Bookish – Page 5 – …on the B.L.

A Moonless, Starless Sky

September 1, 2017 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: II (236)
Quick Review: Alexis Okeowo tells the story of four African countries in the midst of their own battles with extremism through people most affected by them.

I like to think of myself as a fairly aware person, and I have found my African knowledge to be extravagantly more informed than the average American’s. I will admit my knowledge of this century’s goings on in Africa are severely lacking. It is mostly my fault, but not entirely. Unless our soldiers are dying or a super celebrity gets a hold of something, the media seldom covers African issues. When they do, you probably have to dig for it. In college, my research focused on the linguistic evolution of North African immigrants in France, so naturally I have an extensive knowledge of North African history and culture. Okeowo addresses African issues with extremism as well as the lack of media coverage and more in A Moonless, Starless Sky without making you feel terrible for not knowing about the struggles of an entire continent.

Okeowo is a first generation daughter of Nigerian immigrants. Having grown up in the deep south hearing about the homeland, she decided to move to Lagos, Nigeria after college to work as a reporter. She is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker, but her time in Africa shaped her. Her debut book A Moonless, Starless Sky, which is released on October 3 of this year, addresses an issue she is so clearly passionate about.

Stories from the countries of Uganda, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Somalia are deeply moving, heart wrenching, and yet hope-filled looking to the future. Each country has been dealing with extremism for decades. As Americans, we have heard about the child soldiers in Uganda, slavery in Mauritania, the Boko Haram in Nigeria, and terrorism in Somalia. What was talked about briefly in the news has been ongoing for years and continues after coverage fades. Of the four countries, Somalia has been covered the most in recent American media due to the military interaction within the country, but still it has faded from our attentions and visibility. Okeowo tells the stories of normal people having to cope with the effects of terrorism on their lives, their families, their culture, and their country. Even in the midst of immense turmoil, there is a theme of bravery. Sometimes the simplest acts convey bravery and even resistance. In these moments, the average person can be thrust into a position of power becoming a symbol of activism providing a glimpse of hope for change.

Okeowo writes with intensity and honesty. She captures the humanity and struggle of those forced to commit atrocities with no problem pointing out double standards, struggles, scare tactics, and more she encountered while traveling, interviewing, and witnessing local life. She writes without qualm about the complexity activists face in their battle to extinguish extremism in their countries. Among the serious subject matter, she has poignant moments of humor, sarcasm, and irritation. The book is so relatably human in it’s approach to a topic saturated in monstrosity.

A work of literary journalism, Okeowo accomplishes a devastating roller coaster of feelings in a mere 256 pages. It is impossible to read A Moonless, Starless Sky without being emotionally sucker punched. Intertwining the larger issues with the stories of the impact they have on the people, Okeowo’s words will haunt your thoughts long after the book has been closed. My only criticism is: I want more.

Title: A Moonless, Starless Sky; Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
Author: Alexis Okeowo
Publisher: Hachette Books
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9780316382939

Books

The Glass Castle

July 31, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 288
Quick Review A memoir about the difficulties of growing up in a dysfunctionally transient family with a fascinating and intelligent alcoholic of a father leading their way.

I read this book a few years ago, and it has stayed with me not just for the story but because of Walls’ writing. With the movie coming out in a few days, I power read it over the weekend. It is just as resonating a second time.

Jeannette Walls is a journalist in New York City with a degree from Barnard College. These are wonderful achievements, which help define her character and intelligence even more so considering what she overcame as a child. The Glass Castle is a testament to her resilience.

Walls was born in 1960 to Rex and Rose Mary. She is one of four children. Growing up she lived a nomadic life. Her father was a brilliant man. His children adored him before growing up to resent his alcoholism and inability to conform even a little. He was able to capture his children’s imagination through storytelling and science. The children were home schooled a great deal with an emphasis on living life through the absence of fear. With one parent abhorring the conformity of society, the children needed a grounded parent. They did not find it in their mother, Rose Mary. She was an artistic free spirit looking at feminine domesticity as a prison she would not tolerate. She dismissed her role as parent and mother.

Walls writes about the difficulties of growing up in secluded environment. She describes the bond between her siblings; how they would lean on each other for support, nourishment, clothing, and protection in a world where their parents were barely present.

All four Walls children went on to live in society as fully functional and present participants ending up in New York City. Rex and Rose Mary followed their children to New York. Rex died in 1994 from a heart attack after he and his wife chose to remain homeless despite offers of help from their children.

Walls is a wonderful writer. She does not shy away from brutal honesty. She meets her childhood trauma head on with the maturity in the realization it formed her into the well-respected and successful journalist and writer she is today.

Memorable Quotes
“You’ve got to get right back in the saddle. You can’t live in fear of something as basic as fire.”
“You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.”
“She had her addictions and one of them was reading.”
“Life’s too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are”

Title: The Glass Castle
Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Copyright: 2005
ISBN: 9780743247542

Experiences, Travel

San Diego

July 16, 2017September 8, 2019 RaeAnna

San Diego is one of my favorite places to visit. I was six the first time I visited, but have made it back many times in my twenties because it has a really laid back atmosphere, tons of beautiful beaches, great food, and a lax dress code.

The Hotel del Coronado is both historic and beautiful. It is known to be haunted, but has been visited by some of the biggest names in the entertainment business like Marilyn Monroe. Located on Coronado Island, it is the focal point with its white walls and red roof surrounded by beach and palm trees alike. A little paradise. It is incredibly fancy, and you’ll feel fabulous just walking around the grounds. It’s pricey, but I’m sure it’s worth it; I’ve never been able to afford it myself. I always grab an ice cream at MooTime Creamery to keep me company while I walk around until I find the perfect bench to read at.

I love Ocean Beach! I have for years. It’s where the hipsters congregated before the word hipster entered the vernacular. It has been a safe haven for the weed smokers before it was legal. It has welcomed dogs as people before it was cool. Known for the dog beach, the pier, the cliffs, the array of people, and Hodads, it’s a fun place to spend an afternoon. I would not recommend it for reading; you’ll be too busy people watching. That is, if you’re not too uptight for the laid-back, coolness that is Ocean Beach. It is bright and bustling all day and well into the night. Lots to do and eat and smell all along the beach. So be prepared to take part or sit and watch!

The dunes are everywhere they can make themselves in San Diego. These particular dunes take up a good deal of space on Coronado Island between the ocean and the ocean wall. They are vast, deep, and rolling hosting all sorts of plants and probably even some critters too. The plants are beautiful and flowering… I have no idea what they are, but they’re pretty and prominent. People can wonder in them without being seen except from above. By the dunes there are beautiful stone life guard huts… Although, I wouldn’t call them huts; they are fairly substantial buildings reminiscent of lighthouses from days of yore.

Oceanside is not actually a part of San Diego, but is often lumped into San Diego because it’s identity is so closely tied. It’s about an hour North of San Diego downtown without traffic, and an hour and half South of Los Angeles. It’s incredibly centralized between the two. It is a hub for the Marine Corps because of Camp Pendleton’s proximity. It has changed a lot in recent years with lots of good food and a cute downtown. I was personally drawn to the Oceanside Public Library. I didn’t even realize it was a library at first because it looks more like the mirage of a desert oasis to me. Whoever designed this library needs to design my future house because I would happily sit down to read a book with a wading pool, palm trees, a fountain, and architecture and coloring reminiscent of Mykonos, Greece. With a pastry shop right across the street, I would often be found in front of this library. I didn’t get a chance to go in, but I’m sure it is spectacular because the outside is so memorably bright and lovely.

Books, Fiction

Autobiography of Us

June 22, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 304
Quick Review This is a great summer read about female relationships changing through the years.

Aria Beth Sloss tried to tackle the incredibly complex topic of female friendship in her book Autobiography of Us. Set in the 1960’s in Pasadena, two friends, Rebecca and Alex, live on the same street becoming close friends as children. The story is told through Rebecca’s perspective. She starts telling the story to someone as a reflection upon her past. It is evident that her best friend, Alex, has passed away, which is the catalyst for the story. She begins her narration when Alex moves into the neighborhood. There is immediate tension building between the two. Rebecca deals with an inferiority complex the entire book. Alex was the daughter of extravagantly rich parents, while Rebecca’s family struggle to maintain their wealthy facade. Alex was pretty, and Rebecca was less so. Alex had an air for the dramatic and always pulled everyone’s attention. Coming of age in the sixties, Rebecca was pressured by her family to fulfill all the traditional roles; however, she fought an internal battle contradicting her family and the times she lived in.

Sloss draws attention to the times by often using Rebecca to reference how different the times were then for girls. Usually making the statement about how young she was and naive. Though making some feminist statements throughout, this self-infantilization undermined the attempted message of female empowerment.

