An Artist of the Floating World Review #AsianLitBingo

If you've been around long enough, you know that I absolutely love Japan. It probably comes as no surprise then that one of the books I chose to read for #AsianLitBingo was An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro, a book following an aged artist set in Post-WWII Japan. This book fulfills the requirements for the East Asian MC category of the challenge.

This book reads like a conversation between you and the main character. The main character, Masuji Ono, tells us his story through his own recollections and this makes the tone of the novel more intimate and, at times, more frustrating. When Ono talked about himself, he was always humble (he's just an artist) but when he recalls what others say of him, it is always glowing praise. Then I realized that, when I read a story, I hear the voices of the characters in my head, almost like a recording. This has its advantages and disadvantages; particularly in that I was unconsciously adding an american filter and tone to everything that was written. Once I realized that that was what I was doing, I was able to reset the tone of the voices to fit more closely with what I had experienced and heard while I was in Japan and that made all the difference to the story. With my american tint on everything Ono said, I found his humble bragging irritating and false. However, when I thought about him in the context of the Japanese culture I had experienced, I realized that the way he spoke and acted was very much in keeping with what the Japanese would consider respectful and polite.

Beyond tone, this story was very poignant. We follow Ono as an old man trying to navigate a Japan that he had never envisioned. Ono tries to reconcile his sense of pride and duty for his actions with a society that blamed him and others like him for the war and expected a certain amount of repentance (and possibly even seppuku to atone). This contrast is made even more stark by the fact that Ono's actions are only ever mentioned with vague comments and innuendo. There are never any direct accusations placed at Ono's feet. Once again, this type of indirect confrontation is typical of what I experienced in Japan, making this story really come to life.

So far, An Artist of the Floating World has been my favorite book of the Asian Lit Bingo reading challenge. The characters were deep and interesting and the story was unique in its plot and telling. I had to give this book 5 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it! I would caution readers to be aware of how their own culture affects their reading of the story though.

Funny in Farsi Review #AsianLitBingo

The second book I decided to read, which fulfills the Non-Fiction by an Asian Author category, was Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. This book continued with my reading theme of Southeast Asians in America, following the experiences of Firoozeh (who was born and raised in Iran) and her family in America. I was especially interested in reading this book because my cousin married in to a half Iranian-American family (the other half is Austrian) and I have always wondered what it would be like to be Iranian in America (Note: I recognize that every person's experiences are different based on various factors, but I still thought this book would be a good insight).

The first point that struck me as interesting was the fact that Ms. Dumas compares and contrasts the reception her family received in America both before and after the Iranian Civil War (and the hostage situation in Tehran). This look at how citizens' reactions are influenced by major events, not unlike the wave of negative reactions we are seeing towards Middle Eastern Refugees today, was eye opening. I also really liked the scope of the topics that Ms. Dumas covered as she explored her family's experiences. The topics ranged from family dynamics to politics to pop culture, which made this book very engaging!

There were several parts of this book that I wasn't very fond of. First, I didn't like the way each chapter jumped around different times in the authors life. I'm sure there was a reason that she wrote the chapters this way but it felt disjointed and, ultimately, made the book a little confusing to read at times. I also did not like the tone that the author used when talking about her parents. For the most part, it read as mocking and disrespectful, especially towards her father at times.

In the end, I really liked this book. I do think there were some issues with the format and tone of the book though. The issues caused me to give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

That Thing We Call a Heart Review #AsianLitBingo

The first book I decided to pick up for this reading challenge was That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim. My choice was partially because I received an ARC from a goodreads giveaway and partially because I had already started reading it (on May 5) before I fully decided to do the #AsianLitBingo reading challenge. This book fulfills the Asian Muslim MC category.

Warning: This review does contain spoilers!

I’m going to be completely honest here; six chapters in and I wanted to DNF this book. The fact that Shabnam lied about what happened to Chotay Dada and was embarrassed of him enough that she hid at the mall bothered me to no end. I really didn’t think I would be able to get over my anger about that. Never mind that I hate liars, I find it difficult to understand why someone would be ashamed of their own culture and family members who look and act differently than them. Shabnam also seemed like a very whiny and negative character, which are traits that I don’t particularly enjoy in a narrator. However, I decided to stick with the story.

