Review: Exit West, Mohsin Hamid

Housekeeping: I’m going to start including a very brief description of the book with each review. I hesitated to do this at first because I hate reading reviews that tell me about the book. I’m looking for the reviewer’s opinion; if I want to know what the book contains, I’ll read the back cover copy (BCC) or, even better, the book! Anyway, I decided to include a short description so as to give you some context for my review. Where the BCC is good, I’ll use that, but if I find it to be misleading, I’ll write a couple sentences myself. 🙂

From the back cover copy: In a country on the brink of civil war, Nadia and Saeed meet. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When the conflict explodes, they begin to hear whispers about doors that can whisk people far away. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through. Exit West follows them as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are.

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: Heartbreaking, magical, and realistic. Mohsin Hamid writes in a lyrical, meandering sort of way that never wastes a word. You’ll read it quickly, and read it you absolutely should.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: Exit West is full of the kind of tension that makes you desperate to turn pages. It’s not overbearing, just a sort of uncomfortable-ness of which you aren’t fully aware. It’s similar to when you hear a weird noise in your home and listen really hard but don’t notice you’re holding your breath until you inhale. Readers are focused on the budding relationship between Nadia and Saeed but they are never allowed to forget about the developing military conflict. Readers are intent on Nadia and Saeed escaping their war-torn country, but reminded that these two people are held together by circumstance as much as their feelings for each other. It was this underlying tension that drove me through the book so quickly, not necessarily demanding a happy ending, but hoping that these characters can, at last, find comfort and peace.

As I’ve said already, Hamid’s writing style is meandering but not verbose. Consider the following, which is actually only the second half of the sentence:

…in a gesture so beautiful that Saeed was filled with love, and reminded of his parents, for whom he suddenly felt such gratitude, and a desire for peace, that peace should come for them all, for everyone, for everything, for we are so fragile, and so beautiful, and surely conflicts could be healed if I others had experiences like this, and then he regarded Nadia and saw that she was regarding him and her eyes were like worlds.

Even when repetitive, there is no instance where paring down the word count is desirable. These long sentences work really well to fold the reader into the emotions of the characters.

When I first read the BCC for Exit West, I thought the doors it referred to were metaphorical; I still imagined their emigration process would be practical (ie. a ship if they escaped by sea, or on foot if they escaped over land). You quickly learn that these are random, ordinary doorways that people walk through and end up somewhere else on Earth. I found it interesting that Hamid did not include the actual act of emigrating. This forces the reader to focus exclusively on what happens when the travelers arrive. Leaving is difficult, travelling can be perilous, but, for Nadia and Saeed, what is important is what they must do next to be safe.

Exit West was not at all what I was expecting, in style and plot, in pacing and character development, and in how it made me feel. It’s a quick read but it’s the sort of book that stays with you long after you finish the last page.

Week 4: The Unnoticeables, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, and The Power of Habit

Holy aggressively yellow book covers, Batman!

The Unnoticeables, Robert Brockway: I was so looking forward to this book last week but I just couldn’t get to it. As soon as I hit “publish” on this post, I am going to get comfy and start reading this!

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Samantha Irby: I have been thinking about getting this book for a while. I probably would have bought it for the title and cover alone, but then a fellow bibliomaniac recommended it. Also, looking at the cover again, there are endorsement quotes from both Roxane Gay and Lindy West. What the hell took me so long to get on board here?

The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg: I have a ton of habits that I’d like to change. I want to read faster, I want to spend less time screwing around on the internet, I want to be more productive, et cetera, et cetera. I’m hoping this book will help me understand how habits are formed and how to change them so I can develop more effective, healthy ones. I’m reading this one in audio format because I promised people handmade gifts for Christmas (mainly knit socks) and I still haven’t finished them, so audio means I can multitask. Man, it’s almost February; this is ridiculous. Another habit for the list: start making Christmas presents in June, not October.

