I actually didn't want to rate this book initially because I thought "why would I rate a book about the collective grief of the Palestinians under IsrI actually didn't want to rate this book initially because I thought "why would I rate a book about the collective grief of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation?"... but then I saw some of the reviews that were rated low on purpose to derail the stories of Palestinians... so here we are: 5 stars.
I cannot recommend this book enough to those who haven't read it yet. It's a collection of stories about the lived experiences of Palestinians both from Gaza and the West Bank (with the exception of 2 stories from the viewpoint of Israelis) and it gives an idea of how life is like under Israeli occupation. This book only records these stories until July/August 2014 and... well we know what's happening now in 2024. It's been more than 100+ days of genocide in Gaza. While reading this book I kept thinking about the people featured in here and kept wondering how they were... if some of these people even survived the events happening in Gaza now.
Reading this book, I realised that things have always been the same for Palestinians... except now that it's worse than ever before. I urge everyone reading this review to read this book. Keep the Palestinians in your heart and in your prayers... and especially front and center in your activism.
There's 2 couples in this story: David and Janet... and Ken and Carrie. Ken and Janet decide to cheat on their respective spouses and exchang3.5 stars
There's 2 couples in this story: David and Janet... and Ken and Carrie. Ken and Janet decide to cheat on their respective spouses and exchange letters (the story takes place in the '70's). Carrie finds out and starts corresponding with David and they both find solace in their heartbreak over their spouse's betrayal.
To be honest, I've never read a book centered on cheating before. It's just a personal choice because I genuinely can't stomach stories that involve betrayal within relationships. It's a hard no from me. But I wanted to test the waters... and so I asked Parvathi and she suggested this story to me... just to see how much I could take.
Turns out, I actually enjoyed this story and I think I audibly gasped at the end. It's way out of my comfort zone and the only things I remember feeling while reading this was anger, happy confusion, and intense curiosity. This was my first TJR read and I think I'll probably pay it forward and recommend this in the future....more
Another one of those books that I bought at my school's Scholastic book fair... these short stories made up a part of my childhood ♡Another one of those books that I bought at my school's Scholastic book fair... these short stories made up a part of my childhood ♡...more
I was compelled to read this book after originally coming across the title essay 'The Crane Wife' in The Pari3.75 ⭐️ (rounded up to 4 glorious stars)
I was compelled to read this book after originally coming across the title essay 'The Crane Wife' in The Paris Review many years ago. The essay was so profound, it stuck with me all this time.
This is marketed as a memoir of sorts but to me, this seemed like more of a 'several-experiences-put-together-with-a-stream-of-consciousness-weaving-through-it' kind of book. And I think I like that more than if it had been a proper memoir.
I liked the 2nd half of this book more than I did the 1st half, tbh. But that doesn't mean I didn't like the 1st half! All the essays show the beautiful observational quality of the author... how she kept trying to say that life and love isn't some grand, dramatic thing but all of this is really in the attempt... in the trying. The in-between moments. And the whole book is essentially the author coming to these conclusions again and again as she takes us with her to try to make sense of her life through her experiences.
It's really a book for women. A book for girl's girls. That essay about that glorious house in Florida that the author described as a "single woman's house". That other essay about that very specific experience of having breasts and thinking your body is for everyone but yourself (she does a better job of talking about this than I do lol). That gorgeous essay about dreaming of houses instead of weddings when you were a kid and spending your whole life wanting to replicate that safe feeling of a houseme that welcomes everyone and is filled with so much love.
The only thing that slightly irritated me about the book was the amount of American pop culture references from decades ago, that as a Gen-Z non-American, it made it quite difficult to understand some of the essays. This is a personal qualm for me and maybe someone else who reads this book wouldn't think that was a problem at all.
This book is definitely one of those memoirs that I hope to keep coming back to as I grow and evolve through life. ...more
I'm stunned. The way this story said so much in less than 30 pages. I loved how it highlighted beauty standards, misogyny, societal expectations of woI'm stunned. The way this story said so much in less than 30 pages. I loved how it highlighted beauty standards, misogyny, societal expectations of women... and I only wish this story could've been longer so these topics could've been explored more. Retellings of Greek myths will always be something that I love, especially when it's done from a female character's view point.
Madeline Miller - I worship the ground you walk on... please never stop writing stories....more
This book deserves 5 stars actually, but gets 4 because the writing was a bit inaccessible for me (meaning I'm not smart enough to understand a lot ofThis book deserves 5 stars actually, but gets 4 because the writing was a bit inaccessible for me (meaning I'm not smart enough to understand a lot of it).
