Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin

"It's been one week since Mom went missing."

The haunting opening line of the novel immediately sends you shivering into a feeling of panic, a sense of anxiety that slaps you with the reality that life is not a guarantee.  You are reminded of the brutal fact that our parents will at some point no longer be around.  And you begin to think to yourself, "What will I do; how will I react; how will I go on when one or both of my parents are gone?"

While the four voices narrating this novel worry and desperately search for their missing mother and wife, they each bring forward lost memories of a woman they only truly begin to know after her disappearance.  For the first time, they realize and understand the sacrifices she had made.  They burden themselves with the task of analyzing and discerning the obstacles of Mom's marriage and the challenges of raising children in poverty.  They attempt to comprehend the decisions Mom allowed herself to make.

Originally published in Korea, Please Look After Mom has been translated for English readers to absorb and treasure.  It is a moving story about a mother's love for her family that transcends cultural boundaries.  For anyone who is a mother, has a mother, or wants to remember a mother, Please Look After Mom will provide a deeper appreciation for the thankless, unseen, profound roles moms quietly perform to make our lives a little easier.

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

Right after high school, I was a shift supervisor at a CVS in my hometown.  I had worked in retail beforehand and knew the challenges it would bring, especially in dealing with the diverse personalities and temperaments of the public.  To put it bluntly ~ sometimes people can be downright rude.  (Not all.  But some.)

I clearly remember an incident that occurred between myself and an elderly male customer.  An item he wanted to purchase rang up at regular price.  He thought it was on sale and wanted the sale price.  (Hasn't this happened to all of us?)  I had a female sales associate escort him back to the aisle to look at the sale sign; I had showed him a copy of the store ad; several female customers behind this man even got into the action.  We all tried to explain to this man that he had the wrong item.  He wouldn't listen to any of us.

After about seven minutes or so of this man arguing at me and foaming at the mouth (I swear!  I have witnesses!) and me trying desperately to keep my composure and act civilized, the man pointed at a male sales associate and said, "I want to talk to that boy over there."  "That boy over there" told this rabid man foaming at the mouth the same exact thing that I had explained to him, the same exact thing that the other female associate had explained to him, and the same exact thing that the two or three female customers behind him had explained to him.  Even though I was the manager on duty at the time, this male customer refused to listen to anything I had to say simply because I'm a woman.

In the grand scheme of things this little incident of discrimination didn't kill my day or define my life.  It was just that ~ a little incident, an aggravating annoyance, and a lesson learned in regards to other people's ignorance and intolerance.  Other than this small moment, I have been extremely fortunate in that my gender hasn't affected my ability to take advantage of certain opportunities in life.  (And if it has, I haven't noticed and it would be too late to care anyway.)  Mary Sutter, however, deals with a degree of gender discrimination much harsher than my own.

My Name is Mary Sutter is about a midwife who desperately wants to become a surgeon.  What's holding her back?  Well, in the 1860s with the Civil War raging, with emotions and tensions running high, and with discrimination in all forms at its peak no doctor is willing to take her on as a student because she is a woman.  Built upon this intriguing foundation, you jump into this novel geared up to fall in love with Mary Sutter as one of the deadliest wars in history is firing away in the background, setting the scene and mood of the novel.  You want to sympathize with her and root her on as she struggles to pursue her dreams.  She's the less attractive sister whose beautiful twin sweeps away and marries the man she loves; she's the responsible one with a smart and witty head on her shoulders; and no matter how hard she persists, someone is always knocking her down.  But. . .the writing is monotonous and slow and drags on through scenes that really do nothing for the story and just do not resonate with me as the reader.

Poor Mary Sutter.  She is a very likable character.  And if she were a real person, I'd love to sit with her and talk over tea or coffee.  I can relate to her as a woman, and I can relate to her as someone who has been occasionally knocked down while pursuing my own dreams.  Sadly, however, the writing style also knocks her down.

Stiff by Mary Roach

Sometimes a book comes along that begs the question:  What the hell was I thinking when I picked this one up?

Actually, I do sort of know what the hell I was thinking when I picked this one up.  I was thinking:  Oh, this is on our school district's summer reading list for the high school students.  And since I've always had good luck with their summer reading lists, let's give it a spin.  It was the book, however, that put me into a spin ~ a spin that began with head shakes that led to cringes that spawned into impossible bodily contortions (that I haven't been able to perform since first grade gymnastics lessons) until I finally found myself in a comatose state of nausea with a few surprising escapes of the giggles as I was left continually reeling over the question:  What the hell was I thinking?

And then as I kept reading, another question kept nagging at me:  Why, oh why, are you continuing with this train wreck?  But that's just it!  It was like watching a train wreck.  You know it's going to be horrifying, gruesome, and unpleasant, but you can't take your eyes off of  it because you want to know what's going to happen next and how it will all end.  But, ironically, in a book dedicated completely to the "lives" of human cadavers, we're beginning with the end.

Don't adjust your glasses, contact lenses, or computer screens.  Yes, my friends.  You read that correctly.  Stiff provides a detailed and explicit account of the "lives" of human cadavers.  This book gives insight into how and why cadavers are used for surgical practice.  We also see how they have been used as crash test dummies for cars.  There is also a chapter encompassing the concept of body snatching.  And of course, what book about cadavers would be complete without a chapter dedicated to decomposition?

Sounds like a happy and delightful read for the whole family; doesn't it?  Especially for a young and impressionable high school student whose school district has recommended this book for their summer reading list.  But here's where the other crazy part comes in (as if you haven't already been hit with enough crazy).  The book is told with a surprisingly amazing sense of humor.  So while you're turning green, crouching in the fetal position, and hugging the toilet, you're also uncomfortably laughing.

I still have no idea what the hell I was thinking when I picked up this book.  I'm not scientific minded nor do I desire to become a mortician.  But I guess if you're interested in reading something outside of your comfort zone this is definitely your book.

The Sacrifice of Tamar by Naomi Ragen

My best friend and I had a conversation a few years ago that gets brought up again every so often ~ Would you rather be street smart or book smart?  The topic is usually triggered by something that someone we know has done or has failed to do and why he or she has made that decision.  Over the years in going through these options, we can both see the pros and cons to each one.  And admittedly, I sometimes waiver in my choice and lean more toward one than the other depending upon how I feel that particular day.  Nevertheless, it's always an interesting discussion.

The Sacrifice of Tamar throws a completely new dimension into this topic of conversation, one that I had never considered until only after having finished this novel.  Are you book smart or street smart when it comes to making decisions that call upon your faith?

Tamar Finegold wants nothing more than to live a perfect, safe life with her family within the confines of her Orchard Park, Brooklyn, NY neighborhood.  She faithfully abides by the Hasidim Jewish Laws and traditions, never straying from her beliefs.  But when she is violently raped while babysitting for her nephew, the decisions and actions she must face in the aftermath of her trauma test her willingness to adhere to the strict halacha, the law, of her faith and the humanity of others within her community.

Not only did this novel educate me in regards to the Hasidim and Orthodox Jewish laws and traditions (which I found to be extraordinarily fascinating), but it provided me with a profound perspective of how and why people make such drastic decisions based on their faith.  Initially, Tamar's choices are based on fear of the consequences she will suffer for going against the halacha.  But had she been more educated on her own religious beliefs and looked deeper into its purpose and meaning, her actions and choices would have been drastically different with a whole new twist to her fate.  This is undoubtedly a heart-wrenching read that opens your mind to the thought:  Are you book smart or street smart about your own religious beliefs and community when it comes to the choices you make? and do you have the fortitude to live with the consequences?