Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

For a book that is less than 200 pages, it certainly took me a while to trudge through this one.  Consciously, I'm telling myself that I enjoyed it because I really wanted to feel connected to the author and her experiences in some way.  Memoirs are one of my favorite genres, and I was really routing for this one.  But deep within the cogs and gears spinning inside my subconscious, I know that I really wasn't that into this book and didn't quite grasp its purpose and intent.

Funny in Farsi is a somewhat funny memoir about Firoozeh Dumas's immigration to Whittier, California from Iran when she was seven years old.  The chapters of the book serve more as a series of short stories rather than a cohesive flow from one event to the next.  Some of the chapters are so disjointed that I felt like I was putting together an impossible tangram puzzle in an attempt to make sense of its pattern and where it would eventually lead me.  I also had difficulty connecting to the author.  Aside from the fact that she has certainly led a much more privileged life than I have, and aside from the fact that we are both women, I could not find a common, solid link between us.

Although the book was generally a bust for me, there were some stories that made me laugh.  Her trip to Disney Land where she gets separated from her family, for example, was pretty hillarious.  Unfortunately, most of the other stories just did not resonate with me.  Like any other book or piece of literature, our own personal experiences play heavily on whether or not we love it, hate it, or just don't care for it.  I have to say that this was one that I just didn't care for.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I thought for sure that I had read The Bell Jar as a requirement for one of my college English courses.  I know I have read Sylvia Plath's poetry and studied her short and  tragic life.  But the title and summary of this book seemd so familiar to me that I was positive I had read it.  So as any English major has been trained to do, I researched and analyzed the situation.  I pulled out my 3,000 page, Fifth Edition Norton Anthology:  American Literature textbook that I have been hanging on to for the past 10 years for such the occasion.  (My professors would be so proud).  (I am such a nerd!)  Coincidentally, the very first page that I happened to flip to in the anthology was a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman entitled The Yellow Wall-Paper.  Of course.  I was confusing two women with similar situations and the same unfortunate ending.

Even after a quick investigation into my questions regarding Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar, it was not my intention to pick up this book during a recent trip to the library.  However, it "jumped" out at me while I was perusing the aisles for another title; and for whatever reason, it spoke to me.  And oddly enough, I discovered another extraordinary coincidence.  Upon reading the biographical information provided at the back of the book, I realized that I checked this book out of the library on the 48th anniversary of Plath's death ~ February 11.

It is no secret that Sylvia Plath led a severely depressed life which she chose to end on her own terms in London in 1963.  The Bell Jar is fictional. However, it is largely based on Plath's own life, making this an emotionally draining and confounding experience for the reader.  At first I had trouble following the story and understanding its purpose.  But as it progressed, I understood that its purpose is just as jagged and uncertain as the mind of someone dealing with mental illness.  It is important to keep social views, women's roles in society, and society's views on mental illness within context (as I sometimes forget while flip-flopping between books) because the story reveals Plath's struggles to define herself and to find a place both socially and professionally among her peers during the 1950s.  It's amazing to think that procedures such as the lobotomy and electroshock therapy were thought to "cure" illnesses such as depression, bi-polar disorder, or schizophrenia.  We've come a long way.  And it makes me wonder whether Plath would have come as far had modern science advanced more quickly in this field.

Because I could really use it, I am off to read something a little more light-hearted this time. . .

Room by Emma Donoghue

Disturbing, haunting, fascinating, heart-pounding, incomprehensible ~ just a few adjectives to describe my experience reading this book.  To quote one of my first grade students (in response to a book she had read to me), "Holy bejeebers!"

You know you've got a good book when you're able to focus and absorb every detail of the story while battling a nasty sinus infection.  My head may have been throbbing and my eyes may have struggled to stay open, but I could not put this book down.

Narrated in the choppy, emergent language of a five-year old boy named Jack, Room is the story of Jack and his Ma and how they are forced to live in a locked, secluded, windowless (but for a skylight), and soundproof eleven-by-eleven foot shed.  Except for nightly visits from Old Nick, Jack and Ma have no access to or contact with the outside world.

