Book Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post
21 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: christian fundamentalism, coming of age, conversion therapy, de-gaying camp, fiction, gay teens, lesbian, LGBT, montana
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
“It was guys and girls who kissed–in our grade, on TV, in the movies, in the world; and that’s how it worked: guys and girls. Anything else was something weird.”
I first heard about this book after reading an interview with author Emily Danforth on Slate.com, and decided right away that I needed to read it. What I got was a beautifully written and inspiring coming-of-age story, set during the early 1990s against the backdrop of the socially conservative American midwest.
When we first meet Cameron, she is twelve years old and just lost both her parents to a car crash. What no one knows is that just hours before the crash, Cameron had been kissing her best friend Irene. Slowly she struggles to come to terms with her parents’ death, a part of her wondering what her parents would have thought if they had lived to find out that she had kissed a girl.
A few years later, Cameron is living in rural Montana with her religious aunt. She has had a few more experiences with girls, but is still questioning her orientation and therefore keeps her feelings to herself. Not ready to be ”out and proud,” she goes on a few dates with a boy from her school, but soon finds herself overwhelmed with feelings for her new friend Coley. Though at first Coley insists that she is not “that way,” she and Cameron quickly begin an intense (but still awkward) relationship. But things change drastically for Cameron when her aunt discovers her “sin” and sends her to Promise, a Christian boarding school whose agenda is curing teens of homosexuality.
What I loved most about this book was that even though the protagonist is a gay teen, this is still a relatable coming-of-age story. Cameron experiences all the same uncertainty, self-doubt, and peer pressure that any other teen experiences. She really isn’t so much a pioneer for gay rights as a teenager who just wants the freedom to be herself. And I think that’s something that anyone, gay or straight, can relate to. Cameron is still a wonderful character. Smart, funny, mischievous, and at times very poignant:
“At Word of Life I felt like a big, shiny, obvious goldfish, a goldfish well known to have homosexual tendencies, so basically a big, gay goldfish in a tank with eighteen other such goldfish, wheeled in and parked in a pew for two hours, much to the delight of the crowd.”
This book received some criticism for not portraying the teachers and counselors at Promise in a more negative way. However misguided their beliefs are, they are not the snarling, abusive beasts we expect them to be. But subtle as it is, the book is still very critical of conversion therapy. One chapter in particular is graphic enough to show how dangerous this therapy really is. The overall message is clear: you cannot pray the gay away.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a beautiful story. Danforth’s portrayal of the teenage experience is authentic, and Cameron’s story is one you won’t soon forget. I would recommend this book to anyone because it’s more than an LGBT story, it’s a human story.
Early Review: Flatscreen
17 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: fiction, coming of age, man-child, prolonged adolescence, failure to launch, stoner, loser
Flatscreen by Adam Wilson (pub date 2/21/12)
I can usually relate to books with protagonists who find themselves disenchanted with the reality of their lives. It’s a common theme in today’s media, as the Y2K generation is now turning thirty and realizing that the so-called “American Dream” is a lot harder to achieve than they were told. The bitter disappointment of life can make for a very powerful story. Unfortunately, this book is neither powerful nor poignant.
Flatscreen tries to put a new spin on the typical “loveable loser finally turns his life around” story. Eli Schwartz is a twenty-year-old kid who never went to college and lives in his mother’s basement. He has no job, no propects, and no drivers license. He spends his time alienating anyone who tries to help him, doing drugs with his friends and stumbling into random sexual encounters. Eli’s comfortable existence is shaken when his mother decides to sell her house. Strangely enough, he becomes friendly with the buyer of his house, Seymour Kahn, who is basically an older and slightly more depraved version of Eli.
Despite my best efforts, I found this book grossly disappointing. What I thought was going to be a humorous insight into the “failure to launch” phenomenon was instead a meandering story told by an intensely unlikeable character. Eli is a spoiled rich kid who has yet to get over his parents’ divorce and refuses to take any responsibility for his life. His feeble attempts to redeem himself at the end of the book were not enough to make me like him or the story. Furthermore, I found the writing style distracting and rather annoying. Wilson’s constant use of sentence fragments and stream-of-consciousness style were often difficult to follow. It’s a style that works for Chuck Palahniuk because Chuck Palahniuk is brilliant. It doesn’t work in this book.
I was really looking forward to reading this book when I downloaded it from NetGalley. Maybe I should have been warned by the letter of praise from Wilson’s editor that was attached to the advance copy. Some may enjoy this book, but I found it unoriginal and overall pretty dull.
