This was an enriching discussion where we felt emotional about Little Bee's life from Nigeria to the circumstances that brought her to the UK. The description of the deportation center is real and the author does a good job in displaying the grim reality of what is happening with immigration in Western countries.
There is an interesting easy flow to the story as it paths through two voices of women living such different worlds. However, we had issues with the white woman's voice and couldn't grasped the reasons behind her decisions. She was a complex woman based on nothing substantial, in contrast to a young woman from Nigeria who seem to have a simple life until Western greed got in the way.
It was surprising to have a male author write this story and it felt like he over-exaggerated the emotions that women go through to put a dramatic edge.
We felt that there was no big mystery and the one flaw we saw was that the climax came sooner than later and made the ending questionable. Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile read and definitely a book to discuss with friends.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Little Bee by Chris Cleave - July 2010
This month, July, we'll be discussing the book: Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Location: We're meeting in the Potrero Hill neighborhood - a first for the book club - at Farley's coffee house - www.farleyscoffee.com
Here's what it says on the back cover of the book:
This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends all about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.
Sounds intriguing, no?
August:
Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Sisters in the Congo
A story based in the Congo, where war is rampant still today and we read about a missionary family led by a man who feels his calling to impose beliefs on the local people without hesitation. Even though he is the central figure we never really get to hear his voice, because the story is shared by the women in the family.
The four daughters play their own voice, so different from each other and none ever being the ultimate hero. It is all about their experience and their choices, which are unexpected yet reliable.
The writing was such a delight - very easy read yet not lacking in details and I truly appreciate the details of Congo history, Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu as well as Angola's history. It reflects a story of survival, of adaptation, of not letting go of a place that you hate and love at the same time.
Not sure if this is Barbara Kingsolver's best, although many will argue it is - but encourages to read her other books!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - June 2010
On Sunday June 6 at 2pm we'll be discussing the book: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Location will be in the North Beach neighborhood - 901 Columbus Avenue (between Chestnut and Lombard).
Here's a book summary:
The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it -- from garden seeds to Scripture -- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.Books to read in the future:July - Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Following month:
Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - May 2010
Forgot to post this book club meeting and discussion:Here's a book summary:
The Hmong people in America are mainly refugee families who supported the CIA militaristic efforts in Laos. They are a clannish group with a firmly established culture that combines issues of health care with a deep spirituality that may be deemed primitive by Western standards. In Merced, CA, which has a large Hmong community, Lia Lee was born, the 13th child in a family coping with their plunge into a modern and mechanized way of life. The child suffered an initial seizure at the age of three months. Her family attributed it to the slamming of the front door by an older sister. They felt the fright had caused the baby's soul to flee her body and become lost to a malignant spirit. The report of the family's attempts to cure Lia through shamanistic intervention and the home sacrifices of pigs and chickens is balanced by the intervention of the medical community that insisted upon the removal of the child from deeply loving parents with disastrous results.
This compassionate and understanding account fairly represents the positions of all the parties involved. The suspense of the child's precarious health, the understanding characterization of the parents and doctors, and especially the insights into Hmong culture make this a very worthwhile read.
This is a great book for a book club discussion even though the book might be outdated - I can see how this book is required for reading in many universities and departments. It was so fascinating to study the dynamics of the Hmong family and their interactions with the medical staff. I don't think any of us got to a specific solution of what could have been done better, but the need of interpretation for culture as well as language is key to addressing any issue, in this case health.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Amazing the stories but who's the audience?
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. KristofMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was actually debating between 3 and 4 stars - I really did enjoy the book and thought it was powerful and many of the stories are so well described, but towards to the end I started to feel uncomfortable in the ways to resolve these issues. For example, he talks about the importance of using a bottom-up approach and then he gives the example of Heifer International and how it was a foreign woman who changed the life of a Zimbabwean who went to the US to get her education and that was a success story.... Also supporting the Mexico program Oportunidades as an exemplary model where I have observed in person that it's not the case in the state of Chiapas, makes me start questioning the credibility of some of his case studies.
Nevertheless, I was very engaged with the book and my heart went out to so many of those stories. Just when I thought I could sit down and read some pages before going to sleep I read a page of a horrific gang-rape case... I also cried on the MUNI multiple times reading this book...
Great book to discuss about, for sure!
View all my reviews >>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)