Housekeeping: I am thinking of buying a book stand so I can read print books while knitting. Any recommendations? If you have one you like, I would love to hear where you got it. 🙂

Week 3: The Invisible Library, Sex Object, and The Unnoticeables

I’m so excited for this week’s reading! I’m looking forward to some more science fiction, especially since the last one I read was disappointing. I’m also keen to read another memoir, which is a genre I’ve only recently come to enjoy. And so, without further ado, I present: Week 3! *dramatic arm flourish followed by self-deprecating eye roll*

The Invisible Library, Genevieve Cogman: a sci-fi about a spy who works for the Library (don’t know what that means yet) and has to travel to what sounds like an alternate dimension to retrieve a dangerous book. Basically, I want to read a book about books for my book blog. 😀

Sex Object, Jessica Valenti: continuing with the feminist theme of the last two weeks, I’m keen to read this book because the blurb says it “explores the toll that sexism takes on women’s lives.” The books I’ve read lately consider the larger Women’s Movement or feminism in pop culture; I’m interested in narrowing that view down into one woman’s story.

The Unnoticeables, Robert Brockway: written by one of the editors at Cracked, this book is set in 70s New York. Angels are real, but they aren’t benevolent. The premise sounds cool so I’m interested, even more so since Cracked disabled their YouTube channel by laying off all their best writers and personalities. I imagine books and Twitter is how I’ll absorb content from them now.

Housekeeping: I’m going to start including a new section at the end of book reviews creatively and ingeniously called “Read also.” I may not do this with every book but when I think of something similar or related that I think is worthwhile, I’ll let you know. 🙂

Review: Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay

TL;DR spoiler-free review: a collection of essays analyzing (pop) culture and what it means to be a feminist. Roxane Gay is insightful, funny, and brutally honest. Read also: Hunger.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: I think the best compliment I could give an author is to say that reading their book makes me want to seek out more of their work. I read Roxane Gay’s Hunger last year, which led me to Bad Feminist, which will soon lead me to one of her novels.

Writing style is something to which I always pay attention because it can give the reader a lot of insight. For example, Gay occasionally writes in short blunt sentences, which I find works well to convey her frustration. She also has this interesting way of doubling back on herself to emphasize her point. Consider the following from the chapter, “How to Be Friends with Another Woman”:

Don’t flirt, have sex, or engage in emotional affairs with your friends’ significant others. This shouldn’t need to be said, but it needs to be said. That significant other is an asshole, and you don’t want to be involved with an asshole who’s used goods. If you want to be with an asshole, get a fresh asshole of your very own. They are abundant.

It is obvious, toward the end of the paragraph, that she’s frustrated, not only because this has to be said, but also because there is an abundance of assholes with which to deal. I chose this quote because it is an excellent example of how she repeats herself, but not in a redundant way. “This shouldn’t need to be said, but it needs to be said” is a poetic way of saying “things should be one way but they are another.” This stylistic choice shows up a bit in this book and a lot in Hunger and I find it so compelling how she is able to say two things while using the words to say only one.

These essays were written for a variety of sources over time and later compiled into Bad Feminist. Structurally, Gay gathers her articles under several subject headings (Gender & Sexuality, Race & Entertainment, Politics, Gender & Race, and Me). I’m always a bit torn on compilations like this. On one hand, I like that the essays are relatively short and give me a brief look into her opinion on an array of issues, but on the other hand, I would have really enjoyed a deep dive into a few specific topics. Regardless, I enjoyed this book because she is always insightful, her wit is razor-sharp, and her humour is my kind of dry.

