What I Read in May
I’m not going to lie, the recent weeks have been heavy as we as a country grapple with the murder of George Floyd, the insidious brutality and corruption of police forces, and what exactly we as individuals can do to help. I’m in a position to donate to the official George Floyd gofundme, NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter, and Greening Youth Foundation. I’ve signed petitions calling for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Kendrick Johnson, Sean Monterossa, Julius Jones, #DefundPolice, and the Hands Up Act. I’ve sought out Black artists and businesses to support and follow on Instagram. I’ve picked up books like Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin and We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates in order to educate myself more (because you can never be educated enough on complex topics like race, politics, and social reform).
The work is not done. I’m committed to carrying this momentum throughout my life, making efforts to be actively anti-racist. This time is uncomfortable, exhausting, and despairing at times. I’ve found it difficult to look away from the news, but when I do, I turn to books. Books have always been my constant comfort, which is why I want to continue sharing my reads. For the past few years I’ve made a conscious effort to read more diverse authors, and I’ll be carrying on that goal. For a specifically anti-racist reading list, I recommend this resource from Elle Magazine. For my reads in May, take a look below.
5/5 Stars
So entertaining and a joy to listen to! Mindy is whipsmart and I love that she knows her audience. Readers want to know the juicy details of Hollywood, and she shares them in a surprising relatable way. I like that she sometimes took an outsider's view on television and fame, but other times was unabashedly celebratory of her fabulous life. The topics discussed were pretty wide ranging, so it definitely held my interest. Loved the titular essay, super inspiring!
3/5 Stars
Set in the early 1950s, in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. There is no denying the high caliber writing of this book. Characters are fully formed and dynamic, details are vivid, and the plot is complex. There is certainly nothing lacking in this book. But for most of the time, it was just too much to me.
There are so many threads that get picked up and put down that they'd lose all momentum, and I often forgot where we left off with a certain character. This book was at its best when dealing with the relationships of its characters on a very personal level. It was at its worst when giving a full retelling of the political climate at a very high level. I believe that the kind of person who picks up a 1400-page book about post-Independence India probably already knows enough about the subject and doesn't need pages and pages about the congress, election process, etc.
I will say the last 300 pages or so were 5 stars. I just wish it had not taken so much effort to get there, because I almost gave up at the halfway point. But this book reminds me of my experience traveling to India. It is a place of extremes; everything is thrown at you and it can be overwhelming, but I was certainly never bored. I just had to work really hard to find the gems it had to offer, and that's how I would describe my experience with this book. I don't think it is for everyone. As I said, this book is probably best for readers who are already interested in the setting/time period; I don't know if you could hold on through 1400 pages otherwise.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
4/5 Stars
In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles.
I did not get off on the right foot with this book. The blurb made it out to be a much more intimate scope about one woman's disappearance, so I was overwhelmed when the book dove right into a very detailed explanation of the whole political situation in Ireland, with many names to try and keep straight. Jean McConville is mentioned very briefly in the beginning, and so I was just constantly waiting for the story to circle back around to her. She doesn't really become important again until the last third of the book or so. However, once I let go of that expectation, the book really did flow for me. Fascinating figures, high stakes, intrigue, this book has a lot to offer.
It asks the big question: how much should a society be held accountable for shared violence? I like that this book does have a stance about that, but it is subtle enough that it still lets the reader make up their own minds. I did not have much prior knowledge about the Troubles, so it certainly isn't necessary for reading this book. Note that this is a pretty dark and depressing read without an uplifting end, and despite the excellent writing and fascinating story, I can't exactly say I enjoyed it.
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
5/5 Stars
A year after her son is abducted, Marin takes the investigation into her own hands with a private investigator. But the investigator discovers Marin’s husband’s affair—and a new clue to her son’s disappearance.
