REVIEW: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

As the novel opens, Jeannette now living in New York City is on her way to a dinner party when she sees her homeless mother picking through the trash. She expresses shame at not wanting to stop and talk to her mother, afraid that someone she knows might see her and find out her parents are homeless. This begins the journey we take with Jeannette through her unstable, dysfunctional childhood with her alcoholic father, her free spirit mother and her 2 sisters and brother. They travel the country starting in Phoenix and ending up in West Virginia uprooting when someone is after them for money or they can’t find work. The Walls children are often left to fend for themselves and are often forced to live in deplorable conditions. As Jeannette and her siblings grow older they start to grow apart from their parents and finally break free one by one to end up in New York City (except for the youngest who goes to California). The parents soon follow and choose to live on the streets of New York which is where we meet Jeannette at the beginning of the novel.

This is the true definition of a dysfunctional family but the strange thing is there is a lot of love and loyalty too. When the social worker comes by to investigate the children chase him off saying there is nothing wrong even though they are hungry and living in a shack that could fall down around them any minute. My mother was an alcoholic so I can relate to everything Jeannette went though with her father Rex. Fortunately in my case my dad raised me so I had a normal childhood. Unfortunately for Jeannette in her childhood her mother was someone who was more interested in pursuing her art career that never took off than making sure her kids were fed and clothed. I am in awe of Jeannette and her siblings who were able to survive a childhood full of so much upheaval and (mostly) come out alright in the end.

She tells the story in such a matter of fact way and doesn’t really play to the emotions of the reader which I thought was a little different. The story itself is so troubling that you can’t help but be touched by it though. This memoir was a page turner that I couldn’t put down.

More by this Author:

Walls story of her grandmother Lily-Half Broke Horses was released in October 2009.

REVIEW: Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir

Recently a thread was started on a website I frequent about the website http://www.kiva.org/. This is an organization where you lend as little as $25 to people in need in other countries (and more recently in the US), and they pay you back over a set amount of time. You can then use the money to lend out again or put it back in your checking account. The reason I mention the thread is because I am at a loss to understand why some people are not supportive of sites like this one because they focus on countries around the world and the main focus is not on people in need in the United States. Any time a crisis occurs in another country-earthquakes, floods, war etc..-without fail I run across someone who expresses the opinion that we shouldn’t be sending aid overseas when we have people right here in the US who need it. I just don’t get this. For me personally, as an American I owe my allegiance to my country but as a human being my compassion extends to everyone in the world. It kind of makes me a little sad when I hear statements like the one mentioned above.

After reading Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival by Halima Bashir, the realization that the focus has slipped off the tragedy occurring there makes me a little sad too. In 2004, shortly after the civil war in this region of Sudan heated up it seemed Darfur was the celeb cause du jour. Save Darfur was everywhere. Now? Not so much.

Dr. Halima Bashir tells the story of her childhood growing up as one of the wealthier families in a small village in Sudan. Recognizing her academic abilities her father sends her to one of the better schools in the area where she competes against Arab students. Despite discrimination and unfair treatment because she is a black village girl, Halima soon emerges at the top of her class and earns herself a spot at University to study to become a doctor. At this point in time the conflict between the Sudanese government and the rebel militia was quietly brewing in the background. Midway through her studies the war intensified when the Black Muslim militia groups accused the Sudanese government of favoring Arabs over Black Muslim Africans and the Sudanese government responded by sending it’s Army and the Janjaweed (a militia group of Black Arabs) to commit atrocities against the civilian population.

Halima tells her story with honesty and puts a human face on a conflict that is still occurring thousands of miles away. She details her personal tragedies at the hands of the Janjaweed for doing her duty as a doctor and treating casualties on both sides of the war and tells of the unspeakable horrors committed around her as well. When the fighting reaches her village, Halima manages to escape to England but must struggle against a bureaucracy overloaded with asylum seekers in order to not be sent back into the war torn country.

This book and books like it are hard for me to read. I’ve been to a war torn country (Iraq) and I’ve seen and interacted with people who have lived in extreme poverty under an oppressive government. Halima’s story broke my heart but I’m glad I picked up this book because it reminds me that I need to think outside my own little bubble. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand why the conflict in Darfur is occurring and why the attention needs to remain on it until peace is brought to the region.

If the FTC is wondering: This book is from my own personal library

REVIEW: Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran

Sky burial tells the story of Shu Wen, a Chinese woman who left her home of China to search for her husband who was killed while serving in the Army as a Doctor in Tibet. She lives in Tibet and continues her search for over 30 years before finally finding out what happened to her husband.

