Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

genre: contemporary fiction 

I am not typically a short story person. It takes me a while, in general, to be invested in a book so I typically find short stories to never suck me in. This collection, however, was different. Each character, each setting, it got under my skin and made me care. Each point of view made me look at the world a little differently - the child being babysat by an Indian wife, the husband disconnected from his wife, the new husband whose quirky wife has immigrated and is driving him crazy, the cab driver whose command of English puts him in the unique position of translating for a local doctor. Expatriates and immigrants, old and young, the characters in these stories lift off the page with the love they want to find and the grief over what they’ve lost.

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim (audiobook)

genre: magical realism romance

Vanessa has a gift. Just from looking at the dregs of your teacup she can tell you something that will happen to you in the future. Of course, what she sees might not always be good and that's why Vanessa does not see this ability as a gift, for her it is definitely a curse. When her lack of control with this gift creates more chaos than she can handle, she knows she needs help. Her eclectic aunt is willing to try and help, but she is going to be spending the foreseeable future in Paris. So to Paris Vanessa must go.

Yes, this is a squeaky clean romance novel. Magical realism shines throughout as psychic gifts and abilities are accepted as common place and the natural world responds to how people feel. Vanessa's large and loving family plays a huge role and the Paris backdrop is lovely and full of food and the quiet sort of love drama that we expect. Honestly, though, this one was not for me. It is hard for me to imagine grown women giggling so often. Very detailed descriptions of clothing and food sometimes just felt like filler and even the romantic thread itself never made me anxious to find out what was going to happen.

Part of it might also be that the reader's voice just did not do it for me this time. This is not all the authors fault, but sometimes it was hard for my brain to take Vanessa seriously when her words and her voice sounded so childish. I am going to round up my 2.5 stars to three because I did end up wanting to finish it, but I’m not sure I will try anything else by this author.

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

 genre: children's science fiction

Our precious Wild Robot Roz has been taken from her island home.  She has been sent to work on a farm, forced to labor for her new family but of course, on the inside, she is missing the animal family and life that she knew.  Can Roz reunite with Brightbill?  And if they can, is there any way for Roz to return home again?

I want to hug this author for creating chapter books that my 11.5 year old sons will snuggle on my bed and let me read aloud to them.  It is a gift.  Roz is resourceful and compassionate.  She makes friends and she is so loyal.  There is tenderness and adventure and new friends and old friends and everything good about the first book is found here as well.  The writing is tight and exciting sometimes, other times we are wandering and scheming and solving problems, as one does when one is a wild robot.

We will absolutely read the next book in this story.  My boys and I, we are all in.

The Phoenix Crown by Katie Quinn and Janie Chang

 genre: historical fiction

San Francisco is teeming with life in 1906. From Nob Hill to Chinatown, science and art, fashion and music - it can all be found if you have the money or the inclination.  For four young women, this city will either make or break their dreams - and it all boils down to one infamous morning.

This book was the kind of historical fiction that focuses on the roles of women, which I appreciated.  We have a female scientist, an opera singer, an embroidery artist and a painter.  One of these women is Chinese-American and two of them are gay.  All of them have deep desires for a full life, either on the stage or creatively or within the biological kingdom - but how their paths intertwine and the trauma that befalls them will tie their stories together for life.

I don't know why this one didn't go faster for me.  It was interesting enough, I liked switching between the story lines (although I would've liked more from the scientist character) and the earthquake portions were super well written.  I felt like I was there.  I also liked the climax, I thought that was believable and well done.  The rest just felt vaguely formulaic and sometimes even repetitive.   I'm not sorry I read it because I liked learning about San Francisco's Chinatown from this area and the opera singers storyline was unique as well - it just never was begging to be picked up.

Unshrinking by Kate Manne

genre: non-fiction

Unshrinking is the perfect title for this book - and I love the implications of this word.  Not only is it an acknowledgment that our, to quote Roxane Gay, "unruly bodies" have no requirement to shrink and take up less space, but it is also an unshrinking look at a huge societal issue that has far reaching impacts.

To even TALK about Fatphobia feels subversive somehow, to acknowledge that the way our society treats fatness and people whose bodies don't fit whatever norm in our heads is to also admit that maybe OUR BODIES CAN BE OKAY THE WAY THAT THEY ARE.  Maybe it's our society that is COMPLETELY screwed up and not the bodies themselves.  As a person who from my early preteen years has felt significant body dysmorphia, this idea is like a lightening bolt.  And while I know I am not in the kind of body that faces the kind of marginalization that Manne discusses in this book, I see it and I know it is real and everything in me tells me that she is telling the truth in these pages.

Of course, a lot of this book is her own lived experience but it is also a compilation of a LOT of scientific studies in addition to other anecdotes and real world observations.  I almost feel like I need to listen to this again already and take notes.  She is an advocate and an ally and the conversational tone of the book fit well with the profound and sometimes upsetting subject matter.  The science backs up what she is telling us here about marginalized bodies, about the realities of diets and diet cycling and what it is to be a not-thin human living in a world designed by and for thinness.

