Katy’s Comments (group member since Aug 04, 2010)

Katy’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.8 Texas Independence

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

This was a hard book to read but also, I think, a beautifully written one. Hard because the grittiness of the crime, and the grimness of the everyday racism alongside the larger acts of racism in the town are so suffocating in the novel. Beautiful because of Locke's writing which manages to have humor and style to lift up the grittiness. Some of the lines I loved: "It was right on the line between a good time and a bad idea." and "She was no taller than a middle schooler, but she was dressed like an elderly man who just discovered the concept of gender fluidity." A while back we had a task about a "sense of place" and this book has that in spades - the East Texas landscape and culture comes to life so strongly, from the food to the dust on the road, that I feel like I've been there.

+20 task (author born in Houston TX)
+10 combo (20.3 - set in tiny East Texas town of Lark, 20.9 - "He was having a little sliver of pound cake soaked in Dr Pepper" - ch 26)
+10 review

Task Total: 40
Season Total: 580

20.9 Birthdays

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

The last Maisie Dobbs until the author writes some more! Sob! I really have enjoyed this series. (I listened to them on audio and also really enjoyed the narrator). Here we are in the thick of WWII and the female ferry pilots who got planes from one base to another during the war are involved. Meanwhile, Eleanor Roosevelt is visiting the UK and in danger. I continue to learn a lot from this series about the way that WWII (which now, I think, feels like an "obvious" war - of course that war needed to be fought, of course the United States should have gotten in, etc) was not so "obvious" to everyone at the time - there were fascists in the US and UK who would have supported Hitler, and while I knew that intellectually, having it brought to life in fiction was both chilling and interesting.

+20 task ("I made a cake for you - it's a special cake" - ch 18)
+5 combo (20.7)
+10 review

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 540

10.8 Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished (Anika's Task)

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

I really ended up enjoying this book. The premise is that on her 19th birthday (which is also New Years), Oona doesn't turn 19 - instead, she wakes up in 2015, internally 19 but externally 51. And her whole life is like this -- each birthday she stays internally at her correct age but leaps to a new year of her life. At first, I found it kind of too twisty - I had a hard time getting a handle on how old she was, who she would or wouldn't know, what was happening. Finally, I had to decide to just accept it and keep reading (much like Oona had to do with her life!) and I enjoyed it much more that way. I ended up feeling like the book had some really interesting things to say about the ways that we all feel a complicated mix of loss, regret, nostalgia, joy when we look back on our pasts, and yet if we were able to revisit the past, would it be so great? Oona's struggle to stay in the present and find joy, no matter her circumstances, are just a heightened version of what we all deal with.

+10 Task
+10 review
+10 combo (20.7 - born in Ukraine, raised in Brooklyn, 20.9 - many birthdays throughout the book, all with cake!)

Task total: 30
Season Total: 505

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Based on Katy's review and Joanna's comment above, I saw a copy at the Friends of the Library book sale this morning and brought it home."

Enjoy! I am eager to read the follow-up book that just came out by him. I'm glad he was a good speaker, too - it always makes me kind of happy when authors I like also seem like interesting/warm/good people!

20.7 The Brief Wondrous Life

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

I adored this book. I loved the main character, Jende, and many of the supporting cast. I loved the combination of confident, well-written storytelling with thought-provoking ideas. The storyline here is that Jende, an immigrant from Cameroon living in NYC with his wife Neni and their son, gets a job as a driver for a Lehman Brothers executive, just before the fall of Lehman and the economic collapse in 2008. Through Jende's eyes, we see the world of the very, very rich and then the events of the financial collapse - as well as how they play out in the lives of the different characters. I wouldn't say it's a happy book but it's a powerful read with characters whose lives led me to feel hopeful despite not necessarily having all happy endings. Highly recommended!

+20 task (Mbue immigrated from Cameroon to the US)
+5 combo (20.9 - "Neni made chin-chin and cake, too, using the cake recipe she'd relied on in Limbe" - ch 37)
+10 review
+10 Non-Western

Task Total: 45
Season Total: 475

10.9 Dual

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

This, like Stephanie Wrobel's other book, Darling Rose Gold, was a deeply weird and disturbing book. Kit and Natalie are sisters - Kit has joined what is basically a cult devoted to fearlessness - overcoming obstacles and pain to live better lives. The retreat/cult has folks who come and enjoy a nice retreat from the world, and then folks who go deeper, like Kit. Natalie, living a busy corporate life, gets an email that draws her to join Kit at the retreat center in an isolated area. From there, without spoiling anything, I can say that things get very, very weird.