During one of my child psychology courses, I remember having to watch a documentary about a girl who had been locked in her bedroom her entire life since birth.  Except for some food and a little clothing, she had been neglected by her parents, never receiving a mother's love or touch.  If I remember correctly, the child was finally discovered by the time she was ten years old.  Because no one had ever taught her how to walk, speak, eat, or perform other normal daily functions of life, neither the child's brain nor body ever fully developed.  Researchers believe she had been healthy at birth; but because she had suffered such neglect and had never left the environs of such a small, enclosed space, she never had an opportunity to develop to her potential.  It was such a fascinating yet sad story, but it was an enthralling piece of evidence proving that our environment plays a huge role in our development.

Jack's circumstances are somewhat different from the severe neglect of the child from the documentary, but there were certainly similarities that I noticed.  It was interesting to see how the author handled Jack's development and adaptation.  The moral of the story:  Love your children and provide them with a multitude of experiences.

Another great book I'd recommend regarding child psychology:

     *  A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Piled on my desk are dozens of lists.  Lists of reminders, things to do at work, things to do at home, errands to run, and what to pick up during those errands.  I also keep a "To Read" list.  Because I have always held a strong affection for pretty paper and smooth pens and also hold a panic-induced anxiety for all things technological, my lists are handwritten on small pieces of paper.  You won't catch me keeping notes on an iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, or an electronic day planner because it would take me longer to figure out how to turn the darn thing on than it would for me to find a piece of paper and a pen.  That's why I'm the crazy lady clogging the aisle of the library or the bookstore while digging through my purse for the crumbled sheet of rough-edged notebook paper containing an unalphabetized list of books that I'd like to read.

Somehow, someway this book made my To Read List.  I don't remember who or what source provided me with the recommendation.  But it was on my list and it was available in the library.  That was good enough for me.

Someone Knows My Name is the fictional story of a woman named Aminata Diallo.  Abducted from her home in Africa, she is brought to America where she is bought and sold into slavery.  She moves from South Carolina to New York, makes a daring escape to Nova Scotia, finds herself back in Africa, and finally arrives in London.  She learns how to read and write four different languages and eventually begins to work with white abolitionists.  Throughout her experiences she notices that few people even know her full name or choose to use it; and she comes to value the purpose and meaning of a name and the legacy it provides.

I enjoyed this book and was happy to read it but didn't find it to be the gripping tale of a woman who triumphs over her tragedies that I had hoped it to be.  I wanted it to be like Frederick Douglass's story (which is non-fiction) but from a female perspective.  The subject matter was certainly interesting to me and it brought to light many events in history that I had not known about.  However, some of Aminata Diallo's experiences and twists of fate seemed so over the top for that particular time period that I find it hard to believe that something like that could ever have happened.  I realize that this is fiction and anything could happen in a piece of fiction.  But this is supposed to be realistic fiction (emphasis on the word realistic).

Someone Knows My Name will certainly not go on my list of favorite books, but I would recommend it if you have the time to read it.

Books that do make my list of favorites ~
Highly-recommended books to read in honor of Black History Month:

     *  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
     *  The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
     *  The Color of Water by James McBride
     *  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Little Bee by Chris Cleeve

My best friend, Gigi, and I had gone to Olde Mystick Village and Downtown Mystic this past summer during one of our usual spur-of-the-moment-girls-only day trips.  After deciding whether we wanted to eat lunch at Mystic Pizza or at a local seafood restaurant, we decided to go for the seafood.  Our waitress at the Oyster Bar informed us that the price of all of their seafood had risen due to the oil spill in the Gulf, and would we still be interested in ordering fish.  It was a pretty lame copout since I knew my lobster had more than likely been caught in Maine or off the coast of Massachussetts and not in the warm waters of the Gulf, but we were there for the seafood.  So we sucked it up, succumbed to the price gouging, and ordered lobster rolls and homemade potato chips which we ate while sitting on the outdoor patio, watching the ships sail past us on the river. 

After lunch, we walked about a block up the street to a quaint, little, quintessential New England type bookshop - the type where customers look like tanned Yale alumni and are wearing flip flops, madras shorts, and pastel-colored polo shirts with their Chanel eyeglasses propped atop their perfectly expensive haircuts and Gucci handbags dangling from their arms housing little dogs with equally expensive haircuts.  I immediately hit the front bookshelf to see what the store's bestsellers were, and Little Bee happened to be sitting there among a plethora of other interesting titles that had been on my "To Read" list.  I had a difficult time choosing which books I wanted to purchase for an upcoming trip to Myrtle Beach, but I happily picked two books and went on my merry way to the next downtown shop.

 Little Bee did not make the cut that day.

(In fact, it almost didn't make the cut again during a recent trip to Borders where I was relentlessly harrassed for a good seven minutes to purchase one of their rewards cards by a pompous, self-assured sales woman with a bad attitude and bad breath to match.  I really wanted to drop the books and leave.  But that's for another post. . . )

The synopsis on the back of the book gives little information about this story.  In fact it states, "We don't want to tell you WHAT HAPPENS in this book.  It is a truly SPECIAL STORY and we don't want to spoil it.  NEVERTHELESS, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this:
This is the story of two women. . ." (and then it goes on to give a scant, two-sentence, general description).  Like the sucker I am, I got caught and trapped just like the lobster I had for lunch that summer day in Mystic.  The bold-type, all caps lured me into the mystery surrounding this story's plot.  This is indeed a story about two women. It is about the horrendous circumstances of their first meeting and the tragic circumstances of their second meeting a few years later.  It is also about the tremendous, life-changing decisions they have to make, decisions with which no human being should ever have to be confronted.

Some books really make you question your own personality, your own strengths and weaknesses; and this is one of those books.  What would I have done if I had been in Sarah's or Little Bee's situation?  I don't know.  And fortunately I will probably never have to make the types of decisions these two women have faced.  Obstacles and challenges are thrown at me every day, and I have crossed some difficult bridges and plan to do so throughout the rest of my life as my own circumstances change.  I don't know what tomorrow looks like for me.  But after reading about these two women, I can appreciate the fact that today, my decisions are as simple as where to go for lunch with my best friend, do I want the over-priced fish platter or the chicken sandwich, and which book should I buy for my vacation. 

Overall, I really liked this book.  The ending felt a little rushed and the story included some events that I didn't find absolutely necessary for the plot, but Little Bee definitely gave me a greater appreciation for what I have and really made me think about other people's difficulties and choices.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I rarely ever have the opportunity to start and finish an entire book in one sitting,  but I just could not put this one down.  It completely captivataed me.  I spent my entire snow day yesterday absorbing and devouring the story of Alice Howland and her life with Alzheimer's Disease.  Still Alice has been on my "To Read" list for a long time, and I am so glad I finally got around to it.

Still Alice is the story of Alice Howland, a Harvard psychology professor, who develops Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 50.  Something that I appreciated and loved most about this depiction of Alzheimer's is that it is told from Alice's perspective, a talented, well-educated, highly respected professional woman but unreliable because of  an incurable and degenerative disease.  The author's writing style takes us through the memory lapses, confusion, and progression of Alzheimer's evoking sympathy, compassion, and adoration for Alice.  Reader's traverse through the decline in Alice's memory and sometimes experience confusion with her.  The story also contains moments where you question whether or not Alice made particular decisions while she was coherent or while she was experiencing a gap in her thinking.

I believe it is an author's duty to provide their readers with strong character development, and Lisa Genova does not fall short of this obligation.  Several passages of this profound and important story brought me to tears because I fell in love with Alice.  She became my mother, my favorite aunt, my best friend, my sister.  I felt happiness, confusion, frustration, and depression.  I do not have any personal experience with Alzheimer's, but Alice's story brought me into the heart of its ugly effects on a person's mind and the inspiring spirit of the families involved.

Other books I've enjoyed regarding mental illness:
     *  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
     *  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
     *  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck