Blood Merdian by Cormac McCarthy
An unfilmable epic novel of the violence, depravity, and evil that’s entwined in America’s westward expansion. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the misfortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennessean
who stumbles into a nightmarish world of the Glanton Clan where Indians are only good for their profitable scalps and the native Mexicans are regarded with hate.
This book was fun but definitely takes a specific taster to get into.
The book consists of almost completely violence that reflects actions that happened during the time period. Historians affirm that this is the most accurate record of what could have happened with the Glanton Clan with the facts we know. This novel is not for those wanting a light or happy read. McCarthy is known for his long syntax with little punctuation and no clean endings.
The themes of our choice to do good against evil are really well done. Most of it is done through the character of the Judge, who might be one of my favorite villains. He has so many layers that multiple reads are required to fully grasp all his evilness (or watching a multi-hour analysis video instead). There were several things I didn’t notice at first, but once I did it made me love the character even more (as a character and not a person). The Judge’s speeches were some of my favorite parts of the book.
I really liked this book and several of my peers have also enjoyed it. However, this book is not for everyone so that take that into consideration.
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
Recently widowed Haiwen looks up to see Suchi for the first time in sixty years. It feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back. The separated lovers transverse through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts. At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.
I liked this book.
The style of writing one character forward in time and the other one going back was cool. The only part that was slightly confusing was that both characters went narratively forward before the male switched to going backward. But that was just a minor slight. This method allows for concealing true motives of the characters or foreshadowing events that the reader only grasps the true meaning of. You want to untangle the weaving story with each new added element.
I did like how the use of their names changed as they involved or digressed in their evolution to the person they became. It was sad that their original name got stripped from them.
I wished that they would go more into the fighting of the war. I get that it wasn’t the focus, and the reader gets glimpses through Hawen’s PTSD. I only feel like it could have added to my understanding of the character enrichingly.
Their use of music within the telling of the story was incredible. Opening the door further into the minds of the characters increases the reader’s connection to them. I seriously almost cried during one of the violin playing scenes. It encompassed his entire emotional state with no dialogue, and it was beautiful.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. When she turns, a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These frenemies borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayal of their hearts. Spanning thirty years, it explores our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
I love this book even with my frustration with it.
The two main characters are socially inept that they can’t communicate with the other. Only their third, Marx (who is a semi-main character) is emotionally contempt enough to know how to communicate efficiently. This is the main reason why he became my favorite character. Without Marx, Sam and Sadie often get the wrong impressions- sometimes for decades- that impacts their interactions and sometimes the whole story as a whole. But as the reader, we get the reason why the other character acted a certain way. It creates wonderful conflict but made me frustrated due to our omnipresent knowledge and wishing for them to just talk.
The prose was beautifully written leading to deep thought of the issues of the book such as multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, and the redemptive possibilities in play. It weaved real-world issues in the conflict of the story, allowing for plot-changing consequences.
I am not really a video game player; in the past couple of years, I only picked up a controller a few times. But I was fully invested in the games built within the novel. They weren’t just shot anything that moves (through there are mentions of such games), but games with narrative thought of that drove not only the story forward but also the characters. Each game is a reflection of their mind and ideas of the world at that time. From a game inspired by the Holocaust to a game that is all about doing kind deeds through relations.
I was never bored and constantly wanted to know what happened next. I highly recommend this book.
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
In 1910, the Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of carriage mogul William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man. Elder Davenport daughter, Olivia, is ready to do her duty by getting married until she meets a charismatic civil rights leader, and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love—unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business—and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John, but not being able to keep his interest she plots to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.
This book was okay. I liked the premise better than the execution.
This book is the first of a series, meaning that the ending and most plot lines felt unfinished or rushed due to the fact that author will be continuing the story in the sequel. Yet, it was still off-putting how exactly the book ended.
The characters were enjoyable enough, however most of their decisions were predictable and overplayed in the scheme of the plot. There were several moments when the foreshadowing was so obvious that I predicted a twist at the end not even halfway through the book.
My biggest pet peeve about the book was that the cover is bright yellow and then in the first chapter they mention yellow clothing fabric. Yet there was only one small comment about it later. I wished the fabric had played a bigger role in the story (color is often used symbolically) or not mention it at all and have it been a cover artistic choice. I felt played.
The historic environment that the story takes place in was interesting; at the cusp of the American Industrial Revolution but still at the point where change hasn’t happened yet. This gives a fun world for the characters to explore, especially through an African American perspective.
The novel was fine, but I’m not invested enough to read the next book.