Ahead of the Curve

The Famished Road by Ben Okri
New York : Anchor Books, 1993.
500 p. ; 24 cm.   

There have been some great YA books recently by authors that have used the rich well of Nigerian history and culture to create their fictional worlds.  I'm thinking of the incredibly talented Nnedi Okorafor (reviewed here) and the highly successful Tomi Ayedemi.  But I had no idea that Ben Okri was setting wildly fantastic fiction in Nigeria (his homeland) back in the early 1990s. 

I had simply wanted to read some of the African fiction that we have in our collection and I liked the title (!) and the fact that The Famished Road had won the prestigious Booker Prize back in 1991. When I started reading it, I had no idea it was such a romp through the strange and surreal.  The novel follows the harsh life of a boy born to poor parents in Nigeria as the country transitions from the depredations of colonialism to the depredations of corrupt and predatory capitalism with its violence of political upheaval. 

There is a lot to admire in the novel: a rich surrealism and dreamy realism that weaves back and forth through the novel, and some moments that are painfully relevant, e.g. battles between the Rich People's party and the Poor People's party.  I think the weakness of the book is that it is long and rambling and would have had a lot more emotional power if had been edited by about 30%.  That being said, I think it would make an interesting pairing with Achebe's Things Fall Apart, or with Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude. Also it's a wildly original novel.

I don't think it's a book I'd highly recommend to students unless someone was asking about African fiction or magical realism.

Spirits Will Haunt You

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
New York : Atria Paperback, 2015.
481 p. ; 21 cm.     

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to read The House of the Spirits.  I've been aware of it for years and have seen Isabel Allende interviewed on TV, but it's just one of those books that it took me far too long to get around to, but I'm glad I finally read it.

It was odd to me that I found it took me a long time to lose myself in this book, but once I did it really was a rewarding experience.  In some ways for me the book really builds to a crescendo when the candidate becomes President of Chile.  The candidate is, of course, the fictional version of the real hero of Chile, Salvador Allende - who was brutally overthrown by the United States and Chilean military, ushering in a period of savage repression under the fascist dictatorship of General Pinochet.

But the novel is not so much about the coup, though that is the tragic climax of the novel.  Instead it is very much about the forces of love, greed, pride, ambition, politics, & art - all framed within a world of sensuous and magical forces.

Allende has a lot to say about the potential loveliness of the human spirit, but also its potential for smallness, sadness, and depravity.

When I finished the novel, I was surprised to see that it was first published back in 1982, just 9 years after the horrendous events of the coup of 1973 and while Chile was still in the grip of the dictatorship.  The novel holds up well and feels as timely as ever.

Honey and Dream

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
New York, NY : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015.
345 p. ; 22 cm.

What a fine and unusual novel this is.  In some ways I think I should end my review here and say, "Just read it for yourself, and see."

I read Bone Gap after seeing it come up several times - a finalist for the National Book Award and a Printz Prize winner this year.  As you can see on the author's website, the book has received a great deal of high praise - and I'd have to concur.  The author both employs - and cleverly does away with - realistic narrative.  Several reviews acknowledged "magical realism," but it is more than that - dreamy, psychological and mythical.

I love that the novel is set in a town that actually exists in my home state, and yet it really only exists between the covers of the book. I also appreciate that the novel could well be a lovely little adult novel and not just a young adult novel.  It tells the story (stories) of two brothers, the likeable and unlikable characters of the town, a Polish immigrant, a kidnapping, a romance (two romances?) and the magic of love and imagination.  What more could you want from a simple, and not so simple, coming of age story.

The novel made me think a bit of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, Master's Spoon River Anthology, and even works of Günter Grass.  If you like well written novels, with a touch of romance, mystery, magic and danger, then Bone Gap should definitely be on your to-read list.

Fine Read - Yes! Teen Read - Not So Sure

House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
El Paso, Tex. : Cinco Puntos Press, 2014.
326 p. ; 24 cm. 

I truly enjoyed reading House of Purple Cedar.  Tingle's novel is filled with mystery, surrealism, danger, great characters and rarely told history.  But, I found myself wondering why it is being targeted toward young adults instead of an adult audience.  Publisher's Weekly noted that "much of the dialogue and exposition feels more appropriate for young adult literature" and I would take issue with that assessment.  I believe the book is a fine literary novel that adults would enjoy and appreciate.  

The story centers around events that happened in a young girl's life in the late 1890s in Choctaw territory in the state of Oklahoma.  The novel is an exploration of violence, accountability, redemption, community and family relations, racism, and spirituality. 

Along the way, there are murders, wildlife attacks, a panther that may or may not be a ghost, and humorous and touching romances.  The novel is written in a literary style that at times called to mind, Bless Me Ultima. I will definitely be recommending it to adults that I know and occasionally to the teen reader who wants something serious and challenging.

  

Out There with Kafka

(image from Steppenwolf Theater production, fall 2008)

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
New York : Vintage International, 2006, c2005.
1st Vintage International ed.
467 p. ; 21 cm.

This one has a bit of everything: a sophisticated but sensitive 15 year old main character, Colonel Sanders, a downpour of leeches, some sex, an old man who talks to cats, time travel, a road trip with a 29 year old trucker and even a library (yes, a library!) as one of the main settings.

I first read a Murakami novel about 10 years ago - The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and it was a tour de force, so I was looking forward to this one which is on the AP Lit recommended list.

I was not disappointed in this novel. It is extremely creative and interesting with wonderfully memorable characters - from Ms. Saeki, the librarian stuck in her lost love from decades ago, to the endearing Mr. Nakata who is illiterate but wise and able to converse with cats. The novel can definitely be described as magical realism, but it is much more than than that. It is a fable, a murder mystery, a coming of age story, a meditation on love, time, loyalty, goodness and evil.

This is not an "easy" novel, but it should really appeal to students who love to read literature and are looking for something truly unusual, creative and yet with a lot of substance - a book that will stay with you long after you've put it down.