Yoshi's July Reads (Spoiler Free!)
- echoingwings
- Jul 21, 2019
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 13, 2019
1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5/5, Historical Fiction, Fiction, 465 pages
“Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.”
“All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries.”
“Write about what disturbs you, particularly if it bothers no one else.”
(Three quotes, because this book was just too good.)
If I were to rank books based upon meaningfulness, The Help ranks first out of all of the books I’ve read in 2019. The Help was one of the novels I’d been meaning to read for a long time, but never got around to doing so. Stockett’s novel is a riveting one intertwining three very different women: Aibileen, Minnie, and Skeeter. Aibileen and Minnie are both African American maids but contrasting in family situation and temperament, while Skeeter is a white girl with aspirations to become a writer. It’s set during the peak of racial segregation (the 1960s) in Jackson, Mississippi, and portrays the lives and struggles of African Americans working for wealthy white families at the time.
When a story is told between multiple perspectives, some novels stumble at shifts in voice. Stockett’s writing, however, thrives with this type of narrative. I found myself recognizing the characters every time without looking at the chapter title (the three women alternate chapters). Each has her own way of expressing their emotions, worries, and attitudes, and each compelled me and grew on me. The pacing of the novel is also perfect- there were little to none moments when I found myself zoning out, or losing focus.
Although I’m no longer living in the US anymore, I found myself digging deeper into race issues and how they’re ingrained into society, into young children who grow up to be racist adults who teach their children the same things. The book also addresses issues relating to interracial push toward change, and how this can be met with hesitation and even resentment from both sides. The most striking thing for me was the fact that this book was published in 2009. I had thought that it had been published in the late 1900s, but no. The fact that Stockett published it only ten years ago brings into prominence the truth: race issues are still prevalent today. Furthermore, we may think the 60s may have been a long time ago, but really, it’s not. It's the decade which was reality to our parents and grandparents. This is a recent history. Of course, this was a truth I had already been acquainted with, but this book made me contemplate the lines in our society- which shouldn’t, and which should, be crossed.
This book made me laugh with humor (See: “Stuart needs "space" and "time," as if this were physics and not a human relationship.”), and cry with sadness and frustration. This type of novel isn’t something I read often, but I definitely should. A solid 5/5, The Help overflows with magnificence.
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
2/5. Historical Fiction, Fiction, 503 pages
Technically this doesn't count as a read or review- I only got through 2 chapters, so I understand I'm not absolutely qualified to review this. I only stopped because unfortunately, it did live up to the rumors that it isn't an 100% accurate portrayal of Japanese customs and culture, and as a Japanese I felt that with some of the details and it didn't sit well with me. This might be a good read if you're not Japanese and looking to dip your toes into Asian culture- in which case, go ahead. I will try to read it sometime soon, so I can make a full and detailed review, and hopefully give this a bit more justice.
3. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, 1) by George R R Martin
4.9/5, Fantasy, Fiction, Medieval times, 848 pages
“So they will not love… for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty.”
If you’ve never heard of A Game of Thrones, have you been living under a rock? I’m only half joking, and I admit I haven’t watched the TV show, as I know I probably won’t be able to stomach the beheadings… so this review is based off of a raw perception of the story, in the original book form (the first in the series, A Song of Ice and Fire). In the simplest terms, it’s about a struggle for the throne in a medieval kingdom between large families. The book centers on the Starks, a noble family in the north, who are called to King’s Landing by the drunken king, Robert Baratheon. If I were to choose an overarching theme for this book I would say it’s about love vs. honor, and how the characters struggle with this dilemma.
Never did I think I could get through an 800+ page book in 3 ½ days but here I am. (Edit: goodness, this length of this review is almost proportional to the size of the book itself.)
Star 0.9: To be honest the last 100 pages had me on my toes and my heart racing. This is one of the features that distinguish good books from mediocre ones- if you slowly crawl to the end, or if you are literally caught in the maelstrom of action that Martin provides in the last leg of the book. Not many books recently have made me read so quickly yet absorb each and every word of the ending. Martin delivers two great shocks (perhaps not so shocking, to a seasoned reader, but to myself they were extremely shocking), which left me reeling. I honestly felt, and still do as I write this review; both empty and full at once.
Despite that, I did find myself zoning out in some places (especially the Catelyn and Tyrion chapters). I felt bad, and maybe this is more due to my disinterest or lack of concentration than Martin’s writing, but because of this I couldn’t give the pacing star a full 1, nor this book a full 5 stars.
Star 2: The protagonists. Now I’m not yet sure if any of them will become antagonists in the future (which I talk about in the next star) but the Stark family has captured my heart. Ned Stark delivers some excellent wisdom (“the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword”- THE SIBILANCE.) But Arya is the one that I will root for. Oh my goodness. George R. R. Martin cannot have ever been a young girl who defies imposed ladylikeness, but he captures it perfectly. A good book must have a character that reminds me of myself, and although she is fiercer and braver than I have ever been or ever will be, I see the most of myself in her. Also, her bond with Jon Snow is so wholesome. Bless her.