What stays with me most is the concept of what it means to be a feminist. Gay says that she used to believe that feminists were man-hating. bra-burning, sexless, angry women and turned away from the label because she didn’t want to be identified with those characteristics. This is such a clever trick of the patriarchy; turn the movement meant to liberate women against them. Gay goes on to say things like “Pink is my favorite color”, “I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically”, and “I know nothing about cars.” Do these things make her a bad feminist? Lately I have wondered what kind of feminist I am. I do not participate in community events and I have never been to a protest. This is not to say that I never would or that I am unwilling, I’ve just never sought out those opportunities. I read a lot and I have opinions. I suppose I’m a feminist but I’m not an activist. Can I be the former without being the latter? Gay says “the idea of a sisterhood menaces me, quietly, reminding me of how bad a feminist I am.” Perhaps this is another trick that we are about to fall for; if women don’t identify as feminists because they think they aren’t good enough, or they think other feminists with judge them, then they will not add their voice to the cause. Divided, we are weak, sort of thing.

All this self-reflection is to say that Roxane Gay brought me to the conclusion that she herself landed on: “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

Review: The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

I have always been an avid reader. In most cases, I prefer the company of bound pages to people. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time reading fantasy and science fiction (#realvampiresdontsparkle). It was only when I went to university that I, book list in hand, would explore other perspectives than that of the white straight male protagonist. When I finished school, I took a long break from reading. With no more book lists, I could read whatever, whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, this resulted in a return to old form, and while I didn’t read that much for a few years, what I did read was largely science fiction or fantasy.

In the last few years, it has become increasingly important that I be better informed on politics, culture, and social movements. I began reading a lot of non-fiction, in which I, historically, have never really been interested. It is with this goal in mind, to be more knowledgeable, informed, and empathetic, that I have sought out books about different cultures, races, and ideologies. When I read the description of The Hate U Give, I was immediately interested and put it at the top of the To Be Read pile.

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: a well-told, heartbreaking, and compelling novel, The Hate U Give shares a perspective we don’t get from the media when young black men are killed by police; that of the eye-witness. Everyone should read this book, especially those who think the news gives you all the information you need.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: The English graduate in me tends to notice an author’s writing style, no matter what I’m reading. Angie Thomas’s writing is multi-layered and nuanced, expressing Starr’s struggle with how she presents herself at home versus at her predominantly white high school, how she communicates with her family versus how she speaks to the police. Thomas easily moves from a more formal style to a slang-heavy vernacular. This occasionally means a shift in tense, which usually is jarring but this, coupled with the shifts in style, works well to develop the same tension in the reader that is building in Starr.

Generally speaking, I appreciate the way Thomas creates her characters. She takes her time and allows them to grow organically throughout the story. With that said, some of the side characters are a little archetypal, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Violent thugs, overprotective brothers, and I’m-not-racist! white friends are necessary for a story like this because those sort of people actually exist. There’s also something rather meta to how she develops the character of Khalil, the boy who is murdered by a police officer. Starr and Khalil have been friends since childhood but had recently lost touch. After his death, Starr will learn many things about him that she has never known. In the same way the reader will learn about Starr and observe how she deals with this loss, so too will Starr learn about Khalil and the motives behind choices he made.

I wanted to read this book because of the perspective: an eye-witness in a police shooting. This is a point of view we rarely hear in the media when these tragedies gain international attention. What I was not expecting was how the book artfully plays with perspective, subverting what the reader thinks they know. In the big picture, we get Starr’s perspective of the shooting and what really happens, but later we learn the officer’s point of view and his skewed perception of events. In the smaller events of the story, we learn more about the characters, depending on what perspective we’re given. SPOILERS AHEAD IN 3… 2… 1… At first, we think Seven’s mother, Iesha, is generally a bad person. She certainly doesn’t deserve to get abused by King but she’s pretty selfish and doesn’t seem to care much for her kids. When she shows up uninvited to Seven’s birthday party, he lets her know how he really feels about her. But when Starr, Seven, and Chris go to King’s house to find DeVante, Iesha is able to extricate all of them and her two daughters from a bad situation, knowing she will bear the brunt of King’s rage later. Seeing what she did for them, Starr makes sure to explain to Seven that Iesha wasn’t trying to get rid of them but protecting her family in the only way she could. Another example of this perspective shift is when Chris finds himself in the middle of a riot of black people, after the grand jury’s indictment decision is announced. Chris realizes he is the only white person present and asks Starr and Seven, “is this how you feel at school?” Similar to how it is important that Seven see his mother for the flawed protector she really is, it is critical for Chris, if he wants to understand and empathize with Starr, to experience, in some small way, what she experiences on a daily basis.

