Mini-Reviews: 2021 Reading List

For the duration of 2020, I was in the midst of a pretty intense reading slump when it came to novels. While I managed to complete fourteen plays (and what feels like hundreds of fiction works written by the other members of my online writers' group), I couldn't finish a single book. 

I don't know what exactly changed in 2021--maybe the move to a different city and therefore a new environment. Whatever the reason, I now have almost the opposite problem: while I haven't read a single new play, I have finished nine books, as well as three poetry collections (and what I can confidently number as hundreds of fiction works from the online writers' group). I'm currently on the eighth chapter of my tenth book for the year: a historical fiction novel about Jane Austen's sister Cassandra. So far, I would grade it a B, but I will withhold my final judgement until the plot thickens a little more (i.e until the character who I already know will die because he does in real life finally kicks the bucket). 

It feels good to be reading again. I also find the more that I read, the better my writing attempts turn out, so in the end it's a win-win for everyone.

Anyway, I thought I'd post some mini-reviews for some of the books I've read so far this year. I was going to do all of them, but honestly several were pretty meh but not terrible enough to earn an interesting review. So, I'll just do what I think made the biggest impressions on me, negative or positive. Most of what I've read has fallen into the memoir genre, so if you prefer fiction, I hope you will at least consider giving some of them a try. 

MEMOIRS:

1. Bad Theology Kills by Kevin Garcia -- this memoir touches on several different topics, but its main focus is the author's journey as a queer person within the Christian culture. Although Garcia now works as a digital pastor, creative mystic, public theologian and intuitive soul coach, the memoir details his past in a restrictive and homophobic faith environment and how he made his way out. The author's voice throughout the story was honest and relatable, even for someone like me who is not queer and therefore has not experienced the same faith journey. The theological analysis within this book was extremely interesting--I learned a lot and took several notes to research later. If you're not interested in theology or find it boring, I think you would still like the novel overall, as it is mostly built on personal anecdotes. I also enjoyed how one chapter portrayed Garcia's found freedom through an allegory. There are quite a few typos in the text, so if that kind of thing bothers you, please be aware of that. I will also say that some of the statements made in this book regarding Christianity may seem blasphemous to someone who is newly contemplating or just starting their deconstruction journey. This may cause them to put up an emotional wall and subsequently refrain from absorbing certain messages. For that, I would suggest either preparing yourself beforehand to approach this book with an open mind/a willingness to keep reading even if you don't agree, or waiting until some deconstruction and unlearning/relearning has already transpired before reading.
2. On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel by Brenda Marie Davies -- another book chronicling the author's journey with the Christian church, only this writer (who you may know as "God is Grey" on Youtube) tells her tale from the perspective of a young woman battling the purity culture that has wormed its way into her relationships with her lovers, her friends, her God, and herself. I was extremely excited to read this memoir, and was pleased to find it a vulnerable tale filled with colorful details and even more colorful characters. Even during its painful scenes, the story carries a certain lightness and optimism, as if the author was encouraging the reader to keep going because it was all going to turn out okay. The only critique I would make is that the last chapter didn't feel quite like an ending to me. Of course this might be because the author is still alive and her story is continuing, but it felt like a rather abrupt finale, almost like a comma instead of ending punctuation. 
3. Wave by Somali Deraniyagala -- this memoir was impactful in its simplicity and no-nonsense handling of an incredibly painful situation. It tells the story of the Sri Lankan author, who in December 2004 lost her two sons, husband, parents, best friend, and her best friend's mother in the Indian Ocean tsunami. I thought the author's illustration of her own emotions struck the perfect balance of being vulnerable without seeming exploitative. Deraniyagala does not shy away from the truth of what happened and how it affects her, but as both a character and a narrator she maintains a certain distance from the reader. The delicacy with which the memoir handles the details of who her loved ones were, who she was before the tragedy, and who she is now afterwards does an incredible job of communicating how Deraniyagala's grief cannot ever be fully comprehended by anyone other than herself. 
4. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado -- if you're going to read a memoir this year, read this one. This memoir, written in second-person, describes Machado's emotionally, mentally, and occasionally physically abusive relationship with her girlfriend using tropes from horror and folk tales. Its structure is deliciously imaginative, my favorite chapters being the chronicle of Machado's romantic experience and a "choose your own adventure" series of pages that perfectly illustrates how one gets trapped in the cycle of abuse. I was also floored by how the book addresses the nuance of abuse in relationships between two women (especially when one or both is a woman of color), using examples both real and fictional. Machado is vulnerable in a manner somehow simultaneously fearless and helplessly anxious, and her lush vocabulary had me in awe. 