Star 3: The antagonists. Ah, the antagonist, the villain, the one the reader is supposed to hate. Somehow, Martin makes that difficult to do. In each character there is a motive that resonates within the reader, whether it be for honor, love, or grief. As us readers may be the antagonists to someone’s life and a protagonists to another, this gray-ness makes the antagonists unbearably human. Not to mention, the antagonists are given some of the most chillingly resonant words (“No sword is strong until it’s been tempered”, hello?). I’m a sucker for effectively implemented phrases.
Star 4: I’m not a big fan of explicitly violent gore and sex; I believe, though, that it’s a little exaggerated in the TV show. I was thinking of docking off a star or 0.5 stars off for making me feel sick and absolutely horrible, but then I consider the author’s intention and fully give George R R Martin the star that he so rightfully deserves. This man does not play with the shock of violence itself or relishes in bloodthirsty descriptions. He tells them as they are, and the characters’ appropriate reactions that do not alienate the reader from the novel, and instead compel them to reach out in horrified empathy. So a star granted for the well-executed (hehe) presentation of violence.
That being said, I wouldn’t recommend this to many under ~15 or to those who aren’t used to these extremes- I just got through it, but maybe I’m just oversensitive.
Star 5: Just the world-building, honestly. You know that an author’s really spent time on creating a fantastical realm when there are multiple houses, with servants, children, wards, the list goes on (frankly, I don’t know all of them, there are so many names). I read this in the middle of summer, but I could feel the throbbing frigidness of the Wall and the cool darkness of the Stark crypt. With a kingdom full of rich history of conflict kings and lords, as well as a sprinkle of dragons, dwarfs, and witches, Game of Thrones is sure to please the fantasy lover. Definitely going to continue the series.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
4.6/5. Classics, 249 pages
“If I was wrong in yielding to persuasion once, remember that it was to persuasion exerted on the side of safety, not of risk.”
Persuasion was posthumously published a year after Jane Austen’s death, and therefore the last novel she ever published. It makes me consider how her novels would have evolved if she’d been given longer to live. As I started to read it, I had a nagging déjà vu hanging over me; I felt I knew the story already. This kept on building up until I finally pinned it down- For Darkness Shows the Stars (a Young Adult sci-fi/steampunk I read years ago) was inspired by Persuasion!! This epiphany was definitely something that helped me get through this book.
I found that Anne is one of Austen’s quieter heroines, not unlike Fanny from Mansfield Park. It’s a tale of a love lost and returned; Anne (27) becomes reacquainted with Captain Frederick Wentworth, who proposed to her when she was 19. She had refused him under the influence of her family’s persuasions that marrying a sailor would not suit with the conventions of gentle society, and consequently the two have an unspoken tension between them.
“There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.”
If you like the independent, rationally outspoken Austen heroines such as Emma or Elizabeth, perhaps this novel won’t be as enjoyable- but if you have a soft spot for characters such as Fanny from Mansfield Park, you would probably like this. Persuasion is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of memory, lost love and regret. It also has notes of the enlightenment feminist ideas (“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”), and serious introspection (“Nor could she help feeling, on more serious reflection, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination.”). Finally, it sheds light on how although time and distance may seem to separate people indefinitely, they allow for growth that eventually brings them back together again.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
4.3/5. Young Adult Fiction, 288 pages,
"But your thoughts are you. I think therefore I am, right?"
"No, not really. A fuller formation of Descartes's philosophy would be Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum. 'I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.' Descartes wanted to know if you could really know that anything was real, but he believed his ability to doubt reality proved that, while it might not be real, he was. You are as real as anyone, and your doubts make you more real, not less."
I had thought that by now, YA would be frivolous for my 18-year old self, but this book proved otherwise. Turtles All the Way Down, by the renowned YA Author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines etc.) is a poignant tale of Aza Holmes, a girl navigating her teenage life while struggling with mental illness and the loss of her father in childhood. It was the first insight I had into a modern, young narrator with mental health issues and it really opened up my eyes to how many affected are expected to live normally, but cannot and should not be dismissed. She also reunites with Davis- a boy who she was friends with in childhood- whose millionaire father has mysteriously gone missing. The novel touches upon how wealth is valued over character, the way in which friendships are affected as a result of misunderstanding, and the complicated, confusing nature of young relationships.
Riddled with John Green’s characteristic humor and graced with an occasionally sassy narrator, Turtles All the Way Down was a quick but engaging read. Would recommend if you’re encountering a reader’s block or if you even slightly enjoyed Fault in Our Stars etc. - personally I think this one is better.
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