The Hate U Give was heartbreaking. It was sad, it was funny, and it was genuine. It was a pretty quick read, it had a bunch of slang I had to Google, and I strongly recommend you read it.

Also, if you have any recommendations of books like this, or books with a perspective not your own that you found informative or compelling, I’d love to hear them!

Review: The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf

When I was in university, my Sociology professor asked the class who considered themselves a feminist. Few hands rose. He then asked, “Who believes women deserve equal pay for equal work?” Most, if not all, hands went up. “Who believes women deserve the right to vote?” Again, all hands up. “Then you are all feminists,” he said.

Since that day, I have used his tactic with many people, from friends to family members to my boyfriend. We are all feminists, or at least, you damn-well should be.

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: Originally published in the 90s, this is fundamentally essential reading. If witnessing injustice toward women upsets you, you are not mad enough. The Beauty Myth is a diagnosis of a sick culture and a prescription for what to do about it.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: Read this book. Read every page. Then give it to a friend. It’s one of those books that you can put down but it will never leave you.

Naomi Wolf examines the women’s movements throughout history by breaking the book into topics (ex: Work, Sex, Religion, etc). This structure made these broad issues more digestible, as I would read a chapter and then take some time to consider what I’d learned. Her writing is impassioned, urgent, and well sourced. With each new subject, she looks into the face of what’s wrong, what is rotting in our culture, and says, “Look at this, do not divert your eyes. We have to do something.”

I was expecting to make some concise points from the notes I took while reading this book, but I have too many notes. The longer I consider what to write, the more I realize there is something I must say: I am angry. I am infuriated by the information I have gained from this book. I had a broad and unformed understanding that the fight for women’s rights is far from over but The Beauty Myth has enlightened me as to how much work there really is to do.

So here is a (heavily paraphrased) list of what I learned that really pisses me off:

• After the first wave of feminism, male-dominated culture had to find new ways to oppress women. Women could keep their jobs, but they must never be relieved of the task of maintaining the home and family. When it became apparent that women could take this in stride, a third shift was added: “Ok fine, ladies, have your job and take care of your families, but you better look good doing it.” Beauty is like a tax on women; not only do women continue to make lower wages than men, but they must also pay for an insane array of cosmetic products, clothes, and often painful, invasive plastic surgery so they can strive for an unattainable beauty standard.
• Consider what would happen if society attempted to control men’s sexual behaviour in the same way it controls that of women. In the book, Wolf suggests we consider chemical castration for prisoners. This would, undoubtedly, be seen as barbaric. And yet, according to a quick Google search, 62% of reproductive-aged American women are currently taking birth control which, I did not know, can lower a women’s sex drive. This frustrates me even more when you consider that birth control options for men would never include a daily pill to forget half the time, but rather only a tube of latex that a bunch of them complain about anyway.
• I’m a huge pop culture junkie which means I watch a lot of movies, TV, and YouTube. A pervasive trope, especially in the 90s, is the reluctant woman who is “wooed” into submission but her admirer. Imagine the scene: the guy has expressed his interest and has been spurned, but he knows she’s just playing hard-to-get. He knows what she really wants. So he kisses her. She fights him off, maybe even slaps him, and he kisses her again. They break apart again… only for her to jump his bones. Pop culture reflects the larger zeitgeist and so it is clear that tropes like these have taught generations of men that a) women will refuse sexual advances even when that’s exactly what they want, b) men know what women want better than women know themselves, and c) women like it rough. Our culture, essentially, has normalized rape to the point that some rapists don’t think what they’ve done is rape. According to The Beauty Myth, “date rape, thus, is more common than left handedness, alcoholism, and heart attacks.” I am disgusted.
• I always feel like I’m being judged or compared to other women in public, be they my friends or complete strangers. I’d bet you know the feeling; eyes on you because you ran to the grocery store in sweats, or the guy you used to date telling you he thinks you’re best friend is hot. The worst is when I’m just walking in the street and people deliberately run into me. There’s a whole sidewalk for us to share but our collision was unavoidable, apparently. Is it because I’m fat; are you telling me I’m taking up too much space? Are you using this small act of aggression to let me know you don’t approve of a woman who looks like me? Our culture has decided that women don’t get the space they need to just exist and, even worse, women will always be in competition with each other for what little space there is.

