By Belynda, August 20th, 2009 in Other | No Comments
Tags: africa, book review, chris cleave, little bee
I came into Little Bee knowing precious few things about the author or the story. It was recommended to me as a “You Might Also Like” on Goodreads… I forget for which book. I threw it on my list and IMMEDIATELY people on Twitter were saying “Loved it. You have to read it.”
I bought it because it was the first thing to come to mind when I was showing a friend how to buy books directly from the Kindle. I remembered all the praise, and click-click… it was mine. I’m really glad I picked that one up!
I’m not going to tell you much about Bee, because much as it’s suggested on the Goodreads description, it’s just too good to be spoiled by explanation. I will tell you that it is a very sad story, the kind of thing you don’t want to read when your seratonin levels are slumping. It’s a book about the realities of war, the frivolity of the western world, and the brutality of the parts of Africa most of us would rather just forget about.
The story is expertly written, its atmosphere and narrative style intimate, at moments uncomfortably so. The characters are real to you, real in their failures and their fears, all snarled up in a world they can’t help but keep stumbling through. None are exactly what they seem at the outset, and none get out unscathed.
The savior of the entire story is Charlie, the optimistic and wide-eyed three-year-old in a Batman suit, “fighting the baddies” and balancing out an appropriately bleak-hearted adult cast of characters. Charlie makes you laugh even when you think you shouldn’t. He’s a gem. If I have a son, I’ll want him to be as sweet as Charlie.
Bee herself runs the risk of being a two-dimensional character, until you know all of her secrets. Like thousands in her position, a good heart is clouded by awful memories and terrible burdens. It makes her transformation in the reader’s eyes all the more potent. The Bee you know through the biggest part of the story is not the Bee you will walk away from when you close the cover.
There are certain stories that get under your skin, that just can’t help but cling to you long after you’ve moved on from them. Little Bee is one of those stories for me. If you’re okay with that type of book, then Bee is a must read.
By Belynda, August 12th, 2009 in Other | No Comments
Tags: aravind adiga, book review, booker prize, caste, india, the white tiger
Aravind Adiga became one of a few Indian authors to win the Man Booker Prize in 2008 for is first novel, “The White Tiger.” After reading “Brick Lane”, and having enjoyed “The God of Small Things” so many years ago, I decided to pick up the audio version of “Tiger”.
The novel is a great read, and the audio version was very well acted. I always appreciate a narrator that sounds like he’s supposed to! This of course would seem to go without saying.. but some narrators… don’t get me started.
Set in modern day Delhi, “Tiger” is at once a commentary on the incredible disparity between the rich and poor in India, and the massive opportunities that are flowing into the nation as it becomes more competitive with western society.
Balram, the main character of the story, is at once a cold monster, and a funny, charismatic and sympathetic character. The tale is spun in such a way that by the time you realize what Balram really is, and how he was crafted into a murderer by his situation, it’s too late: You’re amused by him. Shocked, embarrassed… but amused. He approaches the narrative with a sarcastic wit that at once acknowledges the inequities of the world, and laughs at the concept of it being any other way. From the most grim level of poverty, he comes to be employed in an occupation that surrounds him with precious and marvelous things he cannot have, cannot even touch. Experiencing the world through Balram’s perspective, one appreciates the cold smell of air conditioning and leather in the sweltering city, and marvels at the pristine shopping malls and homes which have sprung up like mushrooms in the dirt of the crammed city.
Although caste is never expressly discussed in the novel, one experiences caste prejudice as a native might: as a pervasive, subtle reinforcement of the concepts of “Them” and “Us.” When reading “Tiger”, life happens when the rich are not around. The red teeth and smutty magazines of the drivers, the huddle of men accustomed to having no place to sit, the cubicles in which one sleeps when one does not come from the proper genes, they all lay the weight of caste upon the reader’s shoulders for a few hours, and make one aware that birth in India can be fate. Through all of this, we get the tandem feeling of Balram’s self-perceived superiority, that he is the one laughing at a joke the rich don’t really get.
Overall, “Tiger” is a great read, and well-deserving of the Booker. I look forward to Adiga’s next work and hope that it will be as well-delivered and socially conscious as “Tiger” has been.