Wow! Best thriller I've read in a long time. The pace was excellent, I actually couldn't put it down. I think the strength of this book is in the characters. They feel real, they have motivations, and they're complex. One of the most memorable passages was actually not even about the main plot, but about the main character's support group with minor characters. That passage really conveyed the emotion of grief in all the ways it has manifested for these support group members. And these were minor characters!
The main plot too was emotional and vibrant. I felt for the main characters even as they did some pretty horrible things. The twist was dynamic and I didn't see it coming. Can't recommend this enough.
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
3/5 Stars
A recluse who is addicted to prescription pills and alcohol sees a murder from across her window.
I enjoyed this, but I don't think it lived up to the hype. I'll start with the pros: the main character is very well developed. She's not just anyone, she's an agoraphobic with a passion for classic film, and the writing really got deep into the nitty gritty of her psyche. She's memorable. The voice is unique. This isn't just any writer. A lot of the descriptions were kind of strange and didn't always hit for me (the light wrapping its fingers around the curtains??), but at least they weren't cliche. I saw some of the early twists coming, but not the main one at the end.
Cons: I really don't like thrillers/mysteries where the twist is revealed through a drawn-out conversation. This book does that. It isn't exactly "thrilling" to hear the villain explain everything to their captive. I much prefer it when the reader finds out at the same time as the main character, and when there's more action involved that brings about the reveal. Instead, what we get is the main character coming to a realization and then having the villain confirm it, then maybe answer any outstanding questions she has.
Secondly, I didn't think the supporting characters were that well-developed, especially when contrasted with the main character who feels super real. This is tough though, because it is first-person POV from Anna, so we can only know what she knows.
Overall this was a quick, enjoyable read. I just wish that the reveal was more dynamic.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
4/5 Stars
A single mother and her daughter move to Shaker Heights, Ohio, and disrupt the perfect facades of their neighbors. Excellently woven plot. I feel like I don't come across such an intricate plot like this very often. Everyone had their part to play, and because all the characters are richly developed, every outrageous action had the necessary motivation behind it to make it believable.
I especially love stories about suburbia because of the juxtaposition of immaculate facades and the messes inside. Little Fires Everywhere has that juxtaposition in spades. I also am drawn to novels that don't have a clear right answer, ones that ask big questions for the reader to decide for themselves. Again, this book hits on that hard.
I have to take one star off because I really dislike books that are mostly backstory. To me, it's frustrating to have the characters in the present action be put on pause for so. long. while we dive into the whole life story of one of the characters. But at least Ng made their backstories riveting, so I can't complain too much. I just prefer narratives that stay in scene for the majority of the time, but if that doesn't bother you, you'll enjoy this book.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
4/5 Stars
Essays from a botanist on indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants.
I'm unsure how to rate this book because it isn't my normal kind of read. In simple terms, I enjoyed it. With Kimmerer's sheer love of nature and living beings, how could you not? Without question, this book taught me many lessons. It broadened my outlook. I definitely got something out of this.
I believe this book is best savored over many months or even years. Pick it up when you need comforting or inspiration. But I checked it out from the library and therefore had to read it fairly quickly, and this just isn't a page turner. I didn't find myself excited to keep reading, and that is more a reflection on myself than Kimmerer's writing or expertise.
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
5/5 Stars
One of my favorite books so far this year!
This was a fascinating look into the plastic surgery world of Korea. Characters were complex and diverse in their narratives, from the mother who is trying desperately to have a child in Seoul's harsh economy to the Salon girls who feel plastic surgery is their only means of success.
Often in novels that have several storylines, I can feel more drawn to one character and completely bored of another; this is not the case with If I Had Your Face. I was equally riveted by each story.
I love that this book gives so much gravitas to feminine beauty standards, defying the incorrect notion that beauty is superfluous. Beauty is power in almost all societies (not just Korean), and this book really explores the pitfalls of placing so much weight on it.
I also can't believe that this book is so short. The characters were so richly imagined, and it really felt like it packed in so much more drama than its 268 page count would suggest.