Shabnam experienced so much growth over the course of the story and I am glad that the author included personal growth in the story. I liked how Shabnam and her father began to bond over Urdu poetry. There was a reference to the Urdu poetry, however, that is problematic in that it touches on the topic of m/m pedophilia in such a way that western audiences will easily misconstrue as embracing homosexuality when it is, in fact, a serious problem of child abuse. The growth that Shabnam experienced in her friendship with Farrah was very realistic. My favorite part of the story though was how Farrah encouraged her to learn about Chotay Dada. I love how Sheba Karim tied all of the threads of the story together in the end.

End Spoilers

All in all, I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars. I think it was a good read and had fun learning more about Pakistani-American experiences. The book dealt with some adult issues, but the overall tone was very much appropriate for the age of the characters. However, I ultimatley only barely enjoyed the story and I think that it has misleading information about serious cultural issues in Pakistan and the Middle East.

I'm doing the Asian Lit Bingo Reading Challenge!

Hi all, long time no blog! In honor of Asian American Heritage Month, Shenwei has created the #AsianLitBingo Reading Challenge and I have decided to participate! Along with an amazing masterlist of books that you can read to fulfill the challenge, there is also a really cool bingo board graphic you can use to track your progress!

It is my goal to read one book from every category, even though the challenge is only to read one book from each category in a single line. I've already finished one book for the challenge, which I will be posting a blog review of next. For now though, I am going to post my tentative TBR for the challenge.

1. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al-Maria
3. The Gods of the Middle World by Galina Dolgaya
4. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
5. The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
6. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
7. The Stone Goddess by Minfong Ho
8. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
9. Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
10. A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
11. Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai
12. That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim
13. Good Enough by Paula Yoo
14. Bitter Melon by Cara Chow
15. The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
16. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
17. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
18. Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
19. Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
20. Flowers of Luna by Jennifer Linsky
21. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
22. A Thousand Moons on a Thousand Rivers by Hsiao Li-Hung
23. Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
24. Throwaway Daughter by Ting-Xing Ye
25. Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

If you'd like to read along with me, please feel free to comment!

The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker by Kat Spears

Contemporary YA is one of those genres that I rarely read. It's not that I particularly dislike the genre. Instead, whenever I read contemporary books, I usually find the characters too unrelatable and the situations too cliche or implausible. However, every once in a while, I will see a contemporary book that piques my interest. The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker by Kat Spears was one of those books. I first saw the title on Emma of Miss Print's ARC adoption page and, after reading the synopsis on Goodreads, I knew I had to request it. I do have to apologize to Emma though. I was supposed to review this book before its September 2016 release, and had scheduled the post to go up during my hiatus, but technical difficulties caused the post to disappear instead. I didn't notice until I came back to the blog, so I am only just now rewriting and posting it.

The title for this book seemed like a huge spoiler, but I decided to give it a try anyway. All I can really say, without giving the story away, is that the title plays a huge part in the story but not in the way you would initially think. The setting of the story, a small town in Tennesee, is pretty generic for a contemporary story and didn't have any stand out features. This book could have been set in any small town across America. You would assume this would make the story more relatable, but it only makes it less so.

On the other hand. some of the characters were really interesting. For the first half of the book. Outwardly, Luke Grayson, the main character, is very passive. He just let things happen to him and went along with the flow. His inner voice was a different matter. His thoughts were dynamic, sarcastic, and strong. Luke's friend Delilah was a powerful and compelling presence. The other characters were lackluster, including the titular Grant Parker. Then, about halfway through the book, the big confrontation between Luke and Grant happens and things take a turn for the worse. Luke's inner monologue becomes just as flat as his actions. He spends most of the rest of the book drunk and floundering. Delilah all but disappears from the story, leaving an obvious hole in the story.

The bottom line is, this book had a huge amount of potential and, not only does the author play it safe, she actually pulls back in the last half of the book. I really wanted to see more of Delilah. I wanted more detail (and more plausibility) from Luke's parents. In the end, I had to give The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker 2.5 out of 5 stars, and that is overly generous in my opinion.

Seeing Red...In a Good Way!

