There's No Place Like the Home You Fled: Book Review of Honor

 

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

Gratitude

Thank you to my book club for choosing Honor by Thrity Umrigar.

Description

In Honor, Smita is a foreign correspondent, and she spends her life traveling the world and reporting on issues of human rights. Though born in India, Smita moved to the United States as a girl, and she vowed never to return to her country of origin, instead using the United States as her infrequently used home base. So when a fellow journalist needs her help with an assignment in India, she is extremely apprehensive about returning, but decides to go because she wants to aid the friend who had been so caring toward her. Basically, she feels that she cannot say no.

Once there, Smita is drawn into the case a Hindu woman, Meena, who has been met with violence as a result of marrying a Muslim man. Meena shows an openness that Smita finds hard to understand. To help navigate tricky interviews and spots that are potentially dangerous for women, Mohan has been tasked with being Smita's guide. As her friendship with Mohan develops, it seems that it might become something more. 

Would I Teach This Book?

Umrigar considers a lot of different dynamics in Honor--honor to one’s family of origin, to one’s self, to one’s spouse, and honor as it pertains to religion. The choices that Smita makes and the past she must face are not easy. The threads to her past unravel slowly throughout the book, and looking back at the beginning, it is not exactly seamless.

There was a lot of buildup toward a few moments of violence, and I felt a growing dread as the narrative moved toward these moments. It was not a pleasant dread, either. The violence did seem to be more than just plot devices, and it did help to establish and explore theme.

Because of the exploration of prejudice between Hindus and Muslims, Honor might be an interesting novel to teach. The book club discussion was lively and touched on many different aspects of the novel, and these aspects could also be analyzed in a classroom setting. However, I would be reluctant to trudge back into those waters. I won't spoil the ending, but it was pretty meh. 


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He's Single, Ladies!: Book Review of Storm Warning

 

Storm Warning by James Byrne

Gratitude

Thank you to Minotaur and Goodreads Giveaways for the review copy of Storm Warning by James Byrne.

Description

Desmond “Dez” Limerick is hired by the United States government to investigate a secret underground research facility that, along with the mine and the whole island up above, has lost all communications. What exactly they were researching is a mystery, but Dez quickly learns that the U.S. government is not the only group who has an interest in why everything went dark. He is teamed up with a small group and soon meets up with other people who intend to investigate the island. It is not immediately clear who he can trust, but a few people make themselves known as untrustworthy right away. Oh, and there is a treacherous storm headed toward the island which will make it virtually impossible to get there. Dez is always up for a challenge, but he’s especially invested in solving this one, because a former love interest was in the lab when it went dark.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Storm Warning? That is an interesting question, for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that Dez is not a complicated character. He is practically perfect in every way: strong, handsome, smart, and respectful to the ladies. He knows everything--hand to hand combat, computers, how elevators work, languages, obscure facts about world politics, and histories of developing countries. He has no mysterious past, his closets are clear of skeletons, and he never gets ruffled. He is a bit too perfect for my post-postmodern tastes.

He is a Bond-MacGyver-Bruce Lee mix who could save you from any situation. Byrne makes much of his muscled physique, and as a freelancer, he may go and do as he pleases.

Storm Warning is entertaining--there were certainly moments that surprised me, and it took me a while to figure out how it would end, as opposed to many suspenseful books, which I can already guess what will happen no later than halfway through. As a beach read, I encourage anyone who enjoys this genre to read Storm Warning. As a teacher, I would skip this one.

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Turtle Confusion: Book Review of The Turtle House

 

The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill

Description

In The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill, Lia has left her job and come home under mysterious circumstances. There, she finds her grandmother, Mineko, also staying at her parents’ house, due to a fire that destroyed her home.

Lia’s parents suspect that Mineko caused the fire by falling asleep while smoking. They fear that she can no longer live on her own. As for Lia, they have no idea why she quit her job at an architectural firm in order to come home and work in a stationary store.

