Thendral's Take: October 2022
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
My Thoughts
My theme for 2022 in books has been "what a disappointing read!" so far and this was no exception. Library setting, a murder, and mystery is EXACTLY the kind of thing I would want to read. But alas, the library setting and murder were kept to a minimum while the mystery felt like a vexing wade through murky water. The book was around 250 pages, which usually takes me no time at all to finish but I was dragging my brain page after page and then sentence after sentence because I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure if it was the style of writing or the choice of character that made me feel this way. (Why not just give up and not finish it then you ask? I don't know. It takes A LOT for me to give up on a book.) The only redeeming thing about this book was the oddly excessive descriptions of food and food settings (for a murder mystery). Otherwise, with flat characters, a disappointing villain, and hastily stuffed references to politics and the pandemic, this book sadly did not do it for me. For some reason, I want to compare this book to the 2018 movie, Annihilation. The setting for the two couldn't be more different but they share the same concept of character studies, mystery, and an ending up that's up to individual interpretation. And so, if you enjoyed that movie, I think you might like this book!
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
My Thoughts
Mohsin Hamid’s “Exit West” is a book I think about at least once a week so when I heard he had a new book, I jumped on it. Much like how Exit West explored the idea of migration/ immigration at a time countries were closing borders as a political statement, The Last White Man explores the concept of racism in a near-dystopian setting that vaguely echoes the pandemic. It’s a short read and a fairly enjoyable one at that with the kind of writing that has paragraphs in place of sentences. I personally love what Mohsin Hamid set out to achieve in this book. It has an optimistic ending, which I appreciated because optimism in a pandemic setting is exactly the kind of material I prefer over the stark reality of it all. But there was something lacking - I’m not sure if the book would have been more impactful if had been longer, but the book lacked a punch and I couldn’t form a connection with the characters either. And for that matter, I couldn’t really identify what the key message of the book was either - a lot of themes that overlap racism were explored but it felt murky as opposed to introspective. Yet, that doesn’t take away from the experience of the book. I would still say everyone should have a go at this and form their own opinions; this is an important book.
Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
My Thoughts
This book! Something about it just absorbs *all* your attention. It's spread across five generations and so, there are 5 different sets of characters and dare I say, stories? presented. Across these generations, you will read about some of the toughest women you can possibly meet. And the writer was so effective at delivering their strength through the (surprisingly!) simplest of sentences. Sadly, these characters were often sidelined as the focus was kept on Luz, a young woman in the "present" setting. I found a lot of the choices Luz made to lack logic, motive, or conviction and so questionable. Her love life was abysmal at best and I wish there was so much more to her arc. I also found myself constantly wishing the narrative would switch to the other characters, specifically, Luz's grandparents and her grandmother, Simodecea Salazar-Smith. The story of five generations is ambitious, to say the least, and so at times, it was a bit confusing because neither the timeline nor the progression of characters was linear. I was a bit disappointed with the way the ending too. Yet. This book was so devastating and beautiful and I can tell you without a doubt, I'll be thinking about Simodecea Salazar-Smith for a long time. I was so inspired by her and I so adored Simodecea's love story and at the end of the day, isn’t that why you read? And that’s why I so loved this book. I would say this is for people fascinated by the idea of psychics/ mediums, people who like migrant/ immigrant stories or just people who want a story that has magical realism.
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