The dual timelines in this book actually made it a little difficult at first - I had to read very carefully to understand, but despite that I think the work paid off. The characters were not necessarily very sympathetic, any of them, but they were fascinating and well-drawn. If you like very twisted storylines, Wrobel's work is well worth checking out.

+10 task (3 narrators, 2 of whose timelines are contemporary and 1 who starts 40 or so years before the other storyline)
+5 combo (20.9 - "The cake was covered with lumpy yellow frosting - my favorite color.")
+10 review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 430

20.2 Prize

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

This is definitely a book I have had on my to-read list for a while and this task gave me the nudge. Definitely glad I did! Nguyen's writing is smooth and engaging with some humor, even in grim parts. The story follows a double agent for North Vietnam as he flees Saigon with his employer, on orders to continue relaying information from the U.S. as to the activities of the South Vietnamese forces-in-exile. The book really brought to life some of the complexity and also horror of the Vietnam War itself, the succeeding years in Vietnam, and the response of Americans to the war and to the Vietnamese people around them. A lot to think about and a lot to enjoy as a reader.

+20 task (2016 prize for fiction)
+15 combo (10.4, 20.7 - Vietnam to USA, 20.9 - "a welcome party replete with barbecue, beer, burgers, Heinz ketchup, and a sheet cake big enough to sleep on" - ch 9)
+10 review

Task Total: 45
Season Total: 405

Quick points note/question -
I had posted books from Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series in posts 60, 284, 453, and 454 -- and only just discovered that she qualifies for 20.7! Could I add those 20 combo points, bringing my total to 360?
Thanks!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Katy wrote: "Owlette wrote: "Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs series, was born in the UK and resides in the US per GR bio and other sources."

OMG! How did I miss this?..."

Yes indeed, it's 4 - I have a 5th I'm just finishing! Thank you for adding combos -- I am just kicking myself that I somehow missed it! :)

Owlette wrote: "Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs series, was born in the UK and resides in the US per GR bio and other sources."

OMG! How did I miss this??? :). I've read 5 of her books this season and it never occurred to me!

15.6 Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan (and some Uzbekistan)

Restless Valley: Revolution, Murder, and Intrigue in the Heart of Central Asia by Philip Shishkin

What a fascinating nonfiction glimpse into a country I was unsure how to pronounce, much less anything about its history! This book covers recent history in Kyrgyzstan with some forays into Uzbekistan. My biggest takeaway is that it is quite a mess. There have been numerous political upheavals, presidents forced to flee, overhauls of corrupt regimes only to have the new regime turn corrupt as well. Much of the drama seems to stem from a combination of a lot of money and therefore players with a vested interest in keeping things a bit unstable, and the way that the former Soviet republics were carved up, dividing ethnic groups among nations (sometimes intentionally, it seems, to weaken power). And of course, the US is involved - we have a military installation there that is important for transit to Afghanistan, so there's even more money and power and influence involved. It's a fascinating story and perhaps would be interesting to visit - but I suspect I wouldn't want to live there.

+20 Task (set about 75% in Kyrgyzstan with a chapter or two in Uzbekistan)
+10 Review
+20 Project Bonus

Task total: 50
Season Total: 345

15.7 East Asia
Japan

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

For a book with as many murders as this one contained, it was pretty funny. I really enjoyed Isaka's style and dry humor, as well as the inventive, almost madcap plot. The story starts (and basically finishes) aboard a bullet train from Tokyo, where several sets of professional assassins and other bad guys are onboard for different reasons. One for revenge, one luring another, one to steal a suitcase, another duo to deliver the suitcase. I think there are a few more floating around too! Naturally, many of these missions connect and pit one against the other, and along the way there's a lot of humor, philosophizing, and revelations about the range of professional killers roaming Japan (the book seems to suggest that the country is just teeming with creative hitmen!). Highly recommend this if you like mysteries or even if you just enjoy literary humor and don't object to some murder.

+15 task
+10 review
+10 Non-Western (Japanese author)

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 295

20.9 Birthdays

The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear

Second to last book in the series (for now) - I'm pre-sad! The crime for Maisie to solve in this one was a bit unusual. A young boy who works as an errand runner for the government witnesses a murder, and then sees the murderer - it's the person he's delivering a message to! No one believes him (or wants to believe him) except Maisie, who presses the issue while at the same time working for the government evaluating candidates for clandestine work. There's quite a bit of anger at Maisie's persistence, and various interpersonal dramas. Much of it stems from the relationship between the British forces and the free French, still fighting for their land. Meanwhile Maisie is developing a romantic relationship, parenting, and figuring out where her work will fit into her increasingly busy life. One thing that made me laugh a bit was the intense foreshadowing of Pearl Harbor - many events were scheduled for December 7 or 8, 1941, and the dates were mentioned repeatedly. Made me smile :)

