Reviews 1-11

[vass]

I've been slacking on writing reviews, so now I have to do ten in one gulp. Here goes.


1. Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, Queen of Dreams
Literary fantasy, and very good. Full of complex, real, family relationships, and self-discovery, and all that mainstream literary stuff. But I liked it, and I'm not so fond of literary fantasy.


2. Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, The Conch Bearer
Your standard childhood quest novel, but set very firmly in India. I liked it, but I could have done with a less standard quest. Her other book was so nonstandard.


3. Raj Patel, Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power & the Hidden Battle for the World Food System
It was very interesting to read a truly international perspective on the world's food systems. Also very depressing. Very, very depressing. Patel's perspective was that right now, with everything in crisis, it's the perfect time for some collective, democratic action. It's a nice idea, but I can't hope that far. An important book.


4. David Anthony Durham, Pride of Carthage
An excellent historical novel about the Second Punic War. Made a really conscientious attempt not to glorify war and battle, while still faithfully replaying the battles, and getting inside the heads of characters who did valourise battle.


5. Nalo Hopkinson, Brown Girl in the Ring
Some reviewers here have said that it was a shaky first novel. I don't know, I liked it. It wasn't a typical genre novel, but her attempt to do something different. I liked it.


6. R.K. Narayan, Ramayana
It was much more like a book about why you should read (or hear) the Ramayana than the epic itself. And that's all right. He fulfilled his purpose: I want to read the whole thing now. There were lots of references to "here the poet describes such-and-such" instead of a direct translation of the much longer such-and-such, and "this is how a performer would update this tradition," which might have been distracting, but actually wasn't. Good as a taster for a more complete translation.


7. Marjorie M Liu, Tiger Eye
Everyone else has been reading Liu, and everyone else is right. I'd been warned to expect better things than this later in the series. All I can say is, if this is a weak first book, I can't wait to read the stronger later books. So much fun!


8. Cindy Pon, Silver Phoenix
Once I started this book, I couldn't stop until I finished. It was just pure fun. A romp. I can't believe some idiot editor thought there wouldn't be a market for books like this, or that it didn't count as fantasy.


9. Lisa See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
I was initially put off by the sense that she was writing to a white audience. I felt written down to, a little bit, and correspondingly less immersed in the culture she was describing. But in the end it was just all so absorbing and interesting that I didn't care.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is an historical novel, spanning the period 1823-1903, or from the third year of Emperor Daoguang's reign to the reign of Emperor Guanxu. What makes this novel utterly absorbing is the meticulous description of nu shu, a secret writing system used only by women in Jiangyong County in Hunan.


10. Malcolm Gladwell, Blink
A book about 'thin-slicing', or subconscious impressions made after very short intervals of time. This book focuses mostly on the good side of these impressions, and how they are more reliable than previously thought, but doesn't shy away from the downside, including the Amadou Diallo killing. Had some very good stuff in it about aversive racism.


11. R.K. Narayan, A Tiger for Malgudi
It was sweet. I think a child my niece's age could read it and not lose anything except some of the humour. It's the only first person tiger POV book I've read. I also liked the introduction, where Narayan explains how he had the idea. He mentions finding a bookmark with a picture of a tiger and the caption "I'd like to get into a good book," and thinking "I'll put you in my book."

Comments

[sanguinity]

Now see, when you get behind, you write shorter reviews. Would that I showed so much sense. ;-)

Oo... Durham looks interesting. And the Second Punic War was a central event in the alternate-history timeline of Lion's Blood; I might have to have a look-see.

[technocracygirl.livejournal.com]

Bless you! I was at the library not two hours ago, and the librarian was looking at me funny because I wanted books about the Greco-Roman era, but not focused on either Greece or Rome. Pride of Carthage sounds just up my alley!

[themis.livejournal.com]

I really liked Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I thought it was very unsentimental, but without sacrificing emotional depth or compassion. Also, the characters screwed up and they screwed up really badly but they weren't vilified for it - it was just part of they're being people.