Posts in: Books
- On the danger of seeing a story as more than a story
- We often talk about how stories change the world, but we should also see how the world of identity politics affects the way stories are being circulated, read and reviewed. Writer Elif Shafak in her TED talk The Politics of Fiction (embedded below). Shafak was prosecuted for her novel about a family’s women set against [...] [19 Jul 2010]
- On happiness
- Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude. That’s from the epilogue of Eric Weiner‘s tremendously fun book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the [...] [18 May 2010]
- On internalized racism
- I did not see myself as an African in those books. I took sides with the white men against the savages. In other words, I went through my first level of schooling thinking I was of the party of the white man in his hair-raising adventures and narrow escapes. The white man was good and [...] [15 Dec 2009]
- Latin America is …
- From The Future of Latin American Fiction (Part I). a talk by Jorge Volpi. Latin America is extravagant and irrational, nothing can be done about it; its dictators are savages and inhumane, but we miss them as characters of a novel; and we find solace in its inhabitants’ ability to maintain their will to dream [...] [18 Nov 2009]
- Have you read any good books lately?
- I’m seeking suggestions. I’m not looking for tech books (although, if you can recommend an amazingly kick-ass JavaScript book, I’d appreciate it). I’m looking for good stories with lyrical prose that leaves you in a mood once you close the back cover. Genre-wise, I’m open to anything but science fiction. I will make an exception, [...] [6 Apr 2007]
- Recommended: “Third Girl From the Left”
- The Free Sh*t Fairy invited me to read and review a copy of Marta Southgate’s “Third Girl From the Left.” Here is my review. (Cross-posted on BlackFeminism.org). Rarely can a book manage to be both funny and serious. Martha Southgate has managed to do just that with her novel, “Third Girl from the Left,” which [...] [27 Sep 2006]
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- Rohinton Mistry wrote a masterpiece with this book. Set in India during the 1975 State of Emergency under Indira Gandhi, A Fine Balance is the heartbreaking story four people whose lives were profoundly interwined and profoundly changed by the cultural norms and the government’s choices. Ishvar and Om leave the cruel, caste-based violence of their [...] [3 Aug 2006]
- What’s your favorite book?
- The New York Times released the results of writer’s survey: What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?. Their answer: Beloved. I agree — not that I’ve read scads of books to compare. Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer-prize winner is just incredibly rich, complex and multilayered. It’s one of a few books [...] [19 May 2006]