The book ends with a clear call-to-action about the work needed to right the ship. I’m sure, when my anger dissipates, I will find the strength to do some of the things she suggests. For now though, I’m just tired. Tired but resolved. As is the case in all civil rights movements, one group does not have to give up rights for another to gain them. Men need to be our allies in the fight for equality, but before we get them on our side, women have to be on the same page. Wolf challenges women not to use the beauty myth against each other, to celebrate our womanhood together, and to no longer see each other as adversaries. I am angry that I have had to fight men for my rights. I am incensed that I ever thought I had to compete with other women.

Week 2: Bad Feminist, The Beauty Myth, and The Hate U Give

Ok, so I’m already falling behind. This blog was not meant to be a New Year’s resolution, but it’s certainly acting like one: I’m excited and motivated in theory but, in application, I’m not nearly as productive as I imagined. In my defense, my sweetie has been on vacation this week and I should have known I would not get much reading done when he’s been so keen for me to finish watching The Sopranos.

Alas, onward! I am officially adding only one book to the week’s reading; I don’t want to be overzealous. If I get through these three, I will absolutely start a fourth.

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas: Lately I have been very keen to look outside of my own perspective. There is so much that I will never know or understand because I cannot experience it. Reading is always about vicarious experience and so I have become quite adamant that I absorb material that showcases characters other than straight cisgender white men. The Hate U Give is about a black girl who witnesses her friend (a young black man) being killed by police. I feel like this will be a compelling perspective. When these stories are present in the media, viewers always get the made-for-TV version of the story, not necessarily the unedited events according to an eye-witness.

Random musing: I’m so into this audiobook business with The Beauty Myth. I knew about this feature for a while, but I recently increased the speed from normal to 1.5x. It makes the book go by so much faster (I don’t want it to be over, I just want more time to read everything else)! For now, this speed is perfect, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it and be able to speed it up even more. Reading efficiency pleases me so, lol. 🙂

Review: Future Home of the Living God, Louise Erdrich

Generally speaking, I don’t want these posts to be too long. I don’t read long book reviews so why would I expect you to do so? With that said, I’m going to start with a “too long; didn’t read” version of my review; a quick sentence or two, in case that’s all you need/have time for.

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: well-written,  but compelling sci-fi premise is completely squandered. Read Children of Men instead.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: I was so pumped for this book. The premise was so interesting to me that I bought this book in-store, rather than waiting to order it online (where books are usually cheaper). I enjoyed reading it until the last 30 pages when I realized, there is no way to wrap this up in a way that will satisfy me.

My biggest problem is probably that the book never delivers on the awesome concept; that evolution has stopped and the world is falling apart because science can’t explain what’s happening. There’s just no world building. This problem is exacerbated by the choice in perspective; the book is written in the style of a journal as Cedar writes to her unborn child. Readers see only what Cedar wants to focus on, making them unable to lift their head and look around the world (as they would be able to do with an omniscient narrator). It makes sense to take a huge catastrophe like this and make it manageable by narrowing your focus to how it all affects your main character, but this was claustrophobic.

