Secret Daughter

I've been waiting for a story that is as informative, intriguing, and enjoyable as this new novel. Gowda's novel moves seamlessly between a range of characters which include an impoverished Indian woman to an American pediatrician to a young Indian-American adoptee. Her premise to explore what would happen if a daughter of India would be saved is intriguing. The descriptions of India and Mumbai in particular are rich with detail. The wealth of the upper classes juxtaposed against the poverty and struggle of the slums is disheartening but reflects the reality of Indian life.
I can't wait to see waht this writer produces next. She is the new IT writer of the Indian-American experience!

The Twentieth Wife

Hands down, one of the most annoying pieces of writing I read this year. I really wanted to get swept up in the story, but the writer was too busy with all the details except the character development. Could Maherunnisa and Jahangir be so love sick all the time? I hope not. After all, they weren't teenagers throughout the entire book. There were also some other cultural inaccuracies that I just couldn't get past. I find it really hard to believe Jahangir courted her the way Sundaresan described. It just seemed too Western. I'm Indian and Muslim, so there were just some inconsistencies in the way she described the culture.
Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this and am not planning on reading the sequel. What could it possibly be about? More love sickness, an alcholic ruler, and his wife who rules behind the purdah? A Mughal India that sounds so much like Woodrow Wilson's presidency (I know he wasn't an alcoholic, but he was incapacitated). I think I'll pass.
Major Themes:
Endurance of love

An Emigre's Tale

I always find that the British immigrant's story is so different than that of the American immigrant. There's such a strong tinge of bitterness even in the British-raished generation. Thank goodness for the American dream. I like how Abdullah Hussein jumped back and forth between the present and past. I did not like the daughter's story at all except for the milk bottle/lota struggle. Maybe, it was that I didn't like the young woman she had become. The father's struggle as an illegal immigrant was much more poignant.
Major Themes:
Assimilation
Coming of Age
Parent vs. Child
Loss of Innocence

The Handmaid's Tale

I recently saw an article in the Tribune about Margaret Atwood visiting Chicago to do a talk. I never read her, but the name stuck in my mind when I was in the library last week. I picked up The Handmaid's Tale, and I couldn't put it down until I was finished.
Major Themes:

• Fall of government
• Female empowerment (ha!)
• Theocracy
• Christian Fundamentalism
• Loss/Solitude/Desperation

Frank McCourt

I recently heard of Frank McCourt's death. I never heard of the write, but decided to read the Pulitzer Prize winning author's work.
Angela's Ashes
No wonder this was a Pulitzer Prize winner. Once again, it has the child narrator who comes of age during the Great Depression and WWII. Frank McCourt's no holds bar approach to be honest and upfront of the reader is refreshing and entertaining. This is one book, I can really imagine using in my classes.
Major Themes:
Family/Faith/Trust
Irish/Catholic/American
Poverty/Hope

Teacher Man
After loving the writer Frank McCourt, I had to know what he felt about teaching English literature. His discomfort with teaching and being an expert on literature put me at ease as a future teacher.
I must find what I love in the classroom and be myself.
I should be prepared to experiment to engage the students.
Ideas to use:
Recipe readings
Stories (my own connections)
Restaurant reviews
Excuse notes

Girl Made of Dust

An impressive debut novel. I had some difficulty getting into this, but once I was in Ruba's world I did not want to leave. Abi-Ezzi does an excellent job of revelaing the stories of the other characters in bits and pieces through her young narrator. Ruba's relationships with the other characters reveal a great deal on how children percieve the world and events around them.
I often enjoy having a child narrator, but the challenges of trying to figure out what was really happening with the adults in this novel made it all the more intriguing.
Major Themes:
Lebanese Civil War
Trauma and violence from war
Sibling relationships
Friendships
Courage

Ending & The Night Counter

The job hunt has gone nowhere. I am so naive and pathetic because I rush to pick up every phone call and check my email very early every morning. Maybe it's not meant to be. Frustrating!
All week, I spent my free time reading the Night Counter. It's a recently released book by Alia Yunus. I really enjoyed it...couldn't put it down.
Disliked:
The Arabic transliteration was totally off sometimes, but the author does live in Abu Dhabi, so maybe the pronunciation was some unique Lebanese one. The ending was predictable. It was too contrived and a little too neat for so many messy lives. I was also irritated by the FBI agents. I had a hard time understanding the humor behind it all.
Likes:
Amir & Decimal. I admired how he did care enough about his grandmother to keep her and how she felt comfortable enough to stay with her. Decimal's earnest interest in her Tatya's stories.
Fatima's life was remarkable. I really appreciated how Yunus has weaved American history with her life story to create a unique Arab-American experience that is not often portrayed.
I look forward to reading more work by her.