Well...long time no see! These last couple months have been very up and down, mostly down, for me. I did try my hand at vlogging (I stopped, but I'm planning on getting back in to it a little later into 2017) and I had a wonderful time taking part in the OTSP Secret Sister Project! I don't really want to get in to any of the negative stuff that happened, but I will say that, with everything that was going on, I didn't do much reading. One of the last books that I read was given to me by Emma of Miss Print, I had scheduled the review to post while I knew I was going to be away from my blog and, of course, it didn't post at all. In fact, not only did it not post, it completely erased itself! So I have to beg her forgiveness for it being woefully overdue and rewrite the review.

Things are looking up for me though! I've had a wonderful Christmas at home with my Parents and sister and I have a few days more until I head back to start my new job. I also read the last book that Emma sent me with days to spare for my review! It helps that I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'll get in to the whys and wherefores below. First, what book am I talking about?!?! That would be...drumroll... Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff, which is the first book in the Red Abbey trilogy. It has been translated from the original Swedish and is being released in the US on January 3rd, 2017.

Of all the books that Emma sent me last year, Maresi has to be the one that I was equally most excited for and most nervous about. Fantasy is one of the main genres that I read, but the more I read in it, the more difficult it is to find interesting new books. Many just seem to follow the same old tropes and have carbon copy characters. In fact, I've read several other reviews that said this book doesn't seem like fantasy, and it doesn't, but in a good way. The fantasy elements are woven so carefully and thoroughly into this book. They feel completely organic and it makes the story more "real" to me. I don't have to suspend my disbelief or wonder how something works because it just ~is~. The fantasy in this book was so masterfully done, that I honestly felt like I was reading a historical fiction book.

I also really loved the attention that Ms. Turtschaninoff paid to the little details. Many books focus mainly on the big action or long journey of a story and this book, while it did have a main action point, focused more on the everyday acts of life and the setting of the story. Two things made this focus supremely successful. First, because the book is set on an island, with all of the main characters coming to the island instead of grouping together linearly, the focus on the island and the Abbey itself made this book vivid and engrossing. I could clearly picture everything in my mind as I read, and it made the story that much more engrossing. Second, the main battle of this series is mentioned early in the story, it's actual events are only hinted at, and the entire story is spent in nervous anticipation of what is going to happen. By focusing on the ritual aspects of Abbey life, and all the chores and acts that the girls go through simply to live there, the fact that the battle cause a complete break from routine makes the battle itself more jarring.

Going in to this book, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like the fact that it is written in first person point of view. I don't usually like first person simply because the narrator ends up grating on my nerves. In the case of Maresi, I'm happy to say that didn't happen! Not only was Maresi a fun and interesting character to read, her nature and involvement made the story more detailed than it would have been if it were written from someone else's point of view. It also fed in to the feeling of connectedness that this story gave me.

The only part of this story was the general sense of negativity towards men that permeated the book. I understand that this negativity is what drives the story towards its conclusion, and it that it worked very well. However, I despise overgeneralizations and that all I felt we were given. There are multiple cases of men being terrible human beings, but we are only given Maresi's dad as an example of a good man. I think the story could have used a more balanced view of men, and that would have made Jai's experience and the ultimate battle more impactful.

Aesthetically, this book was amazing. The writing was clear, flowed well, and the descriptions were vivid but not too wordy. The cover for the ARC was just text, but seeing the finished cover makes me very happy. It fits well and gives you a good sense of what the book is like. Overall, I really loved Maresi and give it 5 out of 5 stars. I cannot wait to read the rest of this trilogy!

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland: A Review

Hi everyone! I'm back with another ARC review! Life has been kind of crazy these last couple of weeks, so I haven't had much time to read. But for me, reading is really important because it is how I unwind. A while ago, Emma of Miss Print sent me several ARCs to read and review. So, when things got hectic, I decided to pick one of them up! I finally settled on reading Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland.



 

Honestly, this review isn't going to be very long. The cover is what drew me to this book and I overlooked the warning in the synopsis declaring it to be a cross between John Green and Rainbow Rowell (I only like one book from each of those two authors, so it really wasn't a promising start). I finished the book pretty quickly, but I honestly wasn't invested in it. I found most of the characters to be lackluster and a little Gilmore-esque in their pop-culture name dropping. The only character that really seemed to fit their personality was Sadie, and she just seemed out of place most of the time. So, even though the book was technically good (it was well written and there weren't any glaring grammar or spelling issues), I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy the story and give it 2 out of 5 stars.