A lot of what was discussed in this book took me several minutes and a couple of pages of rereading to understand because... wow it's just that good. The author talks in depth about white feminism - which they call "civilizational feminism" because it seeks to "civilize" women from the global south - and how it's become the definition of feminism now simply because it stomped on and stood over feminist movements from the global south.
The book starts with the question "who cleans the world?" and ends on the same note and it's just... an incredibly loaded question that's opened up so many avenues of thinking for me. This question really is the crux of the entire book. I just want to share three quotes from the book that talk about this and let you decide for yourself:
"The anthropologist David Graeber has spoken of the need to reimagine the working class as what he calls “the caring class,” the social class where “work is about taking care of other humans, plants, and animals.” He proposed the following definition of care work: “work in which the goal is maintaining or expanding the freedom of another person.” Or “the more your work helps others, the less you get paid to do it.”
"Capitalism is an economy of waste, and this waste must disappear before the eyes of those who are entitled to enjoy a good life: it must be disposed of without being seen. (...) this economy of waste production is inextricably linked to the production of human beings as ‘scum,’ as ‘waste.’ An entire humanity is condemned to undertake invisible and overexploited work to create a world suitable for hyper-consumption and maintaining institutions."
"White women can be assured of finding everything clean, but without confronting the reality of who is doing the cleaning, and therefore of the presence and existence of those who do it. This is one of the fundamental principles of cleaning: it must remain invisible. Through this invisibilization, the person doing the cleaning disappears not only from the screen, but the violence and disdain they encounter on the job are legitimized."
Overall, this is an absolutely "big brain energy" book written with an anti-racist and anti-imperialist viewpoint that I'm obsessed with, and will definitely be recommending to my feminist friends for years to come....more
"Omelas already exists: no need to build it or choose it. We already live here – in the narrow, foul, dark prison we let our ignorance, fear, and h
"Omelas already exists: no need to build it or choose it. We already live here – in the narrow, foul, dark prison we let our ignorance, fear, and hatred build for us and keep us in, here in the splendid, beautiful city of life. . . ."
~ Ursula K. Le Guin in the afterword of the 2016 edition
I first heard of this story when my favourite booktuber, Jack Edwards, made a video about every book that Namjoon (RM) from the boy band, BTS, has ever recommended. I'm pretty uninformed about the band and their work so this came as a bit of a surprise to me, and watching the video really made me appreciate how much thought they put into their work (the city of Omelas was referenced in their music video 'Spring Day'). Just watch Jack's video - he does a better job of explaining this then I am.
Omelas is a story about an utopian city of happiness and prosperity... but in order for their city to remain so, a single child must exist in squalor and poverty. Anyone who tries to help the child out of their predicament will risk bringing destruction to their way of life. Those are the rules. Some people are enraged (and rightly so) but most of them learn to live with it - convincing themselves that this is how things simply are. But a special few choose to walk away from the city altogether, refusing to partake in a happiness that only exists because of the suffering of a child - where they go is something that no one knows.
I loved this story. It's a brilliant look at our own lives and at our own world. I'm always stunned by short stories that manage to invoke so much in so little words. Really grateful to have come across this one. As always, with short stories like this... I just wish I had more to read....more
"I want us to look at each other with the eyes of interdependence, such that when someone causes harm, we find the gentle parent inside of us who c
"I want us to look at each other with the eyes of interdependence, such that when someone causes harm, we find the gentle parent inside of us who can use a voice of accountability, while also bringing curiosity—“Why did you cause harm? Do you know? Do you know other options? Apologize.” That we can set boundaries that don’t require the disappearance of other survivors. That we can act towards accountability with the touch of love."
A booklet consisting of a few essays talking about cancel culture and accountability through an abolitionist lens. The author's compassion and empathy for humanity really shines through in their work. She insists that we take a moment to truly listen to different perspectives, to give people the benefit of the doubt and to keep our hearts and minds open when it comes to people who have been "called out". We won't get anywhere by swiftly punishing those we deem problematic and demanding their removal from the community - those are the same ideas of 'punitive punishment' that our society already implements... and we can't solve a problem by doing the same things our oppressors do.
My only problem with this book was that the introduction was a bit long... and unnecessary maybe? There were so many things that were prefaced and overexplained... almost as if the author was anticipating that her words would be taken out of context or misinterpreted so she had to clear up any confusions before they were even brought up. I understand that and that's exactly the kind of cultural behavior that the author talks about in the book... but for me, I just felt like it was unnecessary. But again, I understand why the author felt the need to do that. I also didn't appreciate comparing call out culture with "cancer" or any other diseases - personally, I don't like it when anything is compared with diseases to denote how severe or insidious it might be... but that's just me....more
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