Everything Inside

 

Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A short story collection about Haitian immigrants (mostly). Really stories about human life--love, death, families, struggle, but infused with the culture and view-point of Haiti, especially those first -generation and second-generation immigrants. Relatable and compelling read.


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Another type of priest, cantor, vicar, or layperson  might have performed a different ritual, but the basic idea would have been the same: the try, with with will and desire alone, to influence something you could not. 

Washington Black

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Washington Black is a slave in Barbados when the story opens. Chosen to be the companion to Titch, the son who is driven by scientific curiosity, Washington becomes educated and begins to see the truth in his subjugation. When circumstances require that he flee, Titch goes with him for he feels just as trapped as Washington. They soon start an odyssey of sorts, seeking shelter and help from Titch's eclectic scientific friends, and traveling to the ends of the earth where Washington is abandoned and must make his own way in the world using the knowledge and skills he has acquired. What is freedom? How can education and scientific knowledge emancipate someone? Are there limits to what you can achieve beyond your control? Are there things that science simply cannot answer? These are some of the questions in this novel and it is an entertaining and thought-provoking read. It was a little too ambiguous for me to feel fully satisfied; I felt like it needed a bit more cohesion but still a worthwhile read.

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You were more concerned that slavery should be a moral stain upon white men than by the actual damage it wreaks on black men.

We had been estranged from the potential of our own bodies, from the revelation of everything our bodies and minds could accomplish. 

The Scent Keeper

 

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book because it took such a different angle. First was the not dysfunctional relationship Emmaline had with a father who effectively kidnapped her and held her captive on an island. But besides that he seemed like a loving, kind father, unlike most kidnapping, isolating fathers. Then, everything is told through smell, which is a unique and interesting perspective that probably doesn't get the emphasis it should. The device described in the book that captures smells sounds awesome. But it just all gets too precious, and the endless metaphors and allegorical references, and earnestness is grating. Everything is too saturated with meaning--like an overwhelming scent that draws you in and then becomes nauseating. (See what I did there ;)). And like a scent you get noseblind too, I forgot how it ended within days of finishing it.

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White Ivy

White Ivy by Susie Yang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Psychological thriller about class. Ivy was taught some dubious moral rationalizations growing up, an answer perhaps to the powerlessness of women, exacerbated by the Chinese culture her parents and grandmother came from. From an early age Ivy turns to the power she feels from taking things that she can't afford and that leads to using sex as tool to get things she wants as well. What she wants is more than money--its the power that comes from moving through the world as privileged. Perhaps she doesn't even recognize this as she is torn between two lovers, both rich but in very different ways. Yang has us tunnel deep into the psyche of Ivy and we can see how one rationalization builds on the others, and why she takes such drastic steps, and why she thinks she can get away with it. Reminds me of An American Tragedy by Dreiser.

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She saw clearly now that people could be divided into two categories; those who acted, and those who were acted upon

The Queen of Sugar Hill

The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What I liked about this historical novelization of Hattie McDaniel is that Tate allows us to see McDaniel in all the ups and downs. There are times when she seems a little unhinged, but by telling all that comes before, you can see that anyone would be at their limits--constantly being criticized for doing the one thing she loved and that she was revered for. This novel showed how those in the public eye often can not win--even before social media exacerbated it. I was a disappointed that so much of the novel felt like it was told in the passive voice. Much of it is a retelling or remembering of events and not the events themselves, which made it much less engaging than it could have been. It does improve as the novel goes on, but it took a bit of stamina to get there. Still, McDaniel's life illustrates that even famous actors have struggles--not being taken seriously because she was a woman, not respected because she was Black, being vilified because she didn't fit into a glamorous stereo-type, being taken advantage of because she was rich.

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We Cast a Shadow

 

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ruffin does an ingenious job of talking about race in a way that transcends it in a remarkable way. First of all, by setting the book in a future time, Ruffin is able to manipulate the situation without blame, shame, defensiveness, or justification because the offenders don't exist (yet)--yet the circumstances are familiar enough that it allows for contemplation of how we are presently doing as a society (and individuals). Then, to drive home the ramifications of the result of subtle/ not so-subtle racism, he brings in the possibility of demelanization--an expensive medical procedure that removes pigment from the skin. The question of whether the narrator should subject his son to this and why lets the reader really empathize and question race in a new and personal way. I found this book under the category of funny stuff- and while there is humor, it was a profound, moving and tragic story. I thought it was brilliant.

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The act of observing rewrites reality.

A dark-skinned child can expect a life of diminished light.  This is truth anywhere in the world and throughout most of history. 

The Education of an Idealist

The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting reading experience for me. While well-written, I found Power to be intense, supercilious, and haughty. Yet she is fully aware of this--she corners influential people in audacious fashion to promote her agendas, she won't back down or curb her remonstrations, she never seemed to be able to just hang out--always debating issues or pushing a cause. I thought man, she would be hard to be friends with. But the more I read, the more I respected Power for her commitment, her desire to make a difference, and her laser-like focus to try to make the world better. Then I grew to admire her. I still think she would be a lot to handle--but we need people who are willing to look at hard issues and to do their best to understand them, and then do something about them. She is courageous, indomitable, and persistent and she encouraged me to look around and see how I can try to make the world within my sphere of influence better.

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If I end up not making it as a journalist, will something else I learn in the process make it worth trying?