2025 #43 Martyr! (Akbar)

 

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This remarkable debut novel lives up to the hype. Fans of Akbar's poetry won't be disappointed, as he weaves in poems into the manuscript authored by the protagonist, Cyrus, an Iranian-American poet, writer, and recovering alcoholic. I did not know what to expect, having read little about the book as I'm simply trying to read all the 2025 Tournament of Books selections, and I think I'm better for not knowing what I was getting into. It is hard to describe the ride that is this book -- it is beautiful, tragic, funny, historical fiction, and one of those books where you feel you can connect with almost every character. There's even a plot twist -- handled deftly by Akbar, without resorting to clichéd sentimentality. Akbar lays bare themes of addiction, abandonment, artistic impulse, religiosity, media filters, racism, sexuality, and yes-- martyrdom--all in a way that seems like one of those rare honest conversations one might have with a close friend (often while inebriated, for some). The only drawback (if I can call it that) for me was the final scene between Cyrus and Zee. While I understand the reason for the lack of earthiness, it jolted me out of what I loved so much about the book -- the "here-and-nowness" of it--the starkness and the reality. I would have enjoyed a more subtle experience. But that doesn't keep me from saying that Martyr! is definitely in my top five books that I've read this year.

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2025 #42 The Fifth Woman - Wallander #6 (Mankell)

 

The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having been a fan of the series with Kenneth Branagh (we didn't have the opportunity to watch more than one episode of the original Swedish series), I was eager to compare the experience of reading one of the books. This did not disappoint. There's a lot happening. Lots of character development for Wallander, who is going through his own stages of grief. My only real complaint is that I wanted more of the catalyst to be involved in the plot. Instead, we get the trigger, and we know who the culprit is, but I was left feeling like the plot took a huge left turn, and used insanity as the defense. Still, there are truly interesting characters and it was a rich experience for a book that I'd normally designate as a "beach read" (nothing wrong with that, but this book was more intense and deep than anticipated!).

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2025 #41 The Wedding People (Espach)

 

The Wedding People by Alison Espach
My rating: 4.5 stars

4.5 stars. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, but I also seem to have bias against certain types of cover art? Anyway, Phoebe is an amazing protagonist, and the book is full of characters who are hiding behind façades, and Espach lets us see that so that they don't become caricatures. The initial premise doesn't seem like it would be very funny--and it isn't--but the story is so very human and redemptive in that the characters get to be real people, making real choices. A delightful read. As it is part of my Tournament of Books 2025 list read, I'll say I enjoyed it more than Margo's Got Money Troubles, which is a good comparative in terms of style/genre.

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2025#40 The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver)

 

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some books, possibly the best books, are experiences. That most definitely describes this epic work. Any review I might write here would not match the scale of the book, but I will try to offer some thoughts. I won't take up space with a summary, since that is available elsewhere, but get right to what made the book so powerful for me.

Characterization. I'll focus on the main characters here: The four daughters are very different, starting with the Nellie Oleson-like eldest daughter Rachel, who launches malapropisms at her detractors (real and imagined) as if they were poisoned arrows. We can occasionally laugh at her (one of my favorites: "Thyroid Mary"), but when she isn't overwritten, we might recognize the whiteness of settler colonialism at perhaps its most pernicious, because it comes with such a set of excuses and sense of self-righteousness. There are also moments where she might remind us of certain "leaders":

"Heck, wasn't I the one hollering night and day that we were in danger? It's true that when it happened I was the oldest one there, and I'm sure some people would say I should have been in charge." (465)

Leah strives to be pious (at least initially) and to please her father, but unlike her older sister, we see far more growth in her character. Adah, Leah's twin sister, is physically disabled, but likely the smartest of the bunch and relies upon manufacturing palindromic phrases (the juxtaposition of this linguistic ability against her sister Rachel's is not lost on the reader). The youngest, Ruth May, has probably one of the more "hit-you-over-the-head" narratives in the book, but we learn why. Then there is the father - Pastor Nathan Price, and the mother, Orleana. Except for Rachel, occasionally, no one is a cliché. We grow to care both for their individual narratives, as well as that of the family. Some of the other major characters, like Anatole, for example, we see mostly through the eyes of one (or more) of the daughters and this is important to remember because Kingsolver seems to do this to recognize her own positionality.

