Sunday, April 30, 2017

The Handmaid's Tale (by Margaret Atwood)

Another way-too-plausible present-day dystopia; in fact, I was surprised by a reference to cassette tapes as current technology. Like, oh yeah, this was written in the 80s!  The characters are also compelling, particularly Offred herself, whose voice and story are so compelling. I loved the richness of the world of Gilead as well as Offred's understated but tragic backstory. The ambiguity of the ending was powerful.

I wanted to watch this before seeing the miniseries (which I hear resolves some of the ambiguity, which is a bit disappointing), but it also qualifies for the Read Harder Challenge as a banned book. Though soon it will be the GOP's how-to manual.

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Friday, April 21, 2017

The Princess Diarist (by Carrie Fisher)

Carrie Fisher's Star Wars memoir that actually is more a meditation on celebrity, with an emphasis on her affair with Harrison Ford. (I had imagined this was more of  a casual mention, but it's really a huge part of the book).  She narrates the book herself and her daughter, Billie Lourde, narrates the diary excerpts.

The diary excerpts mostly qualify as emo poetry and are heavy on wordplay and very light on actual concrete detail and gossip.  I was hoping for more details about the movies themselves. The memoir that frames the diary is also heavy on wordplay and wit (in the classic Carrie Fisher style) and is honest, funny, and sometimes sadly ironic (references to her eventual demise).  I was disappointed in the diary parts, and really enjoyed the other parts.

RIP Carrie Fisher. You are missed.

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Wonder (by R. J. Palacio)

Recommended by Ian, who has this in hardcover. This is a multi-point-of-view novel chronicling a school year in the life of Auggie, a kid with a severe cranio-facial abnormality. The book addresses how the other kids relate to him, and how he navigates his first-ever foray into school. It's funny, touching, and very real.

I found this book compelling. The multiple points of view = unreliable narrators which I always love. I definitely fell in love with the characters, and enjoyed the special bonus "villain chapter" that was originally a bonus ebook (though it seemed a little too-dramatic-to-be-true in terms of the plot). I'm not sure whether to call this middle grade because of the age level or YA because it has a lot of sophistication and depth. I went with both! 

Thumbs up!

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dykes to Watch Out For (by Alison Bechdel)

This was a birthday gift! Written during the George W years, it's so politically relevant and so prescient it's scary. It's partly comforting -- we've been in this state of panic before -- and partly terrifying -- little did we know what was coming. (At least on the gay marriage front, it illuminates what a long way we've come. At least in this country.)

The characters are also great -- I loved the soap opera elements of following the characters and their various tribulations and love life complications.   The complete lack of male gaze is also incredibly refreshing -- different body types and gender presentations are treated matter-of-factly and it is liberating in that sense. So great, and exactly what I needed to read this month.

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