Early Review: The Quiet Twin
09 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: austria, eugenics, fiction, historical fiction, motley characters, nazi, physical disfigurement, unsolved murders, world war II
The Quiet Twin by Dan Vyleta (pub date 2/14/12)
I can always count on Bloomsbury to deliver outstanding literary fiction. Their books, including last summer’s release Salvage the Bones for example, always contain powerful stories that really make you think. And The Quiet Twin is no exception.
This book’s plot revolves around the lives of the denizens of a working-class apartment building in Nazi-era Austria. Anton Beer is a reserved and respected doctor who operates an office inside his apartment. Professor Speckstein lives with his housekeeper and his teenage, hypochondriac niece Zuska. Anneliese is a ten-year-old girl suffering from a physical disfigurement and living with her alcoholic father. And then there’s Otto Frei, a secretive man who works nights performing a mime act in a burlesque house. Yuu is a Japanese expatriate who is more clever than people assume. Finally, the building’s janitor sees and hears everyone’s secrets.
A series of strange events links these motley characters together. It starts when someone kills the Professor’s dog, one of several unsolved murders in the area. Then the young Zuzka and Anneliese discover the secret that Otto has been keeping in his apartment, a secret that Otto is desperate to conceal. The book’s principal theme is that appearances are deceiving. Each of the character’s facades is broken down throughout the course of the novel, finally revealing the truth at the end.
The Quiet Twin is the stuff of a Hollywood Oscar contender: a bitter drama with conflicted characters. I could almost feel the desperation and fear and smell the crumbling walls of the apartment building as I read this book. Vyleta’s writing style is sparse but effective, and his story is disturbing because it draws its inspiration from reality. The horrors of the Nazi regime (particularly its eugenics projects) serve as the backdrop for this story.
If you enjoy historical fiction, this is one book you won’t soon forget.
Early Review: Obedience
30 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: convent, fiction, forbidden love, france, nazis, nuns, secret affair, world war II
Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop (pub date 1/31/12)
It’s difficult to think of the clergy, especially nuns, as being regular people. Because they have chosen a life of service to God, society expects them to be better than the rest of us, perfect, never tempted to do wrong. Here is a novel that turns that idea upside down, and presents a disturbing story of forbidden love and betrayal.
Primarily set in World War II era France, Obedience is the story of a nun, Sister Bernard, who falls in love with a Nazi soldier. This romance quickly becomes the defining moment of the young nun’s life, as it leads her to betray her religious vows and her country. The story alternates between this time period and the present day, in which Sister Bernard, now in her nineties, is sent to live in a rest home after her convent closes. Turned out into the world for the first time in sixty years, she is forced to confront the consequences of her actions during the war, and struggles to deal with the guilt.
This is an unsettling story, filled with contradiction. Sister Bernard has sworn a vow of obedience to God, yet allows herself to become blindly obedient to her German lover, refusing to see the evil that the Nazis stand for. The book also explores Sister Bernard’s personal relationship with God. She once believed that she literally heard God speaking to her, and to her it seemed as if she was constantly unworthy of God’s approval:
“He thinks nothing is right. I can’t please Him.”
But is it God who disapproves of Sister Bernard’s actions, or she herself who subconsciously thinks herself unworthy of love? Jacqueline Yallop’s subtle, matter-of-fact writing style allows the audience to decide that for themselves.
What was interesting for me was that while I found Sister Bernard to be a disagreeable and frustrating character (frustrating because even after everything that has happened as a result of her misdeeds, she still thinks of her Nazi lover with fondness and nostalgia), I found the story to be rich and thought-provoking. It took me a little while to put aside my displeasure for the protagonist’s actions and allow myself to consider her perspective. It takes a good author to give an audience such a morally confused character and still write a story that is at times touching.
Obedience will surprise you, maybe even shock and anger you. You will feel for Sister Bernard, yet still hate her at times. But give this book a chance, because you won’t soon forget it.
Book Review: 1Q84
25 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: alternate realities, cults, fiction, japan, metaphysics, science fiction, sex
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (pub date 10/25/11)
I have never read Murakami until now, and I read somewhere that if you’re going to get into his writing, this is not the book to start with. Oops. It certainly seems that this is a divisive book. People either love it or hate it, and even some of Murakami’s diehard fans were disappointed with it, as was The New York Times.
This definitely has to be one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. I joked that it should have been called “WTF84.” Clearly, it isn’t for everyone. But if you have the patience and the imagination to stick with it, you may find it as peculiarly endearing as I did.
The plot of 1Q84 is almost impossible to describe concisely. It’s a metaphysical science fiction story with crime, sex, and romance thrown in. The title refers to an alternate reality set in the year 1984, and is a play on words; the words for ‘nine’ and ‘Q’ are homophones in the Japanese language. The two main characters are Aomame, a fitness instructor and part-time assassin, and Tengo, a math teacher and aspiring author. Gradually they come to believe that they have been transported to an alternate world, and end up in a strange plot involving a religious cult, a teenage writer, weird sex, murder, a sky with two moons, and a malevolent force referred to as “the Little People.”
