Family Matters

by Rohinton Mistry

This was an amazing book. I listened to it on audio, which I thing enhanced the drama and pathos of the very small family story.

It is about a small family of Parsis, which are ethnic Persians who have lived in India for centuries. On some level it is a very small story, about family resentments, personal disappointments and lives that have not turned out they way we thought they would.

The writer tells the story from the viewpoint of nearly every character, not in first person but in third, and you come to know each one intimately. Mistry's writing is very emotional and personal (or maybe not the writing, but how it makes you feel). I became very invested in the story and was sad when it ended.

I will read more of his books, to be sure.

Disgrace

by JM Coetzee

This is the novel equivalent of the indie movie. Quirky, dark and humorous, with tremendously messed-up characters and an unresolved ending.

It was great.

My daughter gave me this book. I love the full-circleness of having nurtured her love of reading by suggested authors and books when she was young, and now she introduces me to writers I never would notice otherwise.

"Disgrace" follows a university professor in South Africa whose life has unraveled, as his own doing. He flails about, unsure how to pick up the pieces. The political/racial problems in South Africa are alluded to in the novel but are written subtly, as if the author expects the reader to be accustomed to how if affects day to day life. I found that a bit too subtle in my case and therefore frustrating.

But overall, expertly written and very compelling.

Stubborn Twig

by Lauren Kessler

Picked up a copy of this nonfiction book somewhere; its name was familiar because last year Oregon choose it as a 'read together' project for its 150th birthday.

I knew it was about Japanese immigrants settling in Oregon so I thought it would be an inspiring story of the melting pot, success of a New American.

Not so much.

With its unflinching look at how absolutely horrible Oregon treating the Japanese over the decades, we come out looking pretty awful. And that's probably the way it should be. Oregon seems to have topped the country in xenophobia.

Ms. Kessler's writing reads like journalism; her narrative is simple and clear and uncluttered by flowery description. Since the story follows the first immigrant of particular family and continues profiling it 100 years, it is good that her writing is so simple.

It was not impersonal however. I came to have affection for and understand many of the characters and developed empathy for the horrific things that happened to them.

It was definitely an important book to have been written, informing people about the strong history of racism against the Japanese using a single family as an example was a wise choice. It personalizes the whole debacle and makes it human-sized.