What I've been reading: Books 45 & 46

Book No. 45 was "Black Lotus: A Woman's Search for Racial Identity" by Sil Lai Abrams. This memoir is about, as the title suggests, the long process of coming to identify as black and what that means for her and her family. She grew up with a white father and Chinese-American mother but looked much darker than anyone else in the family. She suspected from an early age that the man who raised her was not her biological father, and she finds out as a young, rebellious teen, that she is right. She remains in denial for a few more years, but eventually begins to identify as black after moving to New York, getting into fashion modeling, and meeting black celebrities, including Eddie Murphy, who takes her out on a date. Later, she begins to look into the Chinese side of her family, briefly reconciling with the mother who abandoned her when she was young. The lies, secrecy, and whitewashing of the family take a toll the author, who ends up with a drinking problem, as well as on on Sil Lai's sister May Lai, who descends into drug addiction. Sil Lai is also unlucky in love. The father of her first child breaks up with her while she's still pregnant and fights for several years in court to deny that the child is his. She has a second child with an abuser.  She ends the book having moved on from her painful path to being an inspirational speaker who helps other abused women and running a nonprofit that looks to improve the image of women of color in the media. She also tries to give her two kids the best life she can and make them feel proud to be black. I found this book very moving. I like that Abrams didn't try to wrap everything up in a bow neatly but let the ragged edges and unsolved issues remain. Highly recommended.

Book No. 46 was "The Child Garden - or a Low Comedy" by Geoff Ryman. I read this book of Ryman's in my early 20s and was very affected by it. I wanted to re-read it this year because, while I still remember admiring it, I only remembered a handful of images from the first time I'd read it. It knocked my socks off a second time. The language is beautiful, and there's some startling image or sentence on practically every page. In future London, society is short on material resources, but everyone has been programmed with viruses that prevent cancer but, in a terrible side effect, about halve everybody's lifespan. Children are taught by the viruses and act like adults well before their 10th birthdays. Milena, though, is mostly immune to the viruses, including the ones that "correct" homosexual attraction, making her feel like an outsider. Then she meets Rolfa, a genetically-engineered woman of the variety sometimes referred to as Polar Bears because they are covered in fur to protect them from the cold of Antarctica where they mine metal for the rest of the world. Meeting Rolfa chances the course of Milena's life, and she goes on to change the course of the future for the entire globe. It's hard to go into more detail without spoiling the plot. It's gorgeous and inventive, and ugly and weird and sad. I've read three of Ryman's novel now and am seeing repeat themes. He is gay, and there's always a gay character or two in his novels, or at least someone who is a sexual outlaw. Strange birthing experiences often pop up in his stories as well. I'm glad I re-read this book. I think I'll remember big chunks of it a lot better this time around. Highly recommended to sci-fi lovers and people who like well-rounded LGBTQ characters in their fiction.

 

( The other books I've read so far this year: )