Sloss likes to bring characters into scenes without naming them. Integrating them into the action and conversation for paragraphs if not a page or two creates a bit of confusion instead of mystery. I had to look back a few times just to make sure I hadn’t accidentally missed it.

Autobiography of Us is a story about female friendship, familial relationships, societal pressures, and marriage. Sloss adds a few more twists than the usual story, but, in general, she sticks to a generic storyline.

Memorable Quotes
“There are years she meant more to me rush anyone, years our lives besides into each other’s so neatly I’m not sure, to be honest, they ever came undone.”
“How little we know the ones we love. How little we know of anyone, in the end.”
“I believe injustice eventually gives way to justice,” he said ““Slowly, perhaps. With great effort, and too often through the unfortunate medium of violence.””

Title: Autobiography of Us
Author: Aria Beth Sloss
Publisher: Picador
Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 9781250044051

Books

Women Who Run With The Wolves

April 23, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 608
Quick Review This is an incredible psychoanalysis of women and the wild woman through storytelling. It’s an incredibly diverse and rich feminist text.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés is known for a lot of things. She has her PhD and is a well known Jungian analyst with storytelling experience reaching to her cultural roots as a Latina. She combines all expertise into Women Who Run With The Wolves a groundbreaking feminist work, which has remained popular since it was published over twenty years ago in 1992.

Women Who Run With The Wolves is a search for woman’s most inner woman, feelings, and history. Throughout history women have been molded and suppressed. Estés argues it is important to look at women throughout history and story to find their most quintessential essence. She believes it is important for women to be in touch with their inner wild woman, or they will go crazy in their suppressed role.

The book is a collection of fourteen stories from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Estés tells the story as traditionally as possible at the beginning of each chapter. After each recounting, she analyses every aspect of the story through a psychoanalytical and feminist lense. Each story offers an important learning opportunity for women to be in touch with themselves.

There is a reoccurring theme of life-death-life mother across many cultures. In today’s society, we often are confronted with the idea of life and death. Estés reiterates the idea of life-death-life as missing from most accounts of the evolution of life in Euro-centric culture. I think the missing reoccurrence of life is an equivalent to the pieces of ourselves as women we have lost of the years and generations of being molded into cultural ideals.

Women Who Run With The Wolves is not necessarily an easy read, but it is an important.

P.S. There would have been far more quotes, but I would have ended up infringing on copyright laws because I would have quoted the entire book.

Memorable Quotes
“This Self must have freedom to move, to speak, to be angry, and to create.”
“This early training to “be nice” causes women to override their intuitions.”
“So many women themselves are afraid of women’s power.”

Title: Women Who Run With The Wolves
Author: Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D.
Publisher: Rider
Copyright: 1992
ISBN: 9781846041099

Books

The Little Paris Bookshop

April 1, 2017 RaeAnna

Read No
Length 392
Quick Review A quick easy read that will pull at your heartstrings while providing hope for the future in a formulaic way.

The Little Paris Bookshop is a quick read full of romance, sorrow, and hope. Falling in line with a Sparksian – Nicholas Sparks – formula of how romance transpires, Nina George does provide the reader with some highly poignant moments, quotable phrases, and a creative idea.

A middle-aged bookseller pines after a love lost for two decades. Ignoring the world around him, he is the owner and curator of the Book Apothecary or book barge where people in need go to have their souls cleansed through books they may not want but desperately need. The idea of a Book Apothecary or book barge was really the only interesting aspect to capture my attention in this novel.

The narrator waffles between feminist and woman blaming by saying men do not deserve women while also blaming women for stringing men on. I get it you’re heart broken, but make up your damn mind. Are we better than you? Or do we make a game out of breaking hearts?

The writing was adequate to fit the story. It lacked nuance or anything particularly special. There were moments of slight mystery and quick answers. If you’ve ever read a book with a basic storyline, the ending screams itself from page 15.

I doubt this book will last the tests of time, but it does suffice as a lovely beach read. It was a New York Times Bestseller and an International Best Seller, so it does have its appeal. I would never read it again, but, like I said, it is a great read if you don’t want to soul search, deep think. I would put this under the category of ‘mindless read.’

Memorable Quotes
“The bookseller could not imagine what might be more practical than a book.”
“It’s amazing how unimpressed people are by being loved when it doesn’t fit in with their plans”
“Damn church! Heaps misery on any who haven’t already given up hope.”
“Personally, I don’t believe that any question is too big; you simply have to tailor the answer.”

Title: The Little Paris Bookshop
Author: Nina George
Translator: Simon Pare
Publisher Broadway Books
Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 9780553418798