a magazine profile. I thought I would hate it--no real narrative, just "answers" about events, but it was genius. The focus of the book became about the relationships the band members had, the motivations behind the songs, the impetus for behavior. This style also had the added benefit of looking back in time and seeing the consequences, and hearing their regret/ psychoanalysis of why they did what they did. Memories from different characters contradict each other. Sex and drugs are there but they aren't glorified, usually they are surrounded by regret. The story really becomes all about the band and the music. This novel deserves all the hype its gotten.

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