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What I've been reading: Books No. 49-50
Oct. 6th, 2018 02:20 pmBook No. 49 was "Saving Fish from Drowning" by Amy Tan. The story is told from the viewpoint of Bebe, a Chinese-American art collector who dies before she can take 12 friends on a tour of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Her ghost follows them on their trip, where they soon deviate from the itinerary she set up for them. Cultural misunderstandings, romantic crossed wires, and perilous adventures ensue. Tan doesn't shy away from terrible realities, like the skinny AIDS-infected prostitutes in China's red-light districts to the brutal regime in Myanmar that throws foreign journalists in jail and attempts to commit genocide against native tribes. However, there is a lot of humor in the book, largely at the expense of the American tourists, and I found myself laughing out loud many times. I have read other Amy Tan books and liked them but don't remember her being nearly this funny. I really liked this one.
Book No. 50 was "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, as an audiobook. The book starts when photographer/artist Mia and her daughter Pearl move to a perfectly little planned community in Ohio. They soon become entangled with the family of their landlord, the Richardsons. The Richardsons seem like the perfect middle-class family, while Mia is viewed with suspicion because of her wandering, Bohemian ways. But Pearl longs to set down roots somewhere. While they are in town, Mia becomes friends with a young Chinese woman who initially gives up her child and then tries to sue to get back custody from the white, middle-class couple who have adopted her, who happen to be friends with Mr. & Mrs. Richardson. Out of revenge, Mrs. Richardson begins digging up Mia's past, and as secrets come to the surface, everybody's life is affected. I read a review that said that Ng's prose is "conversational," and it's true. At first, I wondered why I should care about this smug, middle class family and found Ng's narrative style somewhat plain. But the book really took ahold of me after a few chapters and I kept wanting to know what happened next. I really liked this book a lot. Apparently Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon are looking to turn the book into a mini-series, and I can see why, because it is character-driven and quite suspenseful. I'm planning to read more by the author. ( The other books I've read so far this year: )
Book No. 50 was "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, as an audiobook. The book starts when photographer/artist Mia and her daughter Pearl move to a perfectly little planned community in Ohio. They soon become entangled with the family of their landlord, the Richardsons. The Richardsons seem like the perfect middle-class family, while Mia is viewed with suspicion because of her wandering, Bohemian ways. But Pearl longs to set down roots somewhere. While they are in town, Mia becomes friends with a young Chinese woman who initially gives up her child and then tries to sue to get back custody from the white, middle-class couple who have adopted her, who happen to be friends with Mr. & Mrs. Richardson. Out of revenge, Mrs. Richardson begins digging up Mia's past, and as secrets come to the surface, everybody's life is affected. I read a review that said that Ng's prose is "conversational," and it's true. At first, I wondered why I should care about this smug, middle class family and found Ng's narrative style somewhat plain. But the book really took ahold of me after a few chapters and I kept wanting to know what happened next. I really liked this book a lot. Apparently Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon are looking to turn the book into a mini-series, and I can see why, because it is character-driven and quite suspenseful. I'm planning to read more by the author.
