The Help by Kathryn Stockett

By now, what has not been said about this number one, top selling novel? That’s more of a statement than a question. I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t been said before. My hope is that if you haven’t read The Help you’ll beg it off your friend, get in the hold line at your library or break down and purchase it because why? Because it is worth it. I know some people have a few complaints that run along the lines of: the ending was anti-climatic or the dialect bothered them. Some more serious complaints are that it’s just one more bash on Mississippi. Even if you finish and wonder what all the fuss is about I promise you won’t be disappointed that you read it.

I wasn’t sure what this book was about when I decided to buy it. I knew it was set in the Southern U.S. during the 1960s and there was something about a lot of women afraid to follow after whatever it was they wanted. And that there would be racial issues thrown in there. This is a terrible summary. However, not knowing what I was in for left me deliciously and delightfully surprised. I didn’t expect to become engrossed by a maid’s daily life. I didn’t expect to laugh out loud on several occasions. I didn’t expect to learn and this novel enlightened me about how complicated the civil rights movement was for many different (but not so different) people.

This book was a pleasure to read. As a rule, I don’t mind dialect but I find it slows my pace down. Truly though, I savored every page. The story alternates between three women’s point of view: one young white woman, one middle-aged black maid and one not-quite-old black maid. I adored all the voices but Aibileen’s (the eldest’s) was my favorite. There is so much tension, anxiety and fear in these women’s lives because of their desire to tell the truth. I felt nervous for them and kept hoping they’d find a way to iron out the wrinkles (hehe. Aibileen hates ironing pleats). I feel this book is a must read for those living in the U.S., perhaps especially my 20-something generation who have grown up in a different era and have little understanding of what daily life was like in the South during the 1960s.

So, I have this great thing called a public library. And mine hosted the author, Kathryn Stockett, who stopped by on her way to the Windy City to speak, read and sign our books! Hearing her speak was a blast. If you have the opportunity to see her, do it! She spoke a bit about her anxieties being a white woman writing in the voice of black women. Stockett had a black maid growing up and this book is her way of expressing many of the things she has learned about what life was like for the help. In case you’re curious, she said two of her favorite authors are Lee Smith and Kaye Gibbons (among many others). She has an awesome southern accent! And in response to a question said that no, she is not Skeeter (the young white protagonist), that she was never as brave as Skeeter or able to ask those kinds of difficult questions when she was a child. I think she was rather brave to write this story, though. Ms. Stockett was gracious enough to let me take my picture with her so, there we are. Now, go get yourself a copy of The Help and settle in for a good read.

Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books, 2009     Pages: 451
Rating: 5 Stars                                             Source: Purchased on Amazon

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

When I picked up this book I thought I knew what I was in for. But apparently I was ignorant of the largest involuntary migration in the U.S. – that of Mexican workers, many legal citizens, who were forced to move to Mexico during the Great Depression. Esperanza’s story is set during this turbulent time. The daughter of a wealthy Mexican rancher, Esperanza has everything she could ever desire. But in one night her life changes and she and her mother migrate to California to work on a farm labor camp. While the Great Depression rages, Esperanza adjusts to the difficulties of her new life.

I enjoyed Esperanza’s story, based off Ryan’s grandmother’s life. The writing is interspersed with Spanish making this a very cultural text. I think this is an excellent book for kids to learn about the difficulties of emigrating families, the richness of Mexican culture as well as the history surrounding the Great Depression. I find this story particularly relevant today as we come out of our economic slump. With so many unemployed, sympathy for non-citizen workers definitely fades. Esperanza’s story reminds us that everyone deserves humane treatment and that stereotyping has never helped our country in the past. That’s what I got out of this text, anyways! I will tuck away this title in my memory bank for my future kid someday.
Publisher: Scholastic, 2000      Pages: 262          Source: IC Public Library
Rating: 4 Stars                             Recommended Age: 10 and up

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

All the Pretty Horses is a beautifully written story set at the beginning of the end of two ages – the decline of the cowboy and the end of youth. It is 1949 and John Grady Cole is sixteen, ready to become a man and to put his love of horses to work. To do so, he and his seventeen-year-old friend, Lacey Rawlins, saddle-up and leave their Texas homes behind them in search of ranch work in Mexico. Of course, things aren’t always as simple as we think they should be. It isn’t for these boys either.

Reading the description, I thought this novel was as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, in which the protagonist goes through a tough time to learn valuable lessons which enable him to become an adult. Such stories often include a romantic relationship which helps to achieve this end. But while reading, I felt John Grady was already an adult. This kid knows his mind and how to handle himself. He is already equipped with a trade (braking horses) and is darn good at it. I’m thinking of Dickens’ Great Expectations, often considered a bildungsroman. Pip goes through much to grow up and I don’t think the pattern is the same for John Grady. John is perhaps reckless but not immature. He falls in love but is not a hopeless romantic like Pip. Having finished reading, I will concede this as a coming-of-age story because John undergoes a shift in the way he understands the world. He acquires a more “grown up” perspective. He always tries to do what he thinks is right but still struggles with his conscience. Finally, John recognizes that not everything in life can be explained and rationalized, that all events in life can’t be nicely wrapped up as we would like. More than the physical events that John experiences, it is this mental growth that signals adulthood. For me, watching how John processed his actions was as motivating to turn pages as reading for the plot.

