A Fine Balance (book 4 of ? in book hoarding purge)

It’s been almost a month, but I finally finished A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry yesterday afternoon.  It was a fairly lengthy book, but one I probably would have been able to finish in a week and a half or so if presentations, finals, and home buying hadn’t gotten in the way.

This is another book that was given to me, this time by a co-worker.  I read the synopsis on the back cover (a bad habit of mine) before diving into the pages, but I still didn’t know much of what the book was about.

Other than a few flashbacks toward the beginning of the book and a jump into the future in the epilogue, the story is set in the mid-1970s in India.  It focuses on four main characters: a college student from the mountains, two tailors trying to escape caste system violence in their village, and a widow trying to make a living without asking her elder brother for help.  Mistry tells the history of these characters, how they came to be together, and the relationships they formed along the way.  Through these characters, you see the corruptness of the city officials and politicians – tearing down slums for “beautification”, collecting the newly homeless people for slave labor, and enforcing mass sterilization.

Between all of the bad things that happened to the characters and the crude male humor spattered throughout the book, there were a few times when I wanted to stop reading.  But I didn’t.  Because of the situations the characters kept finding themselves in and all of the interesting relationships they formed with minor characters along the way, I overlooked the things that made me uncomfortable.

Aside from the crude humor, I found Mistry’s writing style to be quite eloquent for the subject of the book.  Many times I found myself reflecting on certain passages because they touched me in some way (see previous post about favorite quotes).  And even though many of the events that occurred throughout the book were sad and depressing, Mistry displayed humor and generosity through the characters, making the story more bearable to read.

I honestly didn’t think I was going to like this book, but I enjoyed it a lot (and we’re back to the “wanting to learn about different cultures” thing).  Although there was some back and forth about what to do with the book now that I’ve finished it, I’ve decided to keep it.  Only it’s going to live on a bookshelf at work. I already have a professor wanting to borrow it.

A traveling funeral? What the heck?

I didn’t know what to think about this book before I read it, but it was a gem.  I highly recommend it.

Annie Freeman is dead.  And yet she still manages to assemble a traveling funeral with some of her closest friends as the pallbearers.  These women travel across the country, to places that meant something to Annie, to scatter her ashes, which happen to reside in a pair of red sneakers.  Along the way, the women learn new things about Annie and how important it is to take a break and truly live.

This book has quickly become one of my favorites.  The characters are so real and easy to relate to and like.  Kris Radish’s writing style is simple and eloquent, and allows the reader to feel as if they’re along for the ride.  And the fact that these women are celebrating a life, while trying to cope with loss, and having a good time makes me wonder why people don’t do this more often.

It was so touching to read about a group of women, who really didn’t know much about each other, who dropped everything, though it wasn’t as easy for some, to say good-bye to their friend.  The experiences and things they learned along the way moved me and made me realize that I, too, may be trying to do too much, and I need to slow down and enjoy life.

First memoir, about Mennonites (book 1 of ? in book hoarding purge)

Let me start off by saying that I’m not exactly sure how to review non-fiction.  It’s a little daunting to express my opinion about real events or stories about someone’s life.  Doing this kind of review scares the crap out of me, but I’ll give it a go.

I also want to add that I wasn’t expecting this book, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home, to be about a real person’s life.  I know it says “Memoir” in the title, but sometimes memoirs can be fictitious, right?

I was expecting this book to be about a woman who was banished from the Mennonite culture because she left for the big city.  That’s not the case.  I was also expecting the book to explain what the Mennonite culture is about.  While the author, Rhoda Janzen, does discuss cuisine and the fact dancing is not allowed, she doesn’t really go into much detail about the Mennonite way of life.

The book was a good read though.  It was very entertaining and funny, even though I felt a little ashamed laughing about Janzen’s botched surgery, how her husband left her for a man he met on Gay.com, and the embarrassing experiences she had growing up (she recalls these experiences during an extended stay with her parents).

To me, this book read more like a chick lit novel than a memoir.  If you liked Julie & Julia or Eat, Pray, Love, you’ll probably like Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.  While this book doesn’t really give the reader deep ideas to reflect on like EPL does, it does make you think about the relationships you have with your own friends and family.