This story is insightful and heartbreaking. I got a glimpse into a tumultuous Tibet and the results of the mistrust and fear between the Tibetans and the Chinese. Admittedly, I know very little about Buddhism or the Tibetan culture but it was nice to follow along with Shu Wen as she learned and adapted to the way of life in Tibet. Along the way she meets a friend, Zhouma, who is also searching for her lost love and a nomad family that they both stay with for several years while preparing for the journey that will take them all over Tibet.

This story is actually a factual account told to the journalist Xinran by an elderly Shu Wen before she once again disappeared. I loved that the writing was so simplistic, yet beautiful. I actually read this for an author A-Z challenge and only chose to read it because I couldn't find many authors beginning with "X". I am glad I did pick it up though. It was well worth it.

If the FTC is wondering: I got this book from the library

REVIEW: Geisha, a Life by Mineko Iwasaki

Mineko Iwasaki tells the story of her time as one Japan's top Geishas until she retired at the age of 29. Her story is what Arthur Golden based his book Memoirs of a Geisha on (a book I loved by the way). The first thing I noticed right in the first chapter was the story had a lot of "I" in it. I know it is her story, but having the word "I" start 90% of the sentences on the page can get kind of irritating. When I was able to get past that I found her story to be really interesting. She portrayed herself as a very astute little girl who was able to make complicated, adult level decisions at a very young age. I have heard some criticize this memoir, saying there is no way she could remember with such clarity what happened in her life from the time she was three.

I think she did do an excellent job of explaining the intricacies of the Geisha world and the years of hard work involved in perfecting the art of becoming a Geisha. Her perspective was a unique one even in this society because she was chosen at a very young age to be the successor at her Okiya (Geisha house) which meant that she had a markedly different and more privileged existence than those who are not chosen for this role. She attributes her success to her constantly pushing herself to be the best and emphasizes this several times throughout the book.

A few things I didn't like: She constantly mentions that she tried to reform the way things were done within the Geisha community but she never goes into detail about what exactly she did. She also does a brief blurb about how courtesans differ from Geisha in that they also have mizauge (coming out ceremony) but courtesans sell their virginity and Geisha do not. It would have been helpful for her to go into more detail here since I think it is a misconception (especially after the Memoirs of a Geisha book and movie came out) that this is standard practice in the Geisha community.

If you are looking for more insight into the Geisha world then I would recommend this book even though I felt it could be less egocentric and more elaborate in some spots. If you are looking for pure entertainment value I would go with the infinitely more readable (and enjoyable) Memoirs of Geisha as long as you keep in mind that that one is fiction and the author did take liberties :)

If the FTC is wondering: I got this book from the library

REVIEW: The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

Review originally written 18 November, 2008

This is the first non-fiction book I have read in quite awhile. The book begins by describing her girlhood in a remote area of Cambodia. She goes on to describe how at the age of 12 she is eventually sold to a brothel where she endures continuous and horrific rapes, torture, and abuse. She chronicles her escape from the brothels, her move to France and her subsequent return to Cambodia. She starts small- first offering condoms and soap to girls working in brothels and tries to educate them and her foundation continues to grow into what it is now where she helps girls escape the life.What I liked: The writing is simplistic and it is an honest account of what she endured. It must have been very difficult for her to relive all those experiences for this book (the sale of which partially benefits her foundation). She tells her story in a kind of detached way, yet you really get a sense of what she is trying to convey. The way these girls are forced to live is something I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around and I've been in a war torn area and saw some pretty upsetting stuff. It is awesome that without regard for her personal safety she has championed the cause of these girls and continues to do so in the hope that she can lead them to a better life and she does a great service by reliving her experiences in the hopes that it will clue some of us in and inspire us enough to get involved.What I didn't like: I realize that the purpose of the book is to bring attention to the cause but sometimes it felt infomercially like at certain points in the book I expected a passage to read "to donate now, call this number..." Maybe a little too "help us now or these girls will suffer" type thing. I don't mean that to sound insensitive. I just think the book would have been more powerful if that aspect had been more subtle (she mentions that certain locations have had to close due to lack of funding etc..) and the reader was allowed to draw their own conclusions.I admire what she is doing and I hope one day girls being forced into prostitution is a thing of the past. A heartbreaking story to say the least. I give it a B.

If the FTC is wondering: this book was from my own personal library