Lia asks her grandmother to tell her her story—she knows so little about the woman who left Japan for a new life in America with her military husband. As Mineko talks, she also tries to help her granddaughter to face whatever is haunting her.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Turtle House? As historical fiction, set during World War II and after, Amanda Churchill blends romance, war, family drama, and modern day early adulthood in this generational story. The twining narratives of Mineko and Lia inform each other and help the reader to understand the struggle to keep one’s own dreams from being sublimated by another’s.

This is a compelling theme, and it is gratifying to see Mineko’s growth throughout the book. Lia’s growth and narrative is way less satisfying, in part because she is at the beginning of adulthood, but she is also not as developed of a character as Mineko.

The Turtle House was a book club book, and it brought about lively discussion. As for including it in a curriculum, the perspectives of Mineko and Lia, as Japanese Americans, could be a meaningful contribution, though there are arguably books with more compelling Japanese American characters.

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Just Give Me That Old Time Rock 'n' Roll: Best American Short Stories 1980

 

The Best American Short Stories 1980 by Stanley Elkin

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Library’s ILL and Washington College for allowing me to read Best American Short Stories 1980 edited by Stanley Elkin and Shannon Ravenel. 

Personal History

I have been lowkey working my way through The Best American Short Stories series, which began in the early 20th century and continues today. The series has been through many editorships, and starting in 1978, the editor would choose a different author to work with each year. The series editor would read most every short story published in literary journals in US and Canada and then hand the top two hundred or so to the famous author, who would whittle the choices down to around twenty.

Volumes of The Best American Short Stories were used in my college courses, and I, in turn, have used them in my college courses. One of the benefits of reading the series and using it for courses is that it varies from year to year, some offerings better than others. Paired with another anthology, it adds variety and contemporary tastes.

The 1980 edition is a bit different from some of the other volumes I have read. First, several of the stories felt like very long short stories, and not always pleasantly so. Second, I was surprised by the amount of marital dissatisfaction and affairs. I am not astounded that people might be unhappy with their marriages and might cheat, however, I am surprised by the sheer number of stories which focused on this. It seemed like there was an inordinate amount of extra-marital affairs.

Two stand outs are “The Old Forest” by Peter Taylor, which, while it is about a young man who has been caught cheating on his fiancée, also explores the gender politics of the situation; and “At the Anarchists’ Convention” by John Sayles, which while it did not have much weight, was very funny. It is hilariously set, as the story states, at a convention of older anarchists at a yearly convention. The social politics are like that of a family, deep, interconnected, and inherently amusing.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Best American Short Stories 1980? I have taught many volumes of The Best American Short Stories, but have not taught any retro volumes. I would not teach this retro volume. I admit that this was the only time I have ever been bored by Best American Short Stories. There were several times when it felt painful to keep going. My daughter asked me why I felt I had to finish it, and I explained that I never DNF books, and she asked what that was, and I explained. But, it’s true--it might take me years to finish books, as I read other books in between, but I always come back to finish them. In part, because I believe that every book has something to teach me, whether I enjoy it or not.

What was your last DNF? Let me know in the comments! 


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You Know What Happens When You Assume, Don't You?: Book Review of Reckless

 

Reckless by Lauren Roberts

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Reckless by Lauren Roberts available to the public at no cost.

Description

Reckless begins in the aftermath where Powerless left off: Paedyn is on the run, Kitt, now king, is furious, and Kai is unsure how to feel about any of it. Kitt sends Kai (who is his Enforcer first and his brother a far second) to find Paedyn and bring her back to the palace. There is no guarantee that Kai will be successful in his mission.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Reckless has many of the challenges that Powerless has: Kai is meant to be an assassin, and his main job is to eradicate the kingdom of all Ordinaries, the people without powers who have been falsely accused of passing a disease on to the Elites, those who do have powers. Falling in love with a man whose mission in life is to unquestioningly kill people like you does not seem like a healthy choice.

It is made clear, just as it is in Powerless, that Kai is a product of his environment--his father tortured him and taught him to torture others. He was expected to kill and he knew that if he did not, the consequences would be dire--perhaps death. Regardless of how sympathetic he is, he still murders as commanded, and therefore, does not make healthy boyfriend material. You can feel sympathetically toward the dog who has been abused, and you can see how fun it is to play with him, but that does not mean that it is on you to bring the dangerous creature home as your pet. Kai might have had no control of how his father raised him, but that does not mean that Paedyn needs to take on a man who was created to kill her.

