Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
This book was informative for anyone wondering what would happen in the rural South once the world ended. I find it so interesting that the book was written in 1959 by a journalist/government consultant, because I'm so used to picking up novels claiming "post-apocalyptic" themes (World War Z, anyone? Uglies? The Giver?) that I didn't realize that the genre had a beginning. This book is widely considered that "beginning." Set in Fort Repose, FL, the novel considers what would happen in the event of devastating nuclear war. And it was written while that threat was still a threat in America. Outside of the survivalist concepts, the novel has developed characters who command the reader's sympathy, fear, worry, and anger. I found myself legitimately sympathizing with the actions of the main character, and I wondered what type of person I would be in similar events. I must admit that I spent an entire afternoon reading the book at home, and when Matt got off work and wanted me to meet him for dinner, I left my house fearing highwaymen and looters and radioactive metals. It took me most of the night to stop feeling guilty about the amount of gasoline I used to drive to the restaurant. If I had been able to donate that amount to Fort Repose's doctor I would have in an instant.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I loved this book. I'm just sad I didn't get on the bandwagon sooner! I'd been hearing about it and seeing displays in bookstores, but hadn't had the time to devote to reading it until now. And there's already a movie adaptation coming out next month! The story follows the lives of several women in Jackson, MS, who are either the black "help" in white homes, or the white women in those homes. The book made me feel things I'd never felt before (and some things I had). I have felt guilt at the history of the Civil Rights Movement and my own state's part in hindering it. I have felt anger at the circumstances surrounding black southern lives, (and To Kill a Mockingbird and Witness were big literary catalysts for those feelings). But I have never felt so personally invested in the feelings and fears of black people (women) as I was when reading this book. Perhaps the perspective from which the book is written (first person, women, white and black) is a major reason why it hits the white female reader so hard. And it's not about guilt. It's about awareness and sameness and sisterhood and motherhood and what it means to do the right, Christian thing. If you've read it, I felt like I was Mae Mobley, gaining understanding and fierce love for Aibeleen through her part in my education and care. So, yeah, I admit my previous lack of personal investment in the lives of people who dealt with the racial tension of the South, when in fact those who were smart enough to protest during the Civil Rights Movement received death threats and ostracism. I. loved. this. book.
and finally, Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
This book started out pretty great. It is the story of Kimberly, a Chinese immigrant to America, who is good at "doing school,"but who must overcome great adversity in the hope that school success will help her make a better life for her and her mother. I thought the book would stay on this one predictable note all the way through, but the author shakes the reader's expectations by realistically exploring the rebellion, resentment, and attitude that comes from being a teenager (from any culture.) However, the book's ending felt rushed and forced. I liked it, but felt it could have been better written to better mesh with the powerful emotions explored in the first third of the book. I recommend it, but it's not as compelling as The Help.
What is to come? Here is a tentative list:
- A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin,
- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi,
- The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner,
- The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason,
- some Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows refreshment before July 15, and
- a friend is reading I Am Number Four, so I'm waiting for her recommendation on whether to try it out.
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