It’s weird. Really weird. And my summary doesn’t do it justice. But as it says in the book, if you can’t understand it without an explanation, you can’t understand it with an explanation. It’s a book that has to be experienced to be understood. And if you look past the weirdness, you can see some very simple themes emerge in the writing, and that is what makes this book so interesting. Underneath the convoluted plot are themes of love, longing, and free will versus fate.
One common critique of 1Q84 is that it’s repetitive, that the characters say the same thing over and over. While it’s true that some lines are often repeated by different characters, I wouldn’t go so far as to call the book repetitious. What some call repetition I call variations on a theme. The book shows how each of the major characters reacts to the same strange events. Each character makes his or her own discovery in a different way.
At over nine hundred pages, this book requires some commitment to get through. But it’s incredibly imaginative, amazingly detailed, and quite a mental workout. It’s heavy on exposition and backstory, but the slow-building drama is worth it in the end. Again I’ll say that this book isn’t for everyone. But if you’re tired of quick and easy reads and are looking for something different, 1Q84 is about as different as literature can get.
Book Review: Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea
20 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in New Release Reviews Tags: coming of age, fiction, mother daughter relationship, new england
Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers (pub date 1/19/12)
This is a book about the meaning of the mother-daughter relationship, and the devastation felt when that relationship is lost. Set in beautiful coastal Maine during the 1960s, Red Ruby Heart is both a coming-of-age story and a story about the strength of the human spirit.
Twelve-year-old Florine has lived a pretty sheltered life in her rural Maine town. She has two loving parents, a doting grandmother, and a spirited best friend. The most drama she experienced in her young life so far was when she and her friends got into trouble for accidentally starting a fire at a neighbor’s summer home. Then things in Florine’s life begin to go wrong when her mother goes on a weekend getaway with a friend and fails to return. Her mother’s absense begins to affect her family in different ways, and Florine experiences a storm of emotions. She rages against the mother whom she sees as having abandoned her, yet is still pained by her love for her.
Red Ruby Heart is both tragic and uplifting. It’s the story of a girl forced to grow up early, set in a time period when a generation of women were growing up and reclaiming their independence. We are sad to see Florine enter into womanhood without her mother’s guidance, but feel her happiness and pain as she struggles to reclaim her identity without defining herself by her relationship with her mother. Rogers manages to capture the wide range of feelings that teenage girls experience (the joy, the heartbreak, the uncertainty) and creates a dynamic character that readers can sympathize with. The book concludes with a bittersweet ending that is both fitting and memorable.
There are a lot of coming-of-age stories out there, but this is one of the good ones. Though it will likely be classified as “chick lit,” I think this is a story that men and women can equally enjoy.
Early Review: The Ruins of Us
15 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: fiction, islam, marriage, muslims, polygamy, saudi arabia
The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen (pub date 1/17/12)
What would you be willing to do to marry someone from another culture? Imagine changing your religion, learning a new language, and moving to another continent to be with the person you love.
The Ruins of Us is about a woman who has done just that. Rosalie is a beautiful American, born in Texas, who is married to a sheik named Abdullah. Rosalie left her life behind to live with Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, and quickly adapted to Saudi culture. She converted to Islam, learned Arabic, and dressed and acted as was expected of the women in Abdullah’s country. Together they raised two children, and enjoy the life of luxury that Abdullah’s wealth has provided. But Rosalie’s illusions of a happy life are quickly shattered when she inadvertently learns that Abdullah has taken a second wife, and had been keeping his other marriage a secret for two years.
Shaken and angry, Rosalie starts to reconsider her life with Abdullah and her place in Saudi culture. What is interesting about the book is that it also considers Abdullah’s perspective on the marriage. He is shown as a man who cares deeply for his wife, yet finds himself yearning for the person she was before they were married. It is an interesting paradox to think that he fell in love with Rosalie because she was not like Saudi women, while knowing deep down that she would have to adapt to Saudi culture in order to be accepted by his family, and later resenting her for it.
The turmoil in Rosalie and Abdullah’s marriage makes them too preoccupied to see its effects on their teenage children. Their daughter Mariam years to be a more modern woman, and begins pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior for girls at her school. Their son Faisal takes the opposite approach; he falls in with a group of radical Muslim fundamentalists, and comes to hate his own American heritage.
This is a powerful debut novel. The characters are bold and dynamic. It is interesting to contemplate Rosalie’s character, a woman who prides herself on her independence and spirit, yet who chose to live in a country where she is not legally permitted to drive a car. Abdullah is not entirely unsympathetic; he loves his wife but is conflicted by what is acceptable in his culture and how it affects his marriage. This is a story about love and loyalty that is both well written and engaging. It’s a relevant and entertaining read from a great new author!
