Title: Going Ashore Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Race, Romance Dates read: 29th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: Then he remembered that he had not given her his e-mail address.
After years and adulthood have built their lives, Hema and Kaushik finally meet again. But will they get their happily ever after? Or will life, once again, tear them apart?
Wow this was a tragic ending to a fantastic collection. Not just a brilliant collection, but it also ties out the stories started in Once in a Lifetime and Year’s End. I wanted a happily ever after. A riding off into the sunset ending, because, let’s face it, I’m kind of a child… and always want a happily ever after. But I didn’t get that. And at first I was incredibly annoyed. But then after a little while… I accepted it, and realised that this was actually kind of brilliant. Albeit seriously sad and depressing.
Although I read a lot of stories which make me want to tear
up, there are incredibly few which actually do bring a tear to my eye… but this
was certainly not the case. I did actually weep a little. Just enough to
realise that this was incredibly potent and not the kind of story I’m ever
going to forget. And it’s not one that I ever do want to forget. It reminded me
that sometimes you have to live every day like your last. Say the things that
you need to say… because if you don’t, it could just be too late.
I really enjoyed how Going Ashore, Once in a Lifetime and Year’s End all intersected. They could be read completely separately, but worked better as a whole. Each tale had it’s own messages and storyline. But they also have one overall, heart wrenching tale that will pull at your heart strings and have you sitting at the end, staring into the abyss. Or at least, that’s what I did for a good five minutes after I finished this short story.
Title: Year’s End Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Family, Race Dates read: 26th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: For the last two years of my mother’s life, when she was always in and out of the hospital, we had gone nowhere, taken no trips for pleasure apart from those occasional walks along the beach.
Kaushik is faced with a father that’s moving on and a new year. In the mean time he’s remembering a past that they shared. A past filled with regrets, sorrow and a handful of fond memories.
This story connects into Once in a Lifetime. It is about the boy that Hema admires from afar, and the reasons behind his weird behaviour. Actually, the whole behaviour of his family to hers. And the aftermath of his mother’s illness. It’s a haunting tale about trying to move on, but not quite being able to do it.
This tale of moving on to a new future and finding a new
place in a changing world is always difficult. When your past is haunted by
loss that is never discussed, and a separation from family and culture it just
makes it all that more difficult. It’s hard enough to move on to a new future
when things are sitting well in life. It’s far more difficult when there’s a
broken family that can’t quite be repaired.
I don’t come from a broken family (thankfully), so it’s difficult to understand what that feels like. Yet, Lahiri’swords are still haunting enough that I feel like I could begin to understand. The loss, grief, confusion and guilt leap from the pages and strike you immediately in the heart. Just like good, contemporary writing should.
Title: Once in a Lifetime Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Family, Race Dates read: 19th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: I was still very much a child, while you, just three years older, had already eluded your parents’ grasp.
She can remember the first time she saw him. And the last. It wasn’t long, but it was a once in a lifetime experience. One she will never forget.
I thought that this was going to be a bit of a love story.
From the title to the first statements of I remember when I first saw you…
there was something incredibly romantic about this tale. It didn’t quite turn
out that way. But there was still that beautiful, bittersweet nostalgia within
the story. One that left me feeling happy and complete when I finally finished this
tale.
I’ve mentioned it before after reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories, but I have very little experience with other cultures. In particular, I have almost no experience with Indian immigrants. But I do have experience with having a sick parent, and the difference in the story that is told here and my own was really interesting. It made moments that are so relatable also completely alien. It lent to that feeling of bittersweet memories being relived with a nice dash of love.
I think everyone has that person in their past that made
some kind of difference. That you remember with fondness, but didn’t
necessarily have much of a relationship with. For me, as with this narrator, it
was an older boy that just fascinated me for years. There are crystal clear
moments of memories that helped to shape who I am, but they also are happily in
the past. I like that this story took that feeling and made it something so
pure. It isn’t something that needs to be carried into the future, but it is
wonderfully remembered in the past.
Title: The Last Black Unicorn Author: Tiffany Haddish Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Memoirs, Race Dates read: 7th – 13th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Gallery Books Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: So we started being serious and being together all the time.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“An inspiring story that manages to be painful, honest, shocking, bawdy and hilarious.” —The New York Times Book Review
From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.
Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.
None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy.
Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others.
By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.
This might be the funniest, most ridiculous, and yet serious
book I have read all year. Or maybe ever. It was intense, intriguing and made
me have a whole new appreciation for some of the horrors that other people, and
in particular, women are forced to endure. But there was also so much humour
and hope, that it was incredibly difficult to get bogged down in the tales
that, if anyone else wrote about them, would fill make me cry in the most
horrible way ever.
