Unfortunately, my books per month has decreased lately. It was a slow reading month, and I also picked up a couple of other hobbies.
I got really tired of reading white problems in suburban or country lives. While they’re entirely purposeful in their own right, I found the tone of problems to be a little repetitive. Here are a couple of sentences on the books:
- Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas
These are the stories of our locals in the fictional small Welsh community of Milk Wood, told through dreams, eavesdropped conversations and their personal, intimate thoughts. A sweet afternoon read on a Sunday to be accompanied with tea and chocolate hazelnut cookies; it feels Roald Dahl but with the messiness of adults that keeps it from floating away.Actually, I also thought it was a little hard to follow just by reading. It’s a BBC radio play, as I found out so you can click on the spotify link to listen to the recording instead. I wish I knew before finishing it, so I will probably read this again alongside the recording this year. - The God Boy, by Ian Cross
This book is what happens when children are left to form their own conclusions, and to manage their own upbringing, when the adults are too dysfunctional to do it for them. Jimmy Sullivan is the intelligent 11-13 year old boy that suffers the slow, painful death of his parents’ marriage, which in turn affects his relationship with his Christian God.The world abandons him and none of them (including Jimmy) truly recognise that they have done so until very late, because a child can’t express it and their issues are taken for granted. Written through Jimmy’s perspective, the writing is impeccable. It winds around like a child’s but without ever becoming too tiresome to read.Jimmy is not an unreliable narrator, just a young one, and that’s both clear and heartbreaking through the narration of this story.
- Marry Me, by John Updike
I’ve read yet another book on marriage. I wanted to avoid that but not as much as I wanted to experience John Updike. Plainly, Jerry and Sally are having an affair, while being married to other people. Jerry’s wife Ruth finds out by the second chapter, so what this book is not about anticipation or excitement, but the winding dread that wraps around you, when you’re clamouring for resolve for an extremely messy situation. Richard, Sally’s husband, is the last to find out.Reading this, you’re going to have more insight into Jerry and Ruth’s marriage than other couple’s, maybe because he is the weakest link in every situation? Jerry and Sally were disgusting, annoying, pathetic and the unravelling of this affair through the summer is the train-wreck that you hate to watch but need to understand how it is resolved (and why that way). - Shred Sisters, Betsy Lerner
Amy and Olivia are two sisters who are vastly different from each other, and treated so by their parents, growing up. Olivia is more of a wild child, hence, the one who draws more attention and Amy is the studious, well-behaved younger sister that never seems to be enough for her parents. Even though the girls couldn’t be more different, they maintain a close bond until Amy is able to form her own life as an adult.Olivia disappears in and out of the family’s lives over the years, which has also changed drastically, partially caused by the stress of having Olivia in their lives in her growing years.I thought it was well-written but I’m sorry to say I don’t remember much of this book. I wouldn’t actively recommend it, but I wouldn’t say that one shouldn’t read it?
- The Invisibility Cloak, by Ge Fei
A middle-aged Chinese audiophile/technician in a rut with a deadline, or risk homelessness. He takes a mysterious and risky but potentially well-paying project, with no guarantee where he will be by the new year. I saved a lot of classical music albums mentioned in this book.My personal reflection begins here. It was funny, concise, sharp, likeable and a very enjoyable read. This is a man who lives as he is able to, and couldn’t be made to stand more pressure than he realises he is made for. Being one who does not seek to squabble over claims with others, he tends to be taken advantage of. However, he is neither shielded from the harsh realities of life nor crippled by it. He resonates an gentle astuteness and honesty, with surprisingly witty observations on conversations that snobby society finds him largely unqualified to enter.This part of the book highlighted a dilemma that most people avoid verbalizing: leaders and academia are often totally out of touch with the real people and communities of the majority middle and working class. Invisibly, he works in the home of upper class clients and listens to their complaints about greater societal problems, which are often cloaked in high-brow, inaccessible vocabulary. But instead of sounding impressive, this parade of misery in empty words is like a badge worn by those who congratulate themselves on being more knowledgeable and aware that the true state of life is depressing. This being so, misery is the natural conclusion of a more ‘correct’ and ‘elevated’ state of mind. Our main character doesn’t challenge their opinions (even in his the privacy of his own thoughts), but it is strikingly clear that for all the good that may come out of such deliberations, these larger thematic questions can’t help him solve his immediate issues, like potentially becoming homeless in the coming month.
What I loved about this book was its characteristic of never over-explaining, being beautifully concise. The short narration with this man on his journey was so pleasing because his thoughts are funny and honest without overbearing self-pity that I genuinely enjoyed being in his company. I also thought it ended in a thoughtful way.
Helped me get out of my reading slump.
- Mourning a Breast, by Xi Xi
I figured that I was enjoying Chinese writers so much, I’d try reading this book by Xi Xi. It is an autobiography of the author’s experience with breast cancer, a topic at the time of writing that was largely unspoken of in Chinese society. It is also actually a collection of writing where we see her approach the topic in multiple ways, as a form of relating to the changing relationship with her body. But it is also presented in these different ways to encourage the reader’s assessment of their own relationship to health and body, spreading more awareness and destigmatisation of cancer for both men and women.I liked it but I didn’t actually finish it, because it is the same topic approached in different ways. It’d probably be easier to digest/more impactful if I took one story at a time and actively engaged with it, rather than finishing it just for the sake of it.