Gigi by Collette

genre: historical fiction

Raised by her grandmother and great-aunt, Gigi knows she should be respectable. There are so many rules when one must be respectable - but Gigi’s free spirit can manage to both follow the rules and manage things in her own way. She knows herself and the limits of her life but it doesn’t stop her from dreaming. Being a courtesan does require a certain amount of decorum though - Gigi just has to decide that she cares and thus far she hasn’t! She’d rather play cards with the friendly Tonton, whose money and exploits make his friendship such a boon for Gigi and her family of women.

A short novel, a novella, really, Gigi is both humorous and sad. Sad to imagine that so many women really were taught that to make yourself as small and dainty as possible is the way to happiness with a man - but sometimes it’s such nonsense that it really is funny. I have to say, I started it THREE TIMES before I wanted to finish but now that I have, it’s actually a fast read. I think the age gap, the grooming to be a courtesan stuff, it just doesn’t feel super cozy to read about. So on the surface - clever and well-written - but underneath a bit unsettling.

Note I didn't read this whole book, only the first novella

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

 genre: speculative fiction

When the little brown boxes arrive one morning, no one in the world knows what they mean - only that every single human over the age of 22 has gotten one.  Inside those boxes?  Something that will be the key to knowing how long you will live.  And the world has no idea how to handle this information.

I was hesitant to start this but it was recommended by more than one friend so I went in rather blind and ended up really enjoying this story of interconnected characters who have to rebuild their lives in a society that now knows the length of a life.  There is crazy contention and division - and a beautiful and deep understanding of what makes a life worth living.  There was a lot to like - as well as a few things (especially in the storyline about two young men who apparently went to West Point but it only ever calls it "The Academy") that actually felt factually incorrect, but not every reader would notice or be annoyed.  I liked reading about people in this new reality figuring things out, making choices, showing up for each other - and for themselves.  The pacing of the worked well for me, even if it wasn't literarily ever particularly brilliant.  Four strong stars for an enjoyable read.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides (audiobook)

 genre: contemporary mystery

When Lana Farrar decides she needs to escape the London dreariness, she brings her friends with her for a weekend at her Greek island summer home.  As an ex-movie star, her Lana's friends are quirky creatures with secrets of their own and from the beginning of this tale, we know that one person doesn't leave that island alive.  What we don't know is who - or why.

I jumped on this as soon as I heard it was coming out because I'd enjoyed The Silent Patient so much.  This one wasn't as smooth or enjoyable of a read, unfortunately.  The narrative style was unique and I liked it to an extent, but all the back and forth and labyrinthine dead ends ended up feeling heavy and overdone.  It needed MORE linear plot, in my opinion.  There also wasn't one single likable character by the end of the book, which just left me feeling a bit flat.  Bottom line: I was interested enough to be engaged in the whole thing but it just really was lacking the sort of zing I want in a psychological thriller.

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

 genre: fictionalized memoir

In colonized Vietnam, a fifteen year old girl from a French family (whom we never know by name) finds her life utterly changed the day she meets the older Chinese man while on the ferry to school.  This part-reminiscent part-stream of consciousness look at the narrator's family and life explores not just this Lolita-like affair but also her struggles within her poor family and the racism and complicated relationships among the colonizers and the colonized.  

This is such a short book but it took me a lot longer to work my way through it than I'd anticipated.  I chose it because it was on a list of big award winners for French writers For one thing, it's not linear.  None of the main characters have names and even the narration switches between third and first person as our main character explores her painful memories.  There are some truly vivid scenes and images, both of her as a young person with a quirky nature and especially of Siagon and the lives of the French living in Indochina at the time.  The strange dreamlike quality of the "scenes" with the Chinese man aren't super open-door but they aren't non-descriptive either.  It's almost like she can't even look at what happened straight on.  What does really intrigue me is that the author says that it is based on her own experiences from pre-war Vietnam so I can really appreciate it as a look at a place and time that no longer exist in the same way.

Honestly, I can't say I loved it.  I can see the value of it from a literary point of view but it just didn't capture me.

content: super adult themed with sexual scenes

Above Ground by Clint Smith (audiobook)

genre: poetry

I still have goose-bumps, right now, from listening to the author read his collection of poetry. It has been a LONG time since I just listened to poetry and I forgot how I can be moved by it.  MOVED.  Clint's words lulled me and reminded me of the beautiful moments we can take for granted.  They made me feel nostalgic for times and places that aren't mine.  His way of making words create an image made me want to wrap my language around me like a giant quilt, so grateful for how a voice making sounds can tell me so much, even in the spaces.  From maternity wards to the shores of Louisiana, from deep inside the heart of a father to the face of stranger deserving of compassion, Clint Smith made me feel so deeply.

If you even think you might ever like to try poetry, try this.  Please.  I would put it in the hands of every language lover that is in my circle.  Highly recommended.