To start with, this novel is just downright funny. The first two chapters allude to some of the more difficult aspects of Haddish’slife, but mostly they’re just really funny. High school days in which a smart arse found a way to fit in, mostly by pursuing a boy that really didn’t have much interest in her. But then it gets a little, alright, a lot more serious. She talks about abuse, death and the many, many bad situations that she found herself in throughout her life. But, it’s still tempered with humour. So that when I was telling my partner about this amazing book I was reading, he just stared at me in abject horror, wondering what the hell kind of book I’d found this time…
I didn’t realise until the last few chapters that Tiffany Haddish was the woman in Girls Trip. But when I did, I not only rushed to finish the book, but I also grabbed out my remote, flicked Netflix on and settled in for a great movie. Somehow, her role and character in this movie had way more meaning because I understood a little more of the very real shit she’d been through. Like The Last Black Unicorn, Girls Trip touched on some serious issues but with so much humour that it wasn’t until afterwards that you realised it wasn’t all just a good lark. Actually, writing this review, I’ve decided that I need to watch that movie again…
The Last Black Unicorn details a life that is full of hurdles and difficulties. But they’re not told with a sense of loss or woe. Rather, Haddish tells her tales with a great dose of humour, a dark sense of humour that I absolutely adored. It was a great reminder that you can overcome almost anything, if you can find a way to move on and not be bitter (alright, not always that simple, but Haddish gives me so much hope). I am now madly in love with this woman. This is just an amazing read for everyone. No matter what your literary tastes…
Title: A Choice of Accommodations Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Family, Race Dates read: 21st September 20199 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: Megan was content with one, telling him she’d paid the price for being from a large family.
Amit is attending an old friend’s wedding with his wife. The past and the glory of the night make him reflect on the decisions he’s made in life and whether he’s truly happy in the world he’s created for himself.
Relationships aren’t always sunshine and roses. Whoever tells you that they are is either lying, completely delusional or still in the honeymoon stage of theirs. That’s not to say that relationships aren’t completely amazing, but there is a level of comfort and almost boredom that you reach after a point. One that isn’t glorified in stories, because it is this amazingly comfortable, well-loved and satisfied feeling. Which, in a rare case for the stories I read, Lahirimanages to do kind of perfectly.
Multi-cultural relationships are a little bit difficult. And meeting people from your partners’ past can make all of the issues you thought you no longer had rise to the surface. Jealousy. Insecurity. So many questions. Yet, Lahiri manages to highlight this with a sense of respect. Not just for what people who have been happily married for umpteen years’ experience, but how they sometimes deal with their first night of freedom away from their children.
One of the things I am completely falling for with Jhumpa Lahiri’swriting is her way of taking the everyday life and telling a tale. In some cases, it’s the everyday life of migrants and refugees (something I don’t have much in common with). But in others, it’s the everyday ins and outs of being in a relationship. I think that it’s something that needs to be addressed more frequently. After all, the meeting and first contact are fun and intense. But that bit after? The part where you become comfortable and know that you’ve found that person to spend forever after with. Because forever after can all be first moments and stolen kisses… it has to be about something more.
Title: Hell-Heaven Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Family, Migration, Race Dates read: 16th September 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: My parents and I had lived in Central Square for three years prior to that day; before that, we lived in Berlin, where I was born and where my father had finished his training in microbiology before accepting a position as a researcher at Mass General, and before Berlin my mother and father had lived in India, where they were strangers to each other, and where their marriage had been arranged.
She’s stuck between two worlds – the past of her parents and the present of America. A fun uncle and his new wife might completely change everything. And help her to find a way to accept her place in the world…
Arranged marriages are something that I don’t understand and
have never had first hand knowledge of. Which means that any story which features
this are going to be completely fascinating. After all, I read because I want
to understand the world and things around me better… so this story was
completely fascinating. Impossible to put down and made me feel like I could understand
the world around me a little better…
I don’t think it matters what culture and society you come
from, family is still an incredibly important driving force. As a woman, the
relationship between mother and daughter is an especially poignant relationship
that forms everything I’ve become. This was beautifully reflected in this short
story – the entire tale revolved around a mother and daughter. The uncle
figures presence provides a vessel through which this occurs, but the central
tale is still about the mother and the daughter.
Short stories which come full circle are always kind of
enjoyable. There is something that is succinct and neatly tied up because of
it. This is the perfect example of such a tale – it starts with a strange man
coming into their lives and becoming part of the family, and ends with the
woman he bought into their lives thanking them for being a family. It’s not
entirely neat, but it is quite sweet and makes you realise that your actions
from years ago can still come back. That sometimes what we thought we wanted
isn’t actually what we needed, and our acceptance of others will always turn
out for the best.
He thinks he’s seen the face of the killer, and he’s determined to help find him. But could he have been mistaken? Did he really see the face of the killer?
This is the first story in the The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Storiescollection which deals with racism as an aspect of finding the killer. Although there was an obvious aggression towards Jews at the time, none of the tales in this collection have specifically addressed this topic. Which made this kind of amazing. After all, a tale of perceptions, understandings and inherent racism is always going to be a good kind of read.
This was a story that seemed to be about the “true” identity
of the killer. About what he actually looked like, not about how easily
misconceptions can occur. But I liked this angle much better. After all, we’ll
never truly know who the Ripper was, and all we have to go on are reports based
on others’ thoughts and perceptions.