Also irritating is that the story doubles back on itself in the last 30-ish pages. SPOILERS AHEAD in 3… 2… 1… Cedar is abducted and taken to a government facility and then she breaks out and then is abducted again. First of all, redundant storytelling is redundant. Second of all, abduct me once, shame on you. Abduct me twice, stay the hell in your hidey-hole, for fucksakes! This was the moment I realized I was going to be disappointed by the ending. I was left with just too many questions. Is the baby normal? Does the baby live? Does she somehow pass on the journal? Does the book end because she dies? Do they figure out what the mother-eff is going on in the world? I don’t need every loose end to be wrapped up, but I generally like more than a nihilistic “welp, this whole book has tilted toward the unborn baby and ‘TA-DAAAAAA…. it’s, it’s gone!'” ending.

Like I said, I enjoyed most of the book but the premise and the ending were so mishandled that I just can’t suggest you read it. If you’re looking for some good apocalyptic sci-fi about the destruction of human reproduction and the future of the human race, read Children of Men from P.D. James.

Week 1: Bad Feminist, The Beauty Myth, and Future Home of the Living God

Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay: I read Roxane Gay’s Hunger last year, which was incredible. I feel like there’s nothing I can say about it without taking away from how powerful it was, so I will say nothing but “go read it.” I’m really looking forward to Bad Feminist because I love her writing style, her humour, and her take-no-shit attitude (I follow her on Twitter; she is savage and I love it).

The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf: Last year I discovered the fat positive movement. A whole stack of my To Read pile consists of books relating to body positivity and fat activism. This, coupled with a complete overhaul of my social media (following fat positive accounts, actively blocking harmful advertisements, etc), has resulted in a huge shift in perspective. That thinking connected easily with my feminist viewpoints and so that brings me to The Beauty Myth. There are several feminist texts on my list but I thought I would start with a classic. I expect to come out of this book empowered by statistics that will thrill my feminist friends and irritate my troglodyte boyfriend.

Future Home of the Living God, Louise Erdrich: I love a good science fiction premise, especially something headed toward or occurring in an apocalypse (but easy on the zombies. I’m pretty done with the undead). This book takes place in a world where evolution has stopped and the world is falling into chaos. The urgency is heightened by the fact that the main character is pregnant. The basic premise is making me tense so I’m willing to bet I’ll fly through this in a day.

Random musing: I was never interested in audiobooks because I’ve always taken pleasure from holding a physical book in my hands. With that in mind, my obsession to get back to reading clashed with my annual tradition of hand-making Christmas presents for family members, so I decided to give Audible a try. Now I am even more torn between owning the physical book and the ability to knit/stitch and read at the same time! Most of my To Read pile is in print, because I also have an online shopping addiction, but I think I’m going to continue enjoying audiobooks in the future. Am I weird and crazy to also buy the print book, just to say I own it? Legit question, looking for feedback here. 🙂

Thrice Weekly Book Blog

My To Read pile.

 

I have a desperate urge to read. I am surrounded by stacks of books and I have plenty of time to browse their pages, but those piles get bigger as I add to them without shelving completed volumes. It feels like my brain is starving.

After not writing for this blog for almost two years, I am now going to use it as a way to hold myself accountable to the plan, which is thus: I am going to read three books weekly. I am going to select books on the weekend, write a quick post about my expectations, etc., and then post about each book when I’ve finished reading it. If I don’t finish a book one week, it has to be finished the next week (unless I make a conscious decision to put it down. The point is, no book will be left behind because I didn’t pick it up in the first place).  If I select a particularly large book, then I will give myself a break and read only two that week. I’m going to mix up fiction with non-fiction. I don’t have any thematic plan in mind; my To Read pile is about four stacks of stuff that has randomly caught my attention over the last year. What I read will range from science fiction to biography, from voices in the fat activism movement to cultural and political commentary. Sometimes I will read things that are important to me, sometimes I will read things to stop worrying about what is important to me. Sometimes you will shake your head at what falls into which category.

PS: I’m going to leave my old blog posts up for now. They embody a different format but most of them are about books so they aren’t completely out of place. Plus my darling Phoenix appears here and there and since he’s the centre of the universe, he might as well get to keep his place on the blog. *violent cat-mother eye roll*