There are so many pull quotes -- I'm glad I read this on my kindle so I could easily share them on GR, but aside from the story itself, Kingsolver's gift with language is astounding. Even the simplest description becomes fresh in her words: "In the local market, a bubble of stopped conversation moves with me as I walk." (472) And occasionally, we get something akin to an aphorism: "we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes" (496).

Truly the book deserves an essay-length review, but if I am not up to the task it is for lack of time, not desire. For readers unfamiliar with the history of the Congo in the twentieth century, I'd recommend even just a quick Wikipedia review before launching into this book (and I almost NEVER , as a historian, recommend Wikipedia). This would make a VERY interesting "companion" read to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

It took me a good chunk of the summer to finish this book -- not because it is long, but because I had to set it aside occasionally. It is rich, sorrowful, deep, informative -- there's just a lot. But I think it deserves that time and attention.



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2025 #39 DEI Deconstructed (Zheng)

 

DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right by Lily Zheng
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I let this book sit for far too long on my shelf. I've long admired Lily Zheng for their posts on social media (I follow them via LinkedIn). While Zheng has since introduced a new approach to DEI: the FAIR Framework (Fairness Access Inclusion Representation), it is essentially the outcome-driven approach she advocates in this book. While the current governmental attack on DEI has not that much to do with the weaknesses described in this book (at least politically), their advice is sound and certainly would have/would strengthen DEI initiatives at all sorts of institutions: companies, higher ed, etc. It is truly "no-nonsense" -- very "tell it like it is" without unnecessary abrasiveness or grandstanding. They really want to help us all do better. Chapter 2, where Zheng "reformulate[s] the key terms and concepts of the DEI space away from their feel-good buzzword roots and toward operationalized and tangible outcomes" is particularly useful.
There were several "mic-drop" moments for me, such as:
"Identity isn't morality. Being privileged or marginalized on one or more dimensions of identity doesn't make us any better or worse as people; it simply positions us differently and offers us different advantages and disadvantages within broader systems. It changes the power we have access to and our ability to understand experiences similar to and different from our own." (165)
It doesn't get much more "no-nonsense" than that.
What is really helpful is that Zheng's approach can help ANYONE first, identify their stakeholder role (as well as their relationships to other roles), and then provides helpful reflections and exercises to make those things a reality within our varied spheres of influence.
Really essential reading for anyone doing work in the "DEI" sphere -- even if the acronym has changed, it is worth thinking about the pitfalls because they can easily occur no matter the abbreviation we use.

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FTL2025 5B challenge DEI Deconstructed---->Demian (Hesse)

#2025 #38 On Tyranny (Snyder)

 

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is this some lofty tome packed with new critical insights and expansive historical knowledge? No. Does it aim to be? No. Did it actually take me five months to read? No. But I had to put it down because I read before bed, and well -- this should keep you up at night. But hopefully with a sense of energy and resolve.

What the book IS, however, is a reminder. A reminder of the things you should hold dear. The things that truly COULD make us great, or at least could reinvest in real patriotism. It is an expanded listicle of 20 "lessons" from the twentieth century. The book opens with: "History does not repeat. But it does instruct." Heather Cox Richardson illuminates that in her "Letters from an American" posts. If you feel you lack courage to resist, throw this tiny book in your bag and take it out and reread it as you wait for the bus.

Make eye contact and small talk (#12).
Start somewhere.



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2025 #37 Margo's Got Money Troubles (Thorpe)

 

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of folks misuse the word "ambivalent" but I think that's the right word to describe how I feel about this book. Think more 3.75 stars. There were parts of this book I LOVED and parts I really did not love.

Suzie? I kept forgetting she existed and then she'd pop up like a game of whack-a-mole. The mushroom "scene" was off the rails, although I suppose that was the point. But these types of things made the plot feel like a manipulation, as if Thorpe was just interested in having the reader be a yo-yo she could play with. I least enjoyed the descriptions of the OnlyFans content - not that I'm prudish, but if I'm not a consumer of that content, I don't really relish reading about it either, even in a pragmatic, funny way. I did find, however, Margo's "writeups" very amusing. The more surreal content? Not my thing.

Jinx was a GREAT character and his relationship with Margo is largely what pushes this toward 4 stars for me. I also loved the mix of first and third person narration. And for as little as he's actually described, I felt I had a strong picture of Bodhi in my mind.

So, I had to sit with this for a day before writing a review because I did like it and it did make me laugh (and also cry). I think it felt a bit too improvisatory for me in terms of storyline, but some of the characters were gold.


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