Two Days by the Sea

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 

Boston : Mariner Books, [2005], c1955.

xii, 209 p. ; 21 cm.     

I decided to read To the Lighthouse during the stay at home time this spring since I haven't read Virginia Woolf in a long time and it seemed like a short read and a chance to catch up on a "classic." 

This is not a novel you read for the narrative.  Most of the book happens on two single days separated by an interval of ten years. Within those ten years Europe is ripped apart by WWI and one of the central characters of part one dies.  However the novel is more interested in the impressions of various characters and the complex inner life of the characters. Instead of narrative being the engine of the novel, the movement of the novel is driven by impressionist and poetic writing.

There is much to admire in Woolf's writing, but I have to say it took me longer to read than I expected.  It's a book one savors for its stylistic accomplishments.  I think reading it during the pandemic, made it harder to truly enjoy the rich artistry of the writing.  With all that said, it's not really a book I would recommend to a student, unless they are really interested in literature as an art form.  In that case, I would recommend it as a significant milestone in English fiction, one that charted new territory for the genre.

Cruel School

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

New York : Doubleday, [2019]  

213 p. ; 22 cm.

 

After reading Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, I knew I wanted to read his latest novel - The Nickel Boys.  Underground Railroad was brutal at times, but the fantastic nature of the novel helped me as a reader keep it's terror at bay - there is no such consolation in Nickel Boys, especially when you realize that the novel is firmly grounded in the real-life horrors that occurred in the Dozier School for Boys in the Florida panhandle. 

Whitehead's novel is set in the mid-60s and involves a stand-up African American high school student - Elwood- who is headed for college near Tallahassee.  But being a young black man in Jim Crow Florida lands Elwood in a reform school for boys that is run with sadistic cruelty, racism and corruption.  There, the idealistic Elwood faces the barbarism of the school and becomes friends with the more savvy Turner who is willing to help them both survive (boys in the school are sometimes killed by the staff both in real-life and in the novel). The novel is a taught and terrifying story of survival in the cruelest of environments. The reader never knows what will happen to the characters right up until the shocking ending. 

As I mentioned in my post about The Underground Railroad, Whitehead is a superb writer and - if you can endure the cruelty of the events - the novel is well worth reading.

An Unnerving Ride

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
New York : Anchor Books,  2018.
1st Anchor Bks. ed.
313 p. ; 21 cm.

This was supposed to be Spring Break week, and instead it has turned into the start of an extended period of school closings and home isolation for weeks (no one knows how many) as the Covid-19 pandemic picks up the pace of its global onslaught here in the US.

I am so glad that one of the novels I brought home with me for the break was Whitehead's The Underground Railroad.  The novel was published to huge acclaim - winning the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and I heard it described as a fantastical tale of historical fiction where the figurative Underground Railroad is turned into an actual subterranean working railroad.  I was a bit skeptical - but - wow! - if you haven't read this novel, it is a must read.

Whitehead has also won one of those MacArthur "genius" grants and all I can say is "Yes!" and admire the foundation for recognizing him way back in 2002 when he had only written two novels. He writing is a thing of wonder.   He manages to do so many things right in such a complicated and yet accessible way.  He can create history that never was in order to make the history that was come alive in eerie and unsettling ways.  He made me mull over the (literally) tortured history of this country and the nature of human cruelty and courage in ways that go right to the heart.

Yes, Whitehead's Underground Railroad has real tunnels, tracks and locomotives - but you never for a moment doubt it.  And his narratives of enslaved life and the escape narrative will have your heart racing as you turn the pages rooting for the heroes of the novel.

It is such a thrill to read a writer's work when they are in their prime and to know that you are reading someone whose works will be read and admired long after you are gone. It is a thrill and an honor.

Can you tell I loved this novel?  Recommend it. Read it.  Sit with it and let it work its magic on you.  You won't be disappointed.

 

Before the Road

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
New York : Warner Books, 2017, [2000]
345 p. ; 21 cm.

I was pretty excited to learn that the creative duo who brought Octavia Butler's Kindred out as a best-selling graphic novel  has published another graphic novel adaptation of a work by Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower.  But before reading the graphic novel, I wanted to read Butler's original novel.