I am a huge fan of McCarthy’s unconventional writing style. I’m amazed at his command of language and find his writing beautiful and inspiring. This is a text to take your time with, to enjoy the language and visualize what is being described. The descriptions are out of this world if you will allow yourself to sink into the text and not worry about finishing and finding out what happens. This is an “enjoy the journey” book and is not about getting to the end but appreciating the steps that lead to it. I realized on page one that I would have to slow down. I’m glad I did. Here’s an example of a description:

Shrouded in the black thunderheads the distant lightning glowed mutely like welding seen through foundry smoke. As if repairs were under way at some flawed place in the iron dark of the world. (McCarthy 67)

Wow, I just love that. I had to read it four times, once out loud to my husband, and we gushed about it (much like I’m doing now). It just so happens to be storming outside right now, too, and that’s just how the lightning is. On another note, I enjoyed the Spanish mingled throughout the text and was surprised at how much I remembered from class. But if you don’t know Spanish don’t worry as the text is 98% English.

Every time I opened this novel, I felt completely transported to the West. It was like I was hanging in the clouds watching John Grady ride his horse. I think that’s why I enjoyed this book so much. This is book one of the “Border Trilogy” but All the Pretty Horses stands well on its own. If I didn’t know there were more books I would have thought it was a standalone novel. Book two will be in my reading list for the future.
Publisher: Vintage, 1993     Source: IC Public Library
Rating: 4 Stars                       Pages: 301

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

At my library, The Book Thief is constantly checked out. Now I know why. This text is worth a reread someday. If you think you’ve read every version of WWII there is to be told, I ask: have you seen it from Death’s perspective? Have you seen from a German’s point of view? Zusak takes on the challenge to present Nazi Germany from within and to show the challenges for those opposed to the Fuhrer. The story is narrated by Death, who tells us about Liesel, a young German girl with a passion for books, her family and friends. As the story unfolds, Liesel understands the power of words and how the Third Reich uses them to break apart her family and everything she loves.

Zusak’s writing style is enjoyable. He gives Death a unique voice and personality. Death is constantly breaking the narrative with short facts and asides about characters, events or his personal observations. These interruptions are a fun part of the narrative and keep the story interesting. I enjoyed how many chapters begin with a teaser, a fact or future event yet to unfold, that Death uses to get us interested in how the story will play out. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Of course, I’m being rude. I’m spoiling the ending, not only of the entire book, but of this particular piece of it. I have given you two events in advance, because I don’t have much interest in building mystery. It’s the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound me. (Zusak 243)

What an interesting commentary on story-telling – from Death. Normally, I do not like narrators that directly address the reader. It is often tacky and takes me out of the story. But Zusak caries it off beautifully because, I think, Death has such a real presence in the plot and his voice is so real. And moments as the one quoted remind us that this story is already over and he is telling us this in retrospect, which allows him some authority to talk to us about it. Zusak uses nonstandard English, meaning incomplete sentences and “sporadic” punctuation. I don’t count myself among the “grammar police” (notice my many “mistakes”) but I think it is hard to pull nonstandard English off and make the book strong and the reading experience fluid (thinking of Cormac McCarthy who is brilliant at doing this). Zusak does a fine job but some incompletes did throw me off a couple times. Overall though, it worked, especially as Death’s voice. No one talks in complete sentences all the time and it made him seem real. I also enjoyed the spatial aspect of the text – how some lines stand alone and other pieces are centered. It made for an interesting reading experience.

This book is dehydrating. Literally. I cried practically nonstop through the last fifty pages. Prior to that, I didn’t cry at all. It just all happened so fast, the ending that is. I couldn’t put the book down. This is a thick novel, with plenty of time to develop the characters, yet it never became stagnate. The Book Thief is definitely one worth reading.
Publisher: Knopf, 2006     Recommended Age: 14 and up (the reading and content is pretty heavy for younger readers)
Rating: 5 Stars                   Pages: 552               Source: IC Public Library

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

For this text I will begin with the negative and move into the positive. That’s the simplest way, I think, to do a review for it.

