2021 #17 The Pull of the Stars (Donoghue)

 

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not an easy read right now, not that it would ever be an easy read. But it is also the PERFECT read right now, in the way it reminds us that life is not 2020. It isn't 2021. It isn't 1918. Life is the maelstrom of our experiences -- messy, incomplete, unexpected, joyful, mournful. I might not recommend this book for expectant mothers, but truly a beautiful reflection on life that takes place over three days. The protagonist is who many of us are sometimes and who we sometimes wish we could be Donoghue shares lives without ceremony or overcharacterization--their stories are enough. Our stories are enough, and that is the lesson here.

View all my reviews

2021 #16: The Ways of White Folks (Hughes)

The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These may be short stories, but they are not short reads--nor should they be. Langston Hughes gives us a multi-dimensional look at racism through vivid characterization and writing that can be both acidic and tender. "Slave on the Block" looks at fetishization. "Home" and "The Blues I'm playing" should be required reading for music students--especially those studying the classical tradition. The final and longest story, "Father and Son" exposes the workings of classism and colorism, and is one of the most powerful short stories I have ever read. Throughout the book, questions of "home" and what that means seem to surface time and time again. This is one of the most important short story collections of the twentieth century, and is an essential inroad to understanding race relations in the U.S.