"It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it."
What I Liked
This novel was strikingly beautiful. I was fascinated by the glimpses of a culture I know almost nothing about (although I realize that this was not written by a Japanese person, I still learned more than what I knew before). I was deeply struck and pained by the idea of women living glamorous lives of celebrities while being essentially owned as slaves. Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the most compelling novels I have read in a long time.
What I Didn't Like
The introduction bothers me. It is written as if by a pretend translator to provide a false sense of authenticity to Sayuri's story. In fact, the book is historical fiction about a Japanese woman written by an American man, Arthur Golden. Writing is to go beyond oneself, so I do not mind Arthur Golden's being the author. But the efforts to make sure it seemed as if Memoirs of a Geisha was a real memoir bothered me. Every reader needs to take this book for what it is: historical fiction, and realize that it will take more than a Western novel to truly understand another culture. Four stars.
Looking for Alaska by John Green"Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young."
What I Liked
I adored Alaska as a character. While I didn't necessarily love the girl who introduced Pudge to breaking practically every rule that existed at his boarding school, I did like the spontaneous, insane fireball that was Alaska's personality. As a flawed character, Alaska is brilliant.
What I Didn't Like
There is a huge part of me that is disturbed when YA writers feel this need to paint teenagers as deviants (that makes me sound so old, but I'm only 21, okay?). Smoking, premarital sex, drinking, and even minor drug use are painted as quirky and a normal part of the young adult experience. I totally disagree that substance abuse is necessary for a "coming of age" tale. This is the biggest thing that would make me hesitate to share this novel with a young adult.
Sometimes I feel like John Green's characters are a little too adorably quirky. Cute nicknames, constantly quoting poetry and famous last words, memorizing the capitals and populations of countries for the fun of it. (This is something that also bothered me about The Fault in Our Stars). I enjoy reading about quirky characters; I'm a pretty weird person myself. But sometimes it feels like Green pours all of these bizarre habits into his characters in a way that they become these incredibly intellectual, almost alien teenagers that happen to have insane and "normal" vices of sex, cigarettes, and booze. Three stars.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
"Come adventure with
Dorothy and her three friends: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the
Cowardly Lion, as they follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City
for an audience with the Great Oz, the mightiest Wizard in the land, and
the only one that can return Dorothy to her home in Kansas."This book was a cherished part of my childhood. Its characters are memorable: the cowardly lion, the "heartless" tin man, and the scarecrow without a brain. Little Dorothy is such a sweet protagonist with the pure and sincere heart of a young child. My favorite part of the story is the ruse behind the Emerald City. Baum has weaved together a children's story that will be remembered throughout history. Five stars.
"Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror."
This is probably the most disturbing children's book I've ever read. I had a twisted mind as a child (I still do), and I think I would have loved Coraline's tale of the dark world behind the mirror. Gaiman's mind is a fascinating place.
Despite all of the creepy, insanely dark storytelling, there were messages that every child needs to learn about bravery, family, and growing up. Four stars.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
"Lush descriptions of the rolling Nebraska grasslands interweave with the blossoming of a woman in the early days of the twentieth century, in an epic novel that chronicles America's past."
What I Liked
Willa Cather is a beautiful writer. She paints the American countryside with so much powerful imagery and nostalgia that I cannot help but feel like I miss the farmlands in Nebraska, even though I've never been there. Her characters are rich and deep. Cather does an excellent job of exposing the difficult lives of immigrants during this time period. The hired girls face so much stigma and even sexual assaults in order to provide for their struggling families.
What I Didn't Like
There wasn't much of a plot to this novel. It's a story within a story; in the introduction, Jim gives his writings about Antonia to a friend. This creates a novel that is a fairly nonlinear collection of Jim's life and encounters with Antonia. Three stars.
What are you reading?
I read for class: My Antonia
I read for fun: Memoirs of a Geisha, Looking for Alaska, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Coraline
I recommend: Memoirs of a Geisha, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Coraline
Three years ago: Julie's Story
Four years ago: Pray over someone you know.
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