Early Review: Taft 2012
10 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: 2012 election, fiction, politics, tafties
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller (pub date 1/17/12)
Quirk Books lives up to its name in this debut novel by Jason Heller! Taft 2012 is a “Rip Van Winkle” story of epic proportions, as big as the protagonist himself, William Howard Taft. (Sorry, I had to get at least one weight joke in there).
As the title suggests, Taft 2012 offers a what-if scenario in which former president Taft mysteriously disappears in 1912 after losing his re-election campaign (he actually died in 1930) and awakens in the present day. Confused to say the least, Taft finds himself having to catch up on a century’s worth of change and progress. His reappearance causes such a stir among the American people that he is quickly asked to run for President as a third-party candidate.
An absurd concept, yes, but this book surprised me. Most readers would likely assume that a man who lived a hundred years ago would be horrified at the current state of America. But the modern Taft embraces his new country and is accepting of the many social changes that have occurred since his time. Heller obviously did his homework on Taft’s politics, and he presents the new Taft much as he was when he was in office: fiscally conservative yet socially progressive, a moderate who followed the letter of the law. What Taft does not support is lying and back-stabbing; and unfortunately he sees as much of that in today’s politics as he did in 1912 politics.
Though a fast read, this is an interesting book with a wildly original story. Overall, it’s a fun and uplifting book. And I have to give credit to the author for suggesting that perhaps what America needs is not another Republican or Democrat, but something different altogether. The ideals expressed are so refreshing that if the real Taft did indeed come back, I’d probably vote for him too.
Neverwhere: A Blast From the Past
05 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in Backlist Reviews Tags: fantasy, fiction, london, science fiction, secret worlds
I got hooked on Neil Gaiman after reading Coraline. It was one of the books I wrote about in my grad school application essay. A few months later I read American Gods and my mind was officially blown. So I was thrilled when someone gave me a copy of his much earlier work Neverwhere for my birthday. It sat on my ”to-read” shelf for a few months, but so goes the life of a book blogger.
By now, the plot of Neverwhere is pretty well known. It has been a novel, a TV series, a comic book, and a stage play. Supposedly it is going to be adapted into a feature film, but if that’s true I’m willing to bet it languishes in Development Hell for a few years and never gets made (as did the fabled Preacher movie). But to give a quick recap, Neverwhere is set in modern day London, only what very few people know is that there are two Londons. There is London Above, the one we know, and London Below, a secret city populated by strange and often dangerous people and creatures. Our guide through this journey is Richard Mayhew, an average joe who discovers London Below when he gets swept up in a young woman’s quest to avenge her family’s murder.
This isn’t your average “down the rabbit hole” story…more like Alice in Wonderland on crank. Gaiman’s story is engaging, satirical, and at times pretty scary. While I enjoyed American Gods more, it’s almost unfair to say that since they are such different kinds of stories. American Gods was just epic. But if you enjoy fantasy and science fiction in the same vein as Doctor Who, it’s pretty safe to say that you’ll enjoy Neverwhere. If you’ve heard of it but never made the time to read it, now is as good a time as any to start. And I’m looking forward to reading Anansi Boys sometime in the near future!
Book Review: The Buddha in the Attic
31 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in New Release Reviews Tags: fiction, historical fiction, immigration, japanese internment camps, japanese women, picture brides
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (pub date 8/23/11)
This went on my Christmas list after I heard it was nominated for the 2011 National Book Award. I read it all in one day, and can honestly say that it was every bit deserving of the nomination.
The Buddha in the Attic is a historical fiction book, written from the perspective of the thousands of Japanese women who came to America pre-World War II. They came to America as “picture brides,” leaving behind their lives in Japan to marry men they had never met in person, in the hope that they would have better lives in their new homeland.
In eight brief chapters, Otsuka tells us the cruel fate of most of these women. Many of them found that their husbands were not the men they claimed to be, and most of them were put to work as field laborers or maids. Despite their best efforts to assimilate into American culture, they found themselves feared by most of their neighbors. Their children would grow up resentful of them, and would shun their Japanese heritage in favor of American culture. And after Pearl Harbor, many of them were forced to leave their homes.
This book is proof that big things do some in small packages. Though only 129 pages and a small trim size, it contains a fury of emotion. Otsuka’s understated prose style, reminiscent of a Greek chorus, allows her subjects’ voices to shine without ever being preachy. In this book, she has given names to the nameless and brought to light the experiences of a group of all but forgotten women. If you’re interested in history or women’s issues, this is an absolute must-read.
