[Book Rant] Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

I had been meaning to read Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt for such a long time. I'd heard so many good things about it. I finally got around to it and after nearly a month, I eventually finished it and gave it three stars on Goodreads.

At first, I thought, 'hmmmm, this is interesting and different from my usual fare of paranormal romance that's for sure'. While I don't hate it, I don't see what all the fuss has been about either. It is emotionally compelling; I'd give it that much. I wanted to both cry and hit inanimate objects numerous times. I felt so much for Frankie, his family and their troubles and harsh lives of poverty. Angela's Ashes takes first place for the Saddest-Freakin'-Book-I've-Ever-Read!

But for some reason, I couldn't help but continue to feel pretty lukewarm towards it as I read. I kept on reading mainly because I get home too exhausted from work to remember to throw a new book into my bag and Angela's Ashes happened to be the only book in my bag and I read on the train. Yet, that's not the only reason. Something kept pulling me back in, stopped me from abandoning the novel completely.

What was it? The language. McCourt's writing style and the Irish lilt so intimately intertwined kept me hooked. It was like reading poetic music, or musical poetry. It was simply beautiful.

My feelings towards the novel warmed up considerably when I came across the Best Line I Have Ever Read in Any Work of Literature:

"Shakespeare is like mashed potatoes, you can never get enough of him."

 Whaat?! Two of my  most favorite things in the world in the same sentence? Bliss.

While, I liked McCourt's narrative voice and the plot/story, I felt it to be too long and too detailed. I couldn't believe that I was on page 300 and Frankie was only 11! Could he grow up any slower? I felt like I was reading a really loooong list of twitter stats minutely chronologizing someone's life.

Possibly my issue is that it's meant to be a memoir and I think of memoirs having a more story-like quality with a driving plot. While Angela's Ashes read more like an autobiography. In the end, my investment in lil Frankie McCourt and my need to know how he ended up forced me to keep reading. I was hooked on the raw honesty of all of the characters, especially Frankie.


I will also be adding the sequel Tis to my To-Be-Read list. I don't want to miss 19-year-old Frankie's adventures in the Big Apple.

Huh. Maybe I need to change my Goodreads rating. It seems I like Angela's Ashes a lot more than I thought. This book rant is a whole lot more positive than negative, isn't it?

[Book Rant] Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Okay, I absolutely loved this book. The last book that I read and loved was Kate Stockett's The Help.

What first drew me in was the fact that it was written by an African writer. As a child of immigrants from The Gambia in West Africa, I'm been meaning to read some African literature. I've always felt like a slight traitor as I've yet to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. But I've made up for it with Purple Hibiscus. Or so I'd like to think. (Will still read Achebe's book one day. Maybe.)

A simple song for a tiny country, but it shows Moxie!

So what's it about?

Purple Hibiscus takes place in Nigeria (the birthplace of both of our writer). The story is told through 15-year-old Kambili, who lives with her mother, father, and brother Jaja. Kambili's father is an extremely religious man who rules his family with an iron fist. The tale unfolds as Kambili and her brother spend some time away from home and experience the first taste of freedom as civil war in Nigeria makes things even more unstable.

Dangit! Nigeria has the better anthem. Just because they're bigger. Humph!

 

Rant Begins:

I want to begin by commenting on Kambili's narrative voice. I think it was the best voice/POV that I have had the pleasure to read in a long time. It was authentic, compelling, endearing, and compassionate. I was immediately and deeply connected with Kambili and felt haunted by the life I was suddenly intimately privy to. Even more touching was Kambili's emotions, strength, and fears as she struggled between her love for her abusive father, love for her battered mother, and fear of change after tasting freedom. Also, because Kambili avoids things or pretends not to know, readers are increasingly horrified as we come to the realizations of the truths that Kambili refuses to admit.

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Let's imagine that this is what Kambili will look like in 20 years.

I love the whole start-from-the-end-then-tell-the-events-that-leads-up-to-it plot device. Love it, I say, especially when it's as well done as it was in Purple Hibiscus. From the first line, Ms. Adichie caught me hook, line, and sinker and I was only eager to read more. Adichie's strong writing continued to lead me by the heart from beginning to end as I gasped in horror, smiled bittersweetly, held my breath with hope, and rooted wholeheartedly for Kambili, Jaja, Aunty Ifeoma, the cousins, and others. Each character was unique and meaningful within the story (even Papa-the-Bastard, the name I coined him in my head).

Purple Hibiscus is an absolute must-read if you want a taste of African literature that is strongly written, engaging, and moves your heart.

Official Rating:

Princess Reads A Lot absolutely LOVED this book! She was captivated, enamored, enchanted, and fascinated, otherwise irrevocably in love. She has found yet another literary prince charming and is in bliss.

[Current Read] Hibiscus Flowers (Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

I'm currently reading Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and decided to explore the title a little.

First things first, what the heck is a hibiscus? As much as I love flowers, a flower is just a flower is just a flower. I think roses and sunflowers are the only flowers I know by both name and sight.

THIS is a hibisbus:

 

What's really great about these flowers? There are a bunch of varieties and each one is equally pretty with an equally funky name!

"Blue River II" Hibiscus - So badass that she killed off numero uno into extinction!

Fiiiiiirebaaalll! Hibiscus

 

 

 

"Hibiscus Makinoi," named for Tomitaro Makino who was a 20th century Japanese botanist known for his taxonomic work. A fancy word to say that he named stuff, specifically plants, including this one I guess.

 

"Lord Baltimore" Hibisbus. I think this was originally named by a Potter fan, but since he-who-cannot-be-named cannot be named, they had to change the name of this beautiful flower to "Lord Baltimore." Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

"Luna Pink Swirl" Hibiscus. I love love lovelovelove this! I even made it bigger on purpose because it's my blog and I can do that. Love the name of the flower and it's such a gorgeous, delicate shade of pink.

"Strawberry Swirl" Hibiscus! I love this one too!

"Scarlot Rose" Hibiscus. Absolutely gooorrrgeous!

Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. All of these flowers are pretty and all, but the title of the book is Purple Hibiscus. Do purple hibiscuses (is that the correct plural form? It is now.) really exist?

The answer is that they do! And they're freaking stunning!

Beautiful aren't they?

That's all for now. Look forward to my review of Purple Hibiscus soon.

Laters Gators,
Fatuma



Sources:
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/hibiscus/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomitaro_Makino
http://davesgarden.com/guides/botanary/go/8304/

Images:
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2007/10/22/Kell/51db17.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2814423636_c5a0ef631e.jpg
http://www.fancyhibiscus.com/images/Black_Beauty2.jpg
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/hibiscus/

Bye, Bye, Bye . . .

My bookshelf is listing to the side. The back panel is barely hanging on. I have double rows of books on each shelf with even more books stuffed into any open spaces. This is the result of too many books. The only solution? Getting rid of some via eBay.

Exhibit A: My very messy and very cramped bookshelf, as well as the splitting back panel. It's truly sad, no?

While some money is nice, I'm not making nearly enough to sooth the pain of getting rid of some of my babies.

I got rid of some of my manga first because that was a little less painful than some of the other books I'll be posting next. I snapped some pics, jotted down notes on condition (being brutally honest because I didn't want ANY complaints after I shipped them), and online they went for one week. All but one sold. Man, lugging a bunch of packaged books to the post office is such a pain in the buns. But, I did it. 

As of 11:41:55 AM, I said goodbye to the following:

• Boy Princess V 1-9
• Fall in Love Like a Comic Book V 1-2
• Negima! V 1-6
• Shout Out Loud V 1-5
• June V1
• Hot Gimmick V 1-2
• Pumpkin Scissors V 1-2
• Audition V1
• Offbeat V 1-2
• Yurara V 1-2
• Aoi House Omnibus Collection V1

In Tribute:

New Addition to "To-Be-Read" Shelf: The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

Blurb:

Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

Rant: 

Whoa! This sounds kind of amazing. No, really. Go re-read that blurb.

I haven't read a YA romance in quite some time and I miss it. I also have a soft spot for any kind of Romeo and Juliet twist. It may be an overly used trope in romance writing, but it's one I cannot resist. Add in some potential fantastical elements and a possible adorable kid and I'm hooked!  

The Storyteller also has grand ratings on Goodreads, a whopping 4.17/5. And reading through the reviews by other readers makes me want to go. buy. this. book. right. NOW. I'm trying to resist though because as you see my TBR list is already long enough. It's only fair that I read those books who've been on the list longest, first. That way no one gets hurt in the feels. (Yes, my books are personified. What of it?)

Though... #1. Level 26: Book 2: Dark Prophecy by Anthony E. Zuiker is probably already flipping depressed. He's been on the list a loooong time and I went ahead and read Wonder yesterday afternoon.  I'm sorry, forgive me! Actually, I apologize in advance to all 41 books on my TBR shelf yet to be read. I think you're definitely going to be slighted for The Storyteller. It just sounds too dang good for me to wait to read.

Anyone else looking forward to this baby? Anyone read it already and wants to torture me by gushing about it? Please leave a comment!

Giddily yours,

Fatuma

[Book Rant] Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a sweet and powerful read starring 5th grader August (Auggie) Pullman, who was born with facial abnormalities, as he navigates both school and the 5th grade for the first time.

It was a great Wednesday afternoon read that I enjoyed. It was touching and jolting and had a lot of important life lessons to teach/learn, such as not judging a book by its cover, true friendship, and the power of kindness. A triple threat.

The multiple POV's were an interesting way to tell the story, but not well executed. Via's POV I believe was the most touching and poignant and real. Jack and Summer's POV's were also effective and I enjoyed seeing their side. However, can someone please tell me why we needed to hear from the boyfriend, Justin, and the ex-BFF, Miranda? Neither character was connected to Auggie directly. Also, I don't understand why grammar and proper capitalization were suddenly thrown out of the window for Justin's chapters. And, Miranda's spiel about her time at summer camp? Completely uninteresting, irrelevant, and unnecessary--it didn't move the story at all.

I would have loved to hear from Mom or Dad or childhood friend, Chris, or heck, even one of his doctors instead. One of those would have been potentially more powerful and better than Miranda and Justin. Or even Julian's POV could have been intriguing and intense.

Minor Issue: The simplicity of the writing style felt at odds with the complexity of the characters' dialogue. Not sure if this makes perfect sense, but I felt like I was reading a book written by a middle schooler with High school characters. It's hard to explain, but it caused a bit of dissonance for me and lessened the believability of the story and characters. There were also places where the dialogue was incredibly childish for characters who had just been speaking pretty sophisticated.

Slightly less minor issue: Why were 5th graders dating?! Even with transitioning adolescence, puberty, hormones etc, I still cannot see 10-year-olds dating. They're still babies as far as I'm concerned and ten is too young even for the earliest of bloomers. I think as an older reader (my younger sister, who happens to be 10, that brat better NOT be doing anything, LOVES this book) I really couldn't get pass this idea of hormonal 10-year-olds. What happened to the good 'ole days where boys were stupid, ew gross, and had cooties until they were miraculously cured in 8th or 9th grade? Is there a Cootie Vaccination now?

FINAL VERDICT:

The story was really enjoyable. Some characters--Auggie, Summer, Jack, Via, and Dad in particular--really touched my heart (though some more depth and character development would have been appreciated. Then again, this is written for a much younger audience.), while other characters were literacy waste (cough, cough). Also, the writing wasn't as compelling as it could have been,  lessening the "punch in the heart" effect of this novel. But I'm being picky because the effect was there nonetheless as I won't be forgetting Auggie for a few days.

* * *

Princess Reads A Lot LIKES this book a lot!
It made her smile and she's sure glad she read it,
though there were a few things that bugged her highness.

[Book Quotes] from Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven

Just finished reading Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven. Read the review here. Below are some notable quotes that stood out for me.

"While my aunt held her baby close to her chest, the doctor tied her tubes, with the permission slip my aunt signed because the hospital administrator lied and said it proved her Indian status for the BIA" (81).

Has NO race been spared in the countless acts of eugenics in America? Jeez.

"What was God but this planet's maid?" (133)

A severely underpaid one at that.

"There is more than one way to starve" (177).

 Truly powerful statement, no?

"I didn't really fit the profile of the country..." (183).

 Does anyone? Why is there even a profile in place when so many do not fit into it, yet belong (or should anyway) just the same?

"Most of all, I had to find out what it meant to be Indian, and there ain't no self-help manuals for that last one" (211).

If only, if only self-help guides existed, then we could cure Adolescence forever.