I'm so pleased that Butler's work is experiencing a renaissance of late. Her work is powerfully imaginative and touches on so many relevant themes: racism, injustice, violence, social upheaval, displacement, and compassion.  Additionally, her stories are exciting and her writing engaging. Parable of the Sower is no exception. Set in California in the future (2025) there is a lot that is familiar - technological achievements, drug addiction, police corruption, gated communities, poverty, climate disruption, corporate greed, crime and violence - but the negatives are ramped-up to the extreme. Civic institutions - police, fire, and civic institutions - have become worthless, corrupt, and sometimes dangerous, while violent individuals and bands of criminals wreak havoc on small communities that seek to protect themselves with walls and guns.  Out of this maelstrom a small band of refugees looks to create a new society, led by the protagonist of the novel, a young 18 year old woman. She is a mystical figure who wants to start a new religion, Earthseed.

Parable of the Sower reminded me a bit of Cormac McCarthy's The Road which was written long after Butler's novel, but shares some of the same disturbing views of the savagery of human nature. 

I'll be interested to see how the the graphic novel version of this is.  Our library has it and it has been getting excellent reviews.   

If I find a student who is interested in afro-futurism or dystopian fiction, this is a book I'll definitely recommend.

Stranded

Damselfly by Chandra Prasad
New York : Scholastic Press, 2018.
259 p. ; 22 cm.

Damselfly isn't a bad book, in fact it makes for a good escapist read, but it's not a very good novel either.  This contemporary shipwreck (airplane crash actually) remake of Lord of the Flies just feels thin to me.  The set-up is a group of about a dozen teens from an elite school plane-wrecked on a remote island in the South Pacific, where a new social order emerges as the weeks pass - an order based on manipulation, violence and emerging racial tensions (Asian Indian Americans vs. white kids).  There's also danger from a mysterious presence on the island that threaten them (we assume it's a person since it writes messages in English). If you are wondering, yes, the reader does eventually find out the identity of this threat.

It think - like many shipwreck / stranded tales - the best features are the struggles to carve out a survival against the cruel indifference of nature.  The strongest parts were when simple things like getting sick or injured are shown to be the dire situation they are when stripped of the bene that civilization offers.

In contrast, I just didn't find the battle for domination to be all that believable or interesting.  It is a short novel, and too much just gets hurried and rushed in order to squeeze in the various little (and big) character conflicts.

The novel ends with the reader wondering what will happen next. In some novels that seems like a cop-out, but for this story I thought it was a fairly satisfying end.

Redeemed

Neanderthal  Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Los Angeles : Hyperion, 2018.
410 p. ; 21 cm.

This book came highly recommended to me, so I was looking forward to reading it.  I have to say that my initial reaction was pretty negative.  Ever since Catcher in the Rye, there have been YA authors who have attempted to recreate the sensational and simmering genius of Holden Caulfield in their characters - especially male characters.  I felt that Cliff, Norton's hero/anti-hero of this novel, was just too witty and cynical and sarcastic and world weary, etc.  It just felt overwrought, and with a bit of too much "bro" energy (the kid LOVES Tarantino movies, need I say more?).  But I decided to hang on with the book and it kind of won me over.

First, the plotting is well paced and the characters (though a bit over done) are interesting and fun to watch as the book evolves.  The plotting is also creative (a near death experience with a visit from God changes one character completely, a Sermon Showdown is a major event, and surprise revelations are revealed) and make for a fun read.  Finally, the book - in spite of some serious "dude" energy, has a lot of heart and delves into some serious questions about life and meaning. 

So yes, there is a heavy bit of Neanderthal energy running through this comic drama, but it really does have some surprises and does try to open a door to the universe.  It might just appeal to readers who are put off by more staid fare. 

It's a book I'll definitely mention to students looking for something different and meaningful. It does have a bit of crude language and some light sexual situations which is a consideration of course. 

Schooled

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
New York : Crown, 2017
210 p. ; 22 cm.

Nic Stone has written a really interesting book that picks up on many of the racial issues that are roiling US society today - such as white privilege, racist police violence, profiling, criminal justice, equity, and income inequality. And she manages to do it with a really likable, but complex teen named Justyce who is on scholarship at a prestigious boarding school where the students are predominately white.   

Though being a stand-out student, Justyce - doing nothing wrong - finds himself being roughly arrested (and threatened) by police.  This experience leads him down a path of questioning and introspection (chronicled in his journal/letters to MLK - the dear Martin of the title). 

There is a lot of wrestling with how to fit in, how to advocate for yourself and pride in racial identity, and a nice (and racially complex) love story thrown in for good measure.  The plot takes a dramatic turn and I don't want to spoil that for you, but it is the heart of the novel's conflict. 

This book - like The Hate U Give - is a good book to recommend for students interested in thinking about issues around Black Lives Matter and would be a good discussion starter.  Stone's strength is developing complex characters and she's not bad a spinning out a good plot, too.

I would recommend this novel.