+20 task ("Thank you. Echols cakes are my favorite!" - ch 3)
+10 review

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 260

20.9 Birthdays

The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear

In this installment of Maisie Dobb's story, the London Blitz is underway and a female, American reporter is murdered while in London reporting on the war. An American Maisie has worked with before requests her help solving the case. Of course, Maisie realizes she has a connection with the dead woman - she had just been riding along with Maisie and her best friend, reporting on their work driving ambulances. Maisie is also continuing to try to care for and ultimately adopt Anna, the orphaned evacuee placed with her. The most interesting historical aspects of this to me was how calculated the effort to engage America in the war was - I knew the US didn't get involved until Pearl Harbor, but didn't know it was such a huge debate, on both sides of the Atlantic. Another good installment of a solid series!

+20 task ("I don't have the good cakes every day!" - ch. 11)
+5 combo (10.2)
+10 review

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 230

10.10 Group Reads

Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins
YA no Lexile

Ed, thank you for this recommendation - what a beautiful book!

+10 task

Task Total: 10
Season Total: 175

20.9 Birthdays

In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear

I am moving, as Maisie Dobbs would say, "at speed" through this series and am already sad about running out, which will happen pretty soon. I've listened to all of these on audio and the narrator's voice is pretty constant in my mind! This installment of Maisie's story starts on Sept 3, 1939, as Britain declares war on Nazi Germany. The looming war dominates the story, as Maisie also takes on a new case investigating some murdered Belgian refugees from the previous war. One of the things I enjoy about these books is the perspective I get on different small bits of history. Here, for instance, I had never really known about the impact of WWI on Belgium in particular, and the volume of refugees. It's also interesting to think about the way that war can be declared, everyone worries and frets and young men are starting to enlist, but nothing actually happens immediately - there's sort of a waiting game. (I also appreciate, this season, the fact that Maisie appears to be a fan of cake!)

+20 task (Ch 9 - "Another plate bearing two cakes was placed on the table...she cut a small wedge from her cake and finished it in one bite.")
+10 review

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 165

20.7 Brief Wondrous Life

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian
shelved as YA, no Lexile score

+20 task (Nazemian moved to the US from Iran)

Task Total: 20
Season total: 135

20.4 The Reivers

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

This is a magnificent book, I think, though not necessarily a page turner. I enjoyed every part of it but did find that I could leave it and come back without an issue. The story spans 3 sections, each separated by a few years in Harlem in the 1960s. It really did feel like when I returned to the book, I was returning to people and places I knew. The story follows Ray Carney, son of a well-known crook, who now owns a furniture store but also fences stolen goods on the side. His cousin Freddy embroils him in a heist in part one, and the repercussions of that for both men, both good and bad, unroll throughout the book. It's a unique story, well-told, and the setting is fascinating. Living in NYC myself, I love reading about places that feel familiar to me and picturing what the streets would have looked and sounded like at a defining moment in history.

+10 task (all about heists, theft)
+10 review

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 115

20.3 Our Town

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

This book fits this task possibly too well - there are only 10-12 people living in this small town in Iceland, Skalar, during this book. In 1986, Una answers an ad to be a teacher in this tiny town - she will teach only 2 students. And of course being a tiny, remote town in Iceland, the winter is oppressive - as are many of the residents, who don't appreciate outsiders. There are maybe ghosts, and definitely some frightening real-life folks. I enjoyed this one - this reminded me of tasks we've had before about a "sense of place" - that term describes this very well. The storyline is engaging but the most noticeable element is the way the descriptions of the place bear down on the reader and make you feel almost as trapped and oppressed as Una herself. Setting the book in 1986 helps - I don't know if cell service currently would reach that far, but the fact that Una is so isolated and cut off only adds to the story.

+10 task (10-12 people live in the town)
+10 review

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 95

10.4 Name

Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

Whew, this was a strange one. I enjoyed it, but it was an odd read, and not necessarily a favorite. The premise is 2 university students studying abroad in Berlin, who rent the apartment of a well-known author for the semester. They come to believe she is stalking them and writing about them. Meanwhile, there are love affairs, tons of drugs, wild parties, weird roommate tensions, haunting memories, and not a whole lot of school. I kind of wish the story had been more about the maybe-stalking author, or the roommate tensions, or the backstory-following-you-to-Europe thing - all at once was a little jarring. I've heard the book described as "vaguely hallucinogenic" and I think that's about right.

+10 task
+10 review

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 75