Sorry not sorry, but no matter how attractive the MMC is, whether or not it is his fault or not, if he has dangerous emotional baggage, the FMC does not need to take him and his exploding, poisonous luggage on her journey. It seems that sometimes when everything in you says that you should run, then you should run, regardless of your attraction. Just saying. And this does not seem to be the romantic situation that should be served to young readers, over and over again.

The sequel is also significantly lighter on plot than Powerless. The romance is a lot less convincing and a lot less satisfying. So, no, I cannot see myself teaching Reckless.


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Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair: The Women of the Copper Country

 

The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell free and readily available to the public.

Description

The Women of the Copper Country is based on the true story of a copper miners’ union strike in Calumet, MI. As copper mining is extremely dangerous, all of the women have lost people close to them--fathers, brothers, husbands--sons. They do not own their houses and have very little to live off of. When the one-man drill comes into use, they are not only worried about the jobs that it will cost, but also about the danger to the man operating the drill--a man alone can get into as many troublesome spots as a man with a partner, but a man alone has no one to help him out of those spots.

When a non-union worker who agreed to use the drill dies alone, Annie Clements decides that enough is enough. The strike is on.

James McNaughton does not see himself as the villain--he sees himself as the man hired to make the company--and himself--the most amount of money possible. He views the strike as ungratefulness. It is by his benevolence alone that the miners and their families are able to survive.

Would I Teach This Book? 

Would I teach The Women of the Copper Country? Russell’s book was a book club pick, and I doubt I would have picked it up on my own. My take on the book is a little different from my fellow club members. The general consensus was that they had seen this book before in other iterations that they had read in the book club, before my time. As I had not been present for those books, and I generally do not pick up historical fiction books independently, this book did not feel like something I had already read.

Annie is difficult to dislike--she has a big heart, courage, and a can-do attitude. She wants the lives of the people in her community to be fair--they should be able to work safely, and they should have the means to live a slightly less strenuous life. She believes in their right to negotiate as a group.

In a class on historical fiction, the labor movement, or gender studies, The Women of the Copper Country could be a contender. The terrible forces that the unions were up against, and the way that the companies were able to act as they wanted without regulation is hair-raising. I know some about the fight for labor, but I did not know the extent of it. The difficulties that people went through so that workers today can have the ability to collectively bargain is nearly unbelievable. And it's a story that Americans should know. 

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Home, Home with the Ranger: Book Review of The Ruins of Gorlan

 

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Description

In John Flanagan's The Ruins of Gorlan Will has been a ward of the kingdom since his birth, keeping him separated from most children his age. He was told his father died a hero, and he clung to the hope that he, too, would become a knight. But Will does not have the brawn a knight needs, and instead is invited to become the apprentice to a ranger.

Will is devastated. The rangers do not carry the same honor as knights, though they are feared, and rumored to be sorcerers. One of his wardmates—a constant tormentor—is sent to battle school, furthering Will’s upset. Since he does not have much say in the matter, he decides to do his best as the ranger’s apprentice.

As it turns out, the rangers gather intelligence and help in battles. They are the defense before war—and no one is eager to tread back into war. They hide in the shadows and make it their business to know the movements of enemies.

Soon, Will finds out that there is a lot more to being a ranger than scrubbing the floor—though his master has him do that, too.

Would I teach this book? 

The Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan is the first in a middle grade series. Many educators seek to get their students into series, with the thought that they will read their way through. If I were giving students a few choices of books, I might consider including it in a unit. There is action, and Will is a strong character, as is Horace, who has a parallel story line while he is in battle school. I was not blown over by the premise—the setting is a medieval-ish land that seems to follow the rules of reality, with the exception of some monsters. It reminded me a lot of Blackthorn Key, but I was more interested in the background of Blackthorn Key. It did come highly recommended from one student, so it may pique the interest of others. Definitely a good choice for a classroom or child’s library.

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