Summary of January reads

 

Summary of January reads. It’s been a good reading month with a toss-up of fiction, poetry, and a play. 

 

The Midnight library

  The Midnight library deals with an interesting premise of the infinite possibilities of lives we could have led. What resonated with me was the protagonist's feelings of regret and going back to live a life she wanted to. The author showcases that no life is devoid of imperfections and that even the most seemingly life comes with its share of shortcomings and misery. The character driven plot is compelling and engaging. 

 

The Seas

This is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator. It tells the story of a girl who believes she’s a mermaid. While she awaits her father, she falls in love with an older man who goes off to serve in the Iraq war. The story is set in a town infused with gossip, deceit, and alcoholism. What stood out to me was the voice of the narrator, her raw honesty, and unabashed feelings towards Jude. The chapters are divided into vignettes and the imagery caters well to the retelling of the fairytale. It was interesting to observe how the author packs in several elements into this small novel.

 

Gordo

 

A collection of eleven short stories that reads like a story cycle. It traces the life of a boy named Gordo who is grappling with his identity and sexuality while coming of age. The first-person point of view makes it easy to empathize with the narrator at every juncture and the universal themes of community, identity and sense of belonging strike a chord with the reader across the globe. 

 

A Children's Bible

This is again an interesting premise where the author deals with climate change and merges it with coming-of-age theme. The story navigates through the eyes of a teenage narrator, and she uses first person plural, indicating the collective voice of adolescence. While there are multiple characters, the setting is dystopian and some of themes are universal, and the metaphors seem to equate God with science. 

 

The World of normal boys

This was a special read as it’s a book authored by one of my professors. It’s a coming-of-age story centered around thirteen-year-old boy named Robin who finds out that he is different from other boys of his age, while grappling with his identity, an unexpected accident causes a breakdown in Robin's family. As the family falls apart, Robin embarks on a journey of self-discovery, questioning many aspects of life. The prose is poetic and consists of a raw honesty. We tend to feel Robin's pain and that of the other characters in the story. The plot is complex with its multitude of layers and richness in emotion. It leaves you feeling heavy hearted. Especially when you realize how some things never get back to normalcy in life. 

The Pillow Man 

Read this based on a recommendation for dialogue. This British play narrates how an author of short stories about brutality on children is arrested as some of the recent murders bears resemblance to his stories. What I noticed about the dialogues were how he tone contained sarcastic and cynical overtures. It also contained some amount of dark humor. It tends to remind the readers of couple of other works of literature-Like Mice and Men and Franz Kafka's The Trial. 

 

Oceanic 

In this collection of beautiful poems, Aimee engages with the natural world around her. Her descriptions are vivid, and she draws parallels between her own life and the environment. The structure of some of the poems feel like ebb of a tide. The poems are heartwarming and contain a depth in the emotions conveyed. One thing that struck me is her ability to view the world with new eyes. The poems had a good rhythm to them just like the sound of the waves.