This novel has been on my bookshelf for several months and, after a previous attempt to read it, I finally made a point to finish it. So, as you can imagine the text was not an attention grabber. Although I liked Ren, the twelve-year-old orphaned protagonist, I had a difficult time connecting with him and caring about what happened to him (or the rest of the characters). Tinti does a good job at capturing childhood in poverty. Ren is naive, likes to collect rocks and gets into fist fights with his friends – a pretty normal boy for the most part save his missing hand. The elements for character development are all there but maybe I’m too old (and perhaps being a girl doesn’t help me) to really connect with Ren. The story was a bit unbelievable but I could suspend my beliefs enough to enjoy the plot; however, the plot was predictable. When the answers behind Ren’s missing hand were revealed I felt disappointed. I don’t like being able to see every twist coming and I saw too many beforehand. And the ending is very happily ever after. Now, I do like happy endings, and not everything is perfect for Ren, but the ending seemed too good to be true (even with suspended beliefs). I did like Dolly, the good-hearted murderer (yes, the murderer was my favorite character). Otherwise the players in the plot didn’t do much to enhance the story for me. The real villains needed to be much darker and menacing. As to the prose, it is good in the sense that it is grammatically correct. But it stinks in the sense of enjoyable reading. Tinti can write very well but the prose was too standard and well, boring. I fell asleep reading more than once. There were some high moments when action started happening in which I became excited to read on. I kept thinking, ok, it’s going to get better now, but then those moments passed and it was a long time before another came along.

On to the positive. The Good Thief is a recipient of the Alex Award which, in a nut shell, is given to adult books which appeal to young adult readers (age 12-18). I can see this novel appealing to teachers who are tired of reading/teaching Oliver Twist. There are many similarities between the two novels: orphans, con-men, poverty. The depth of Dickens is hard to achieve and his work is definitely better. But I think many a ninth-grader would rather read Tinti than Dickens. I remember reading Oliver Twist as an adult and it was hard to get through. What I appreciate about YA in general (70% of the time, perhaps) and the Alex recipients (I’ve read two so far) is that the stories are fast passed, the foul language is toned down or non-existent and there are few if any “sex scenes.” These are not hard and fast guarantees but definitely factors that draw me to the genre. On top of these qualities, the Alex recipients I’ve read manage to retain an edginess – sometimes scary or unexpected moments – which I enjoy. I plan to read more in the future. I enjoyed the historical info on American dentistry and medicine during the 19th century which adds that edginess I mentioned (think cadavers). The story shows the resiliency of the human spirit and how one good deed can open the door to many positive outcomes. So, wrapping up, I liked this book for its potential to offer young adults different reading. But personally I wasn’t that into The Good Thief. I hope Tinti digs deeper into her writing well and comes back with something better.
Publisher: Dial Press Trade, 2008     Source: Barnes and Noble            Pages: 327
Rating: 3 Stars                                 Recommended Age: 14 and up

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Shanghai Girls follows the lives of two sisters, Pearl and May, from glamorous 1930s Shanghai to post-WWII United States. There are a lot of downs and very few ups in this book. The sisters encounter one tragedy after another clear to the end which didn’t encourage me to keep turning pages. On the contrary, I had to force myself to sit down to read and finish the story. Honestly, I kept thinking I could be reading Amy Tan right now instead. Although historically accurate, the novel wasn’t very powerful, just depressing. I never felt attached to or invested in any of the characters. The sisters, especially May, seemed incredibly spoiled and I never really liked her and Pearl was self-defeating for the entire novel. In many ways the characters were static and boring.

As for the prose and narrative structure, they were annoying. See writes in first person with Pearl’s voice. At first, Pearl seemed like a normal narrator. Then the prose took on a dear-diary feel that I didn’t like. And a few times Pearl addresses the reader, saying things like, you might think that…, which felt like narrator/author intrusion and didn’t work well. This shifting in narrator style ruined the effectiveness of the first person voice for me. Often, Pearl knew too much and was obviously See telling us what to think about circumstances or other characters (author intrusion again). At other times, Pearl was completely blind which didn’t coincide with her supposedly being the smart sister. The novel is written in present tense with no flashbacks which could have broken up the monotonous flow of bad events. The writing is not terrible but is just not effective or enticing.
Publisher: Random House, 2009     Source: IC Public Library
Rating: 2 Stars                                   Pages: 309

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

At once, Chabon’s prose transports you over a thousand years into the past to a world of swordsmen and swindlers. If the text seems verbose, that’s because it is and the prolific use of virtually unknown and archaic words may get you down (especially we younger folk). My advice, just go with it and stop reaching for the dictionary. By page forty, many of the terms became self-explanatory and I enjoyed the story without worrying about them. And as far as the story goes, it’s great – a true adventure tale that reminds me of The Hobbit without the fantastic dragon. Don’t get me wrong, Gentlemen is historical fiction and not fantasy. But two unlikely friends, on the road in search of glory and fortune, do remind me of hobbits and dwarfs in Tolkien’s story. I’ve read Chabon’s short story collection, Werewolves in Their Youth (which I didn’t care for), but Gentlemen is completely different. It’s got plenty of humor, fight scenes, elephants and a twist I didn’t see coming. Chabon’s style is elegant and his recreation of a lost era masterful.
Rating: 3 stars                          Pages: with afterword, 204
Publisher: Del Rey Books Trade Paperback Edition, copyright 2007
Source: Barnes and Noble     More on this author at: http://www.southwestern.edu/library/writers-voice/chabon.html