 The title of Mailhot's memoir comes from a story about the first medicine man, O'dimin, or Heart Berry Boy, who healed using strawberries. Photo credit: Justus Menke. By Anya Shukla MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE WITH THE BIPOC BOOK LIST! YIPPEE YAY YAY! I did not realize how long this challenge would take… or how excruciatingly slowly I read when I have to take notes/write a review afterward. Thankfully, we are now at the other side of the 52-book peak. (Of course, all the survival books I’ve read say that the descent is the hardest part. So.) Looking back at the books I’ve reviewed so far, I’ve realized that I’m exceedingly nice: I’ve given many books 5 stars. What’s the point of a grading system if I’m just passing everyone?
0 Comments
 Bibi chooses her new name because it represents "an animal striped black-and-white like a prisoner of war; an animal that rejects all binaries, that represents ink on paper" (pg. 101). Photo credit: Stephane YAICH on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla All I have to say is that this was the first book on this list that I actually did not want to finish. Yet I powered through it. And here we are. Review: The main character of Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s “Call Me Zebra,” Bibi Hosseini grows up immersed in a familial literary tradition. She spends much of her childhood memorizing books, ingesting knowledge the way other kids her age might consume dessert. When she and her family must flee from Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, literature is what keeps her going—even after her mother’s death.
 While Audre Lorde first gained fame for her poetry, "Sister Outsider" is arguably her most well-known work. Photo credit: Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla A social-justice-theory-loving friend of mine recommended “Sister Outsider” to me, and I was instantly on my guard. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s entering a super-dense theoretical rabbit hole of a book and never coming out again. (See: “Between the World and Me” by Ta Nehisi-Coates. Or actually don’t, because it was so difficult for me to get through.) I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared to read something. Luckily, “Sister Outsider” wasn’t dense at all, but SO accessible. So BRILLIANT. I honestly feel different after reading it—enlightened, almost? What a great book.
 Alka Joshi uses her writing to showcase a lesser-known side of India. Photo credit: Garry Bailey. By Anya Shukla In 2020, Alka Joshi—at 62 years old—published her debut novel, “The Henna Artist.” Set in 1950s India, her book caught the world’s attention, becoming a bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick. Joshi currently has several projects in the works: she received a Netflix deal for a TV adaptation of “The Henna Artist,” published her second book, “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur,” to acclaim in 2021, and is researching a third. That being said, Joshi’s path to this success has been circuitous. She spent the majority of her career in advertising and public relations before getting her MFA in 2008, then took 10 years to perfect her first novel. I spoke with Joshi to learn how her career path impacted her writing and what her first book meant to her.
 Chen dreams of "one day being as fearless as a mango" (pg. 36). Photo credit: Becky Mattson on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla In his poem “Talented Human Beings,” Chen Chen confronts the reader: “Pop Quiz: Who was / Vincent Chin? Theresa Hak Kyung Cha? / Group Project: Name one book by Maxine Hong Kingston / not titled The Woman Warrior” (pg. 98). I am proud to say that I knew two out of the three! I feel very cultured. Obviously, I get Chen’s larger point with this poem: we don’t learn about or appreciate the history of Asian Americans. (And it just so happened that he chose examples of Asian Americans that I knew about.) But I’m still pretty proud of myself.
 A spooky house and a spooky family... what more could a Mexican socialite want? Photo credit: Ján Jakub Naništa on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla Silvia Moreno-Garcia wrote her Masters thesis on “Women and Eugenic Thought In the Work of H.P. Lovecraft,” in which she discusses the intersections between science fiction, feminism, and scientific racism. It’s an interesting read, especially because bits and pieces of that early work crop up in “Mexican Gothic.” (Plus, it’s pretty accessible, as academic works go. I’m looking at you, “Algorithms of Oppression.”) Review: A young socialite in 1950s Mexico, Noemí Taboada leaves her high-society lifestyle behind in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic.” After receiving a strange letter from her recently-married cousin, Catalina Doyle, Noemí travels to the Doyle family mansion to check up on her relative. Noemí finds Catalina sick and muttering about voices in walls… and soon begins to experience strange dreams herself. To make matters worse, the locals tell her that the Doyles—Virgil, Catalina’s husband; Howard, Virgil’s father; Florence, Virgil’s aunt; and Francis, Florence’s son—are cursed.
 Laila Lalami dissects America and American citizenship in "Conditional Citizens." Photo credit: Wesley Tingey on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla It’s Olllllllll-ympic season! I have gotten so fantastically into the Olympics that it’s getting a little ridiculous. Ice hockey, speed skating, alpine skiing, that sport where they go headfirst down a super-slick ice track at 70 miles per hour, I’m watching it all. Plus, powering through five hours of NBC coverage a day leaves me almost no time to read books! Almost.
 Will Hattori Mariko embrace her water-based nature or draw on the strength of the other elements to circumvent societal norms? Photo credit: Erda Estremera on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla Loyal readers may know that one of my pet peeves is when a YA book attempts to cross over to the adult section (and vice versa). Today, I discovered a very relevant article in The New York Times—coincidentally featuring a BIPOC author, Jason Reynolds. If you want to know what YA literature should look like, I’d recommend checking it out. Not really related to “Flame in the Mist,” but just something interesting. Anyways…
By Dilinna Ugochukwu With eye-catching color contrasts and intricate detailing, Patteera Sudsok’s work is beautiful, brilliant, and focused on character design. They first started posting their art online in 2016 when they were in middle school, and have since grown a following on social media. When Sudsok first started posting, they were inspired by their love of cartoons. They like to draw fanart inspired by some of their favorite animated shows like “Adventure Time,” “Steven Universe,” “Attack on Titan,” and “Jujutsu Kaisen”; as well as the work of other online artists—with similarly cartoon-esque styles—like Gunzbie and CutiiCosmo. Sudsok’s work employs saturated colors, and can accurately be described as bright and eye-catching. Additionally, perhaps because of their love of animated shows, Sudsok is drawn towards creating character art over environments or backgrounds.
 As a significant part of "America Is Not the Heart" takes place in a Filipino restaurant, food plays a large role in the book. Photo credit: Amanda Lim on Unsplash. By Anya Shukla I’m too lazy to make a full “BIPOC Book Connections” section in this review, but I did see a lot of similarities between “Behold the Dreamers” and “America Is Not the Heart.” Gender expectations, who has “ownership” over the family and its decisions, hard work to support your relatives… these topics come into play in both novels. Even though the books explore such different cultures within the American immigrant experience, they have very similar themes. Review: Elaine Castillo’s “America Is Not the Heart” centers on Hero, a 34-year-old Filipino* woman. Hero’s family has strong ties to Ferdinand Marcos, former kleptocratic president of the Philippines, but Hero chooses to support the New People’s Army, a communist rebel group fighting against his regime. After ten years in the New People’s Army and two years in a Filipino prison camp, Hero comes to stay in California with her uncle Pol; his wife, Paz; and six-year-old cousin, Roni. When she does, she ends up growing closer to Rosalyn, a Filipino makeup artist who introduces Hero and Roni to her friends and community.
|
Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed