October 2020 📚 Wrap up

I am late. Again. But I have only great books to present to you today. So, I will just cut to the chase right away.

1) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014)

In the 1970s, a small town is shocked by the sudden death of a Chinese-American teenage girl, Lydia. The Lee family is devastated by her loss, but each member has their own theories and they all try desperately to connect the dots and find out what really happened to Lydia that night. 

Although I was expecting a mystery/thriller book, Everything I Never Told You is more of a slice-of-life kind of book since we focus on the relationships among the characters and how the actions of one can affect others. As the title suggests, there is a major communication issue in the Lee family and we witness how the lack of genuine and meaningful interactions leads to misinterpretation, misunderstandings and to the ultimate destruction of the whole family. Another issue that is investigated extensively is racism, as especially with James, Lydia's father, we get to see how the fact that he was made fun of because of his race as a child influenced his behaviour as an adult. Subsequently, the theme of blending and belonging to a group versus standing out is explored from both opposing sides. Lastly, I have to say that our characters aren't accustomed to sharing their feelings and inner thoughts and this is reflected in the writing as well. As a result, for readers, it is hard to get close to the characters but it matches with their true self as they don't let anyone in. To cut a long story, I liked Everything I Never Told You because it made me think about family, society and also about writing. 

2) Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956)

David, a young but poor American, enjoys his time in Paris where one night he meets a beautiful bartender named Giovanni and they have an affair. However, David has a relationship with Hella to whom he proposed before her trip to Spain. When Hella returns, David is unable to speak clearly and honestly to Hella or Giovanni and they are all on the verge of losing themselves. Will any of them manage to escape the eternal doom of life?

I have to start by commenting how beautiful James Baldwin's writing is; the use of ample images and mataphors, which manage to stimulate all our senses, immerse the reader in the claustophobic, dirty but also beautiful setting of Paris. The themes of opening up and being honest towards others and ourselves dominate the whole narrative and readers are forced to really ponder on those issues because we get the story from David's perspective and he is really struggling with these issues. I totally recommend this to everyone. 

3) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970) 

We follow the harsh and tragic life of the Breedlove family. Their lack of sense of home, the destitute state they live in, each individual's childhood traumas and their blackness doom them to live in misery and to be treated with disregard and disparagement by their fellow neighbours.

I knew that this book dealt with issues of racism and beauty. Besides these, it deals with equally harsh issues like abuse, rape and trauma that I didn't know about and this is why I would recommend not getting this book if you feel uncomfortable or triggered when reading such stories. Although I wasn't prepared for some events described in this book, I'm delighted to have read it. Firstly, the writing style is full of images and beautiful descriptions. But most importantly, it is experimental as although the prologue seems unconnected to the story and it has an unconventional format, excerpts of it are implemented in the story's chapters and by the end we have decoded and understood its meaning and function. Another great plus is the wide range of characters that we are introduced to in the book as some of them bring sorrow to the reader, some pity, some disgust and some hope for the future.

4) Attrib. and other stories by Eley Williams (2017)

This is a collection of short stories concentrating on the difficulties of effective communication and how thoughts that torment a person may never manage to be voiced. 

All of the stories deal with the expression of the thoughts of the protagonists. It is very interesting how the writer experiments with the way these thoughts are printed on the page so that the reader can go with the flow and the pace the character is thinking. Additionally, although the common and underlying theme of all the short stories is communication, the reader isn't given a clear-cut plot but they have to piece the thoughts that the characters give them in order to understand what has happened. 

5) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)

Starr is a 16-year-old, black girl living a double life; she is shy and quiet at her ghetto-like neighbourhood but confident and energetic at her private school, which is dominated by white and rich students. When she witnesses her friend being shot by a police officer, she has to deal with not only mourning her friend but also being in fear of her life due to the retribution that she and her family will suffer if she stands up for the injustices happening at her neighbourhood. 

I totally understand and agree with the praise this book has received. Let me say that it belongs to the young adult genre and I should warn about murder, racism and drug issues that are being discussed. Saying that, I believe that it is a book that everyone should read. It shows how black people deal with racial prejudices daily and how society forces them to enact the gangster stereotype. Another plus, besides the great message of equality and fighting for what is right, is that Angie Thomas never forgets the age of her protagonist. So, in the middle of the serious and traumatic experience she's going through, Starr also expresses her thoughts and emotions about everyday troubles that teenagers face, like friendships or disagreements with parents. Honestly, it is a must for everyone living in today's society. 

And those are all the books I read in October. And it was a great month as they are all fours and fives out of five. I would love to hear your thoughts about them in the comments section below.