Book Reviews – A Big Small Life

What I read in August

Yes, this is a bit late, yes, I thought I’d at least get this in before October. But… you do what you can, you know?

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

What I liked/didn’t like– this book is full of a culture I know little about, but I loved getting to know. It’s a Punjabi population in London, filled with their own stories, idiosyncrasies, fears, and traditions. A writing club turns out to be so much more– surprising the modern Punjabi female teacher, the women in the club, and the community at large.

I LOVED this book. I rooted hard for the women finding their own voices, their own enjoyment, their own… lust for life? It was a thoroughly enjoyable book. My only quibble was that the climax (*snicker*) happened rather quickly and seemed a bit rushed towards the end.

Rating- 4.5/5

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (and A Wind in the Door)

What I liked/didn’t– This was actually a re-read for me. Or at least, Wrinkle was. It was required reading in sixth grade and I remember thinking it was weird. But I have some friends who are still huge fans, and I’ve become much more open to fantasy/sci-fi, so I thought “Why not give it another shot?” As it turns out, my friends were right- A Wrinkle in Time is delightful. Charming in every sense of the word, from baby Charles Wallace to Aunt Beast.

A Wind in the Door? Now that was a bit weird. Less charming, more made up words. Honestly, it was a sci-fi/fantasy written in the 60s, so I can’t knock it too hard. I guess. I have the other 2 books left in the quartet, I’m hoping they get a bit more palatable. If not, L’Engle still throws some gems in there to be plucked out. I see you, Madeline.

Rating- 3.5/5

Little Feminist by Galison and Kleinman

What I liked/didn’t like– I bought this little box of cardboard books to keep at my house for my niece. We read them several times, I think she liked the pictures. I know I did. They don’t get too in depth (duh), but tells a tiny bit about each woman. There could have been more WOC.

Rating– 3/5

Why I didn’t post a “Books I read in July”

Uh oh– we’re nearing the end of August and I never posted about the books I read in July. Wanna know why?

Because I didn’t read any.

That’s not entirely true. I started two books. And I didn’t finish them. I struggled. I tried. I kept picking them up. I kept putting them back down. Despite my love of reading, I just did not love these books.

I’m not going to name them, because it’s not the poor books’ fault. I just wasn’t that into them. And you know what? Even though I felt bad, it felt okay when I finally returned them to the library. I told myself “it might just not be the right time for this one” and it made me feel a bit better.

Do you have any unfinished books lying around? Give yourself permission to give up on them. It’s okay, find something that grabs you, instead. Life is too short to read books you’re not into.

What I read in June

Young Jane Young, Gabrielle Zevin

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Rating: 4.5/5 stars

What I liked/didn’t like: I loved the timeliness of the story, the story from the women’s points of view, and I really liked a lot of the characters. There wasn’t much I didn’t like about it, except that I wanted it to continue.

Exit West, Mohsin Hamid

Rating: 5/5 stars

What I liked/didn’t like: I loved the melancholy of the book, as well as Hamid’s prose– there were just some really beautifully written sentences. I won’t say a lot about this one, it’s one you’ll have to read for yourself. But I’ve recommended it just about everywhere I could, if that says something. May not be a light, summer read, but it’s a quick read.

Difficult Women, Roxane Gay

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

What I liked/didn’t like: Difficult Women is a collection of short stories, all from a different story or perspective. I laughed, I cried, I emailed Roxane Gay to tell her how much her writing impacted me. There were some weird ones that I sort of breezed through, there were some that I sat the book down and ugly cried for a while. Relatable women, unrelatable women, I learned something, I felt something.

Despite the heat and the call for summer reads— I read some heavy ones this past month. I think they hit where I was emotionally for me as well as providing a release (there was a lot of crying…) I’m doing better, and I’d like to think it was in part due to some of these reads. After all, everything you read becomes a part of you…

(ps– Honorable mentions go to Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, both of which went back to the library unfinished. I may pick them back up at another point, but in June, they just didn’t work for me)

Young Jane Young

Aviva Grossman, a college co-ed and aspiring political force, has an affair. With the man whose campaign she’s interning for.

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Aviva, now unhireable, changes her name, her occupation, and moves across the country. In Young Jane Young, we see the fallout of the affair in the lives of each of the four women whose lives are affected– Aviva’s, her mother’s, the politician’s wife, and Aviva’s young daughter.

Aviva (now Jane Young) knows it’s unfair. It wasn’t just her affair– he was involved, too. But she’s dealt with the repercussions while he got to carry on with his life and political career.

Rachel, Aviva’s mother, loses her daughter and own philandering husband in the aftermath of the affair coming to light.

Embeth, the wife, really loves her husband. She doesn’t much mind that she was cheated on, just that it was public. Plus, she has her cancer to worry about.

Ruby is Aviva’s daughter. She is her mother’s assistant in the wedding planning business and believes that her biological father is dead.

Jane Young finally decides to dip her toe back into politics– and the four lives finally collide.

I’m rating this one 3.5/5 stars. I loved the varying narratives, felt for each of the women, and enjoyed not letting another male politician skate away– this time her story is heard. And, of course, I dig that. The characters were likeable, relatable, and fun. I only felt that the ending was a bit abrupt– but maybe only because I wanted the narrative to go on.