My favourite part of this short story was the ending. The feeling
of shame and guilt that the narrator felt when he realised that he let his
prejudice destroy a good man’s life. And the moment when he realises that his actions
had consequences, although he is not necessarily held responsible for them.
Title: Unaccustomed Earth Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Migration, Race Dates read: 20th – 21st July 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: He had found his wife’s interest surprising; throughout most of their marriage it had been an unquestioned fact that visiting family in Calcutta was the only thing worth boarding a plane for.
Ruma lost her mother a year ago. Now her father is coming to visit. Is it time for the patterns of the past to be healed and a new reality to set in?
This is my first Lahiristory, and it’s making me wonder where her writing has been all my life. Her style of writing is incredibly accessible and open. And, although she’s dealing with a culture and people that I’ve had next to no experience with, the themes and issues are still prevalent in my life. Issues of growing and changing, seeing parents as their own grown entities.
There are many stories which talk about coming of age and reaching
adulthood. There aren’t so many stories of almost the second coming of age.
That point in our lives when we start to change our opinions of our parents because
they are beginning to seem smaller and more elderly in our lives and start our
own families with children of our own. This short story perfectly investigates this
point. The added stressor of losing a parent and a readjustment of priorities created
an amazing story which I found hard to put down. And one that I am probably
relating a little more to than I would have expected.
This was quite an enjoyable and easy read. The open-endedness
of the story meant that you could imagine Ruma and her family living long into
the future. Constantly renegotiating and figuring out where they stand with
each other. Her son growing to be an old man and experiencing the same reconfigurations
of self and being.
Title: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Author: Mark Twain Series: Word Cloud Classics Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Classics, Contemporary, Race Dates read: 15th – 10th July 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Word Cloud Classics Year: 1884 5th sentence, 74th page: That’s a Frenchman’s way of saying it.
No home library is complete without the classics! Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a keepsake to be read and treasured.
One of the most popular books of all-time, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been both venerated and vilified since it was first published in 1885. The story of a young abused boy on the run and his friendship with a runaway slave is about loyalty, compassion, and doing what is right, and it remains one of Mark Twain’s greatest achievements. Now available as part of the Canterbury Classics series, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a must-have addition to the libraries of all classic literature lovers.
This is my first ever Mark Twain, and it certainly makes me glad that I have more of his books on my shelves. There was something fun and easy about his writing. Which I don’t often find in classics. For something which was published many, many, many years ago, this was kind of amazing. The meandering storyline was something that I would have loved as a child – living on a river free of every kind of responsibility, living on the land… that’s the kind of childhood that I would have loved.
One thing I tend to struggle with when reading is storylines
that don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Tales that are a little more
meandering and random I find a little harder to get hooked into. They don’t grab
and keep my attention as well as stories which you need to keep reading to find
out exactly what happens. Although this did follow that meandering trend, I didn’t
find myself putting the book aside as frequently as I usually would. It still
took me a little while to finish this considering how much I loved the writing
style and language.
For a fantastic kids’ journey, the issues of racism and
class are touched upon beautifully in this tale. Huck’s original feelings towards Jim are those
of someone who feels entitled and with power over someone who is almost four
times his age. But, as the tale evolves, he begins to see Jim as a fellow
person. One with his own desires, needs and wishes. Whilst there is no outright
commentary on slavery, the underlying message felt strongly skewed towards this
ideal. And it was one that I loved dearly.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the kind of story that drops you in a world any child would be happy in. Or at least, any child that was a bit of a ratbag like me. I would have loved travelling down the Mississippi on a raft, choosing my own life, dinner and making all of my own decisions. Alright, as an adult I’m well aware of how non-idyllic this would actually be. But as a child, this would have been wonderful.
Title: Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance Author: Barack Obama Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:History, Politics, Race Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: The Canons Year: 1995 5th sentence, 74th page: I seen you tear ’em up on the playground, no contest.
Dreams From My Father is a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking big questions about identity and belonging.
The son of a black African father and a white American mother, President Obama recounts an emotional odyssey. He retraces the migration of his mother’s family from Kansas to Hawaii, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.
I had no idea what to expect from this book. I simply bought it because I needed a political memoir to complete the Popsugar reading challenge. I don’t like politics. I have no interest in conspiracies. And I’m an Aussie. So most of our politicians… well, lately, I don’t even know who’s in power anymore (but that’s a whole OTHER conversation). And, really, Barack Obama was one of the few politicians who doesn’t make me mad or annoyed. And, man am I glad that I picked this up.
I am fascinated with discourses on race and racism. Especially in countries and places that I haven’t seen. Australia has many issues of racism, and I know that it is something that is prevalent across the world. So reading the words of a man who has experienced displacement and prejudice due to his skin colour. It touched me and hit me in a way that nothing else ever has. Maybe just the fact that it is so far removed from my everyday life that there is both a morbid fascination, and a feeling of horror at my white privilege.
Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Obama, other than the fact that he was America’s first black president. Now I can understand just how he was so compelling. In fact, I want to read more of his books. You can hear the politicians’ voice coming through the words, but you can also feel the genuine meaning and the greater picture that he paints as you go on a journey with him.
Earth and Skye 