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50books_pocGods, I've been awful. I don't think I've written a review in months, probably because I've not been reading much. Anyway, just to make up for my long silence, here are two reviews together.
The Wind Done Gone
I bought 'The Wind Done Gone' because I thought it was a re-telling of 'Gone With The Wind' from the point of view of Cynara, Scarlett's biracial half sister. In fact, it is more of a sequal - the book starts after Rhett Butler (referred to as 'R' throughout the novel) has left Scarlett, and most of the novel takes place after the Civil War, through Reconstruction, with flashbacks to earlier events.
The novel tells the story of Cynara, of her relationship with Mammy, who was her mother, and also her relationship with Scarlett's mother. One thing I found really interesting is the way that in this book there are no real bad guys and no real good guys either. Everyone in this novel is a victim in some ways, of an inhumane system and social structure which taints everything - Cynara's relationship with her mother is twisted by the fact that Mammy has to put the white child she is nursing first, and then Mammy's relationship with Scarlett is tainted by the uncertainty between them - does she care for Scarlett because she loves her or because she has to? Without the freedom to chose, that question can't be answered, and isn't within the book. There's a reference to the O'Hara sons - the baby brothers of Scarlett - who died in infancy. One of the Black characters suggests that Mammy killed them all, because 'what would we have done with a sober white man about the place?' and that struck me as especially powerful as an indictment of a tainted and corrupting system.
The only bit of the novel that threw me slightly was the ending. I don't know if I read it correctly or if I missed something, but I ended up really unsure if the Congressman's son, who is named after Cynara, was actually her illegitimate son or not.
Overall, a really good and emotional read. Highly recommended.
Ten Things I Hate About Me
This is a novel by the same writer of 'Does My Head Look Big In This', and is another novel about being a Muslim and a teenage girl in Australia.
I have to admit, I kinda preferred 'Ten Things I Hate About Me'. Amal, the heroine of the first novel, was fantastic, but I found her quite intimidating in some ways in terms of how very certain and confident in her own identity she was. God knows I was never like that as a teenager! Jamie, the central character in this, is someone I identify with a lot more. Whilst I wasn't a Muslim in Australia (or, for that matter, a Muslim in Britain), I think her story of trying to fit in at school, and balance the dual pressures of parental and peer expectation is one that a lot of people will see something of themself in.
Jamie is a Lebanese Muslim girl, who has created a dual identity. At home she is Jamilah, goes to Arabic classes, eats Lebanese food, and has a sister who wears the hijab. At school she dyes her hair blonde, wears blue contact lenses, calls herself Jamie and tries to be as 'Australian' as possible.
The novel is the story of her coming to accept herself as she is. It's not the most original teenage story in the world, but it is really well written, and the characters are all strong and engaging. The only thing I found sad was the fact that Jamie and Timothy don't get together at the end of the book. I liked it in some ways - I love that Randa Abdel-Fattah hasn't felt the need to have her heroines get validation from a kiss at the end of the novel - but damnit! They just had such a nice kind of chemistry and I really really wanted them to run off and live happily ever after. Oh well, in my mind there is a sequel somewhere where they get together in college or something!.
Another really good book. Definitely recommended.
The Wind Done Gone
I bought 'The Wind Done Gone' because I thought it was a re-telling of 'Gone With The Wind' from the point of view of Cynara, Scarlett's biracial half sister. In fact, it is more of a sequal - the book starts after Rhett Butler (referred to as 'R' throughout the novel) has left Scarlett, and most of the novel takes place after the Civil War, through Reconstruction, with flashbacks to earlier events.
The novel tells the story of Cynara, of her relationship with Mammy, who was her mother, and also her relationship with Scarlett's mother. One thing I found really interesting is the way that in this book there are no real bad guys and no real good guys either. Everyone in this novel is a victim in some ways, of an inhumane system and social structure which taints everything - Cynara's relationship with her mother is twisted by the fact that Mammy has to put the white child she is nursing first, and then Mammy's relationship with Scarlett is tainted by the uncertainty between them - does she care for Scarlett because she loves her or because she has to? Without the freedom to chose, that question can't be answered, and isn't within the book. There's a reference to the O'Hara sons - the baby brothers of Scarlett - who died in infancy. One of the Black characters suggests that Mammy killed them all, because 'what would we have done with a sober white man about the place?' and that struck me as especially powerful as an indictment of a tainted and corrupting system.
The only bit of the novel that threw me slightly was the ending. I don't know if I read it correctly or if I missed something, but I ended up really unsure if the Congressman's son, who is named after Cynara, was actually her illegitimate son or not.
Overall, a really good and emotional read. Highly recommended.
Ten Things I Hate About Me
This is a novel by the same writer of 'Does My Head Look Big In This', and is another novel about being a Muslim and a teenage girl in Australia.
I have to admit, I kinda preferred 'Ten Things I Hate About Me'. Amal, the heroine of the first novel, was fantastic, but I found her quite intimidating in some ways in terms of how very certain and confident in her own identity she was. God knows I was never like that as a teenager! Jamie, the central character in this, is someone I identify with a lot more. Whilst I wasn't a Muslim in Australia (or, for that matter, a Muslim in Britain), I think her story of trying to fit in at school, and balance the dual pressures of parental and peer expectation is one that a lot of people will see something of themself in.
Jamie is a Lebanese Muslim girl, who has created a dual identity. At home she is Jamilah, goes to Arabic classes, eats Lebanese food, and has a sister who wears the hijab. At school she dyes her hair blonde, wears blue contact lenses, calls herself Jamie and tries to be as 'Australian' as possible.
The novel is the story of her coming to accept herself as she is. It's not the most original teenage story in the world, but it is really well written, and the characters are all strong and engaging. The only thing I found sad was the fact that Jamie and Timothy don't get together at the end of the book. I liked it in some ways - I love that Randa Abdel-Fattah hasn't felt the need to have her heroines get validation from a kiss at the end of the novel - but damnit! They just had such a nice kind of chemistry and I really really wanted them to run off and live happily ever after. Oh well, in my mind there is a sequel somewhere where they get together in college or something!.
Another really good book. Definitely recommended.
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