Elliott Turner's Blog - Posts Tagged "readrecs"
Four Great Books to Read
Marlena
This story is told by Marlena's best friend, who, as an adult living in NYC, recalls the years she (as a teen) lived in an economically depressed region of Michigan and became good friends with Marlena.
There's a wonderful sense of place - vivid details both about the area and the economic blight, and, sadly, the atmosphere of depression and rampant substance abuse. THere's alcohol. Crank. Doublewides. Bridge cards. And despair.
Marlena passed away tragically but not unexpectedly. The author and her brother and mother slowly climb out of poverty, but scars linger. Even as an adult, Marlena's friend grapples with addiction. Alcoholism is addressed in a very subtle yet powerful way.
Goodbye, Vitamin
This is a "restart button" type of bildungsroman. A 30 something woman has just had her engagement called off and realized her ex was/is cheating on her. To make matters worse, her dad is starting to suffer from Dementia.
She moves back in with her parents for a year to help take care of her father. The story is told in the first-person and each day gets an entry, but the pace is brisk and the focus is on her actions - not internal thoughts and feelings.
The ability to handle such heavy topics with a light touch and doses of humor was very impressive.
What We Lose
This is another first-person story about personal growth, but, here, the main character is half-South African "coloured" and half African-American. She grows up in Philadelphia and never really feels like she entirely belongs.
We see moments from her childhood, but the meat of the story is the sudden illness and death of her mother (she helps out as a caretaker) and then an unexpected pregnancy and unhappy marriage that needs to end.
The main character is very candid and frank about her feelings, so it's very easy to relate to her even if she makes a few questionable decisions and sometimes admits to a selfish urge now and then. There are also a few images and web page entries sprinkled about.
Sour Heart
This tome is a series of linked stories, and the common themes are family, growing up, and the "coming to America" aspects of being Chinese and immigrating to NYC.
Zhang writes very candidly about grade school and middle school experiences, usually in the first person. The lens is unflinching and the first two stories have some pretty gross scenes - children marvel at how their bodies are changing.
The dialogue is short, sparse, realistic, and often hysterical. The sense of personal growth and the most satisfying tale is the third one, about when an Uncle comes to visit the family from China for an extended period of time.
The family patterns feel a bit rote by the fourth story - manic mom, indifferent dad - but that serves to highlight a rewarding scene where the family finally goes on a road trip down South.
The last two stories - about visits from Grandma (who lives in China) and parents growing up in China during a time of great tumult - are stellar. The dialogue in the very last one is fantastic, along with the Eureka moment of personal growth for the protagonist.
This story is told by Marlena's best friend, who, as an adult living in NYC, recalls the years she (as a teen) lived in an economically depressed region of Michigan and became good friends with Marlena.
There's a wonderful sense of place - vivid details both about the area and the economic blight, and, sadly, the atmosphere of depression and rampant substance abuse. THere's alcohol. Crank. Doublewides. Bridge cards. And despair.
Marlena passed away tragically but not unexpectedly. The author and her brother and mother slowly climb out of poverty, but scars linger. Even as an adult, Marlena's friend grapples with addiction. Alcoholism is addressed in a very subtle yet powerful way.
Goodbye, Vitamin
This is a "restart button" type of bildungsroman. A 30 something woman has just had her engagement called off and realized her ex was/is cheating on her. To make matters worse, her dad is starting to suffer from Dementia.
She moves back in with her parents for a year to help take care of her father. The story is told in the first-person and each day gets an entry, but the pace is brisk and the focus is on her actions - not internal thoughts and feelings.
The ability to handle such heavy topics with a light touch and doses of humor was very impressive.
What We Lose
This is another first-person story about personal growth, but, here, the main character is half-South African "coloured" and half African-American. She grows up in Philadelphia and never really feels like she entirely belongs.
We see moments from her childhood, but the meat of the story is the sudden illness and death of her mother (she helps out as a caretaker) and then an unexpected pregnancy and unhappy marriage that needs to end.
The main character is very candid and frank about her feelings, so it's very easy to relate to her even if she makes a few questionable decisions and sometimes admits to a selfish urge now and then. There are also a few images and web page entries sprinkled about.
Sour Heart
This tome is a series of linked stories, and the common themes are family, growing up, and the "coming to America" aspects of being Chinese and immigrating to NYC.
Zhang writes very candidly about grade school and middle school experiences, usually in the first person. The lens is unflinching and the first two stories have some pretty gross scenes - children marvel at how their bodies are changing.
The dialogue is short, sparse, realistic, and often hysterical. The sense of personal growth and the most satisfying tale is the third one, about when an Uncle comes to visit the family from China for an extended period of time.
The family patterns feel a bit rote by the fourth story - manic mom, indifferent dad - but that serves to highlight a rewarding scene where the family finally goes on a road trip down South.
The last two stories - about visits from Grandma (who lives in China) and parents growing up in China during a time of great tumult - are stellar. The dialogue in the very last one is fantastic, along with the Eureka moment of personal growth for the protagonist.