FICTION

1. Normal People by Sally Rooney -- This plot of this novel focuses on a reasonably messy friendship/relationship between Connell and Marianne, following their relationship from teenage classmates to college-age acquaintances to awkward adults. Maybe I'm a simple gal, but I enjoyed how the push & pull of the relationship between the two main characters propelled the story forward. While I did judge each of them for their respective choices, I still liked them both and wanted them each to find success + happiness. The chemistry between the characters kept me rooting for them, even as their dynamic vacillated between close and distant as they bounced between feeling insecure and comfortable around the other person. I was a tad confused by how somewhat open the ending felt, but after ruminating on it a bit more I think it's the most natural conclusion to the book's cyclical structure. I also LOVED the style of this novel. As a writer I tend to be more introspective and focus on prose over dialogue, so it was a treat to read something in that format.
2. Some Boys by Patty Blount -- this book is literally a textbook for how not to write about r*pe culture. It is somehow one of the worst books I've ever read, because of how wrong it gets everything, and yet it gets it so perfectly wrong that I feel like it's an incredible example of what misguided people think "books about healing from r*pe" should be. I don't even care about giving spoilers because oh my WORD. For now, let's take a look at the summary on the back: "Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole." RED FLAG. Not only does this book participate in a gross depiction of the sexes as "two separate species" with men being sexual deviants who can barely control themselves, it completely ignores the existence of queerness or male victims of sexual assault. Also r*pe survivors aren't broken, so saying "love from the right guy" will make them whole is just gross. Let's continue: "When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of r*pe, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own." Not quite a red flag, except when you read the book...Ian isn't funny and kind. The chapters from his perspective are rife with sexism. When he's not sanctimoniously wondering how girls could be so petty & mean to each other (despite the fact that his own friends harass and degrade waitresses, female classmates, and each other for sport), he's thinking about how unfair it is that Grace is so hot and sexy because oh darn, she's also accusing his best friend of r*pe so it's not like he can hit that! He does, in fact, call Grace a liar in his own head, and also refuses to speak up when others call her that as well...despite the fact that he's the one who FOUND HER in the woods unconscious after the assault. And I think it is worth mentioning that a large part of the reason he even bothers to entertain Grace's side of the story despite his loyalty to his bestie (you know, her r*pist) is because he had a crush on her before the assault happened...which you know, if you're only listening to a girl (notice I didn't say believing because he doesn't really believe her until he has literal VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE ASSAULT) because you still harbor some attraction to her, you're no hero. I wish I could say that's the extent of the problems in this book, but unfortunately there is just so much to say that a longer, more in-depth review will be coming you way later. With screenshots of quotes and also my sister's annotations because she read it before me. 
3.  One Day in December by Josie Silver -- I really wanted to like this book. I love Hallmark movies and rom-coms so I figured this book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the main characters were super unlikable and the plot was far-fetched without fully committing to being far-fetched enough to make it work. Basically, the book is about a woman named Laurie who locks eyes with a stranger whilst on a bus one Christmas and immediately knows he's the one. Believing that they're destined to meet again, Laurie spends a year looking for him, only to finally "reunite" at a Christmas party...when her best friend giddily introduces him as her new boyfriend Jack. Of course Laurie and Jack hide that he's the fabled bus boy from the best friend, and the reader is forced to witness ten years of attempting to stave off the inevitable. The author started to do some interesting things with the character's individual journeys in the second half, but because those subplots never changed the course of the story (the overall arc happened and ended exactly how you imagined it would) it felt kind of like she was just buying enough time to reach the ten year mark before everything could fall apart. Weirdly enough, I think the thing I hated the most about this book was not the selfish choices and back-and-forth the characters put themselves and each other through (although I definitely did dislike that), but the fact that Laurie and Jack himself kept acting like Jack was such an honorable, good guy and that's why neither she nor her best friend can let go of him...except when reading the chapters from his point of view, I found him to be a whiny, immature brat who refused to take responsibility for any of his own choices. Maybe if he had been the magnificent, angelic Prince Charming everyone was acting like he was, I might have been more understanding towards Laurie for letting her feelings for him override her common sense...but I guess that's wouldn't make sense, because a truly good guy wouldn't contemplate cheating on his girlfriend with her best friend just because they made eye contact on a bus once. 

Anyway, I hope you found this at least somewhat entertaining. I'm always taking book recs so feel free to leave me some!