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Held at a Distance by Haile, Samira and Samir by Shakib, Always and Forever by Jenkins
I don't remember the last time I reviewed a book. But anyway. Take a deep breath and start reviewing...
1. Held At A Distance, Rebecca Haile
In the wake of a military coup deposing the Emperor, Rebecca Haile moved with her family from Ethiopia to the United States. Twenty five years later Haile is the first in her family to return to Ethiopia. The book is a memoir of her extended family and a travelogue of that trip.
Excerpt: As we cross from southern Egypt into northern Ethiopia, an hour or so before we are to land, the horizon finally begins to lighten. Soon, the sky over the vast highland plateau is awash in a deep, clay red. Jetlagged and on edge, uncertain what to expect from the country I am not sure I can still call home, I am grateful for this beautiful prologue to the month that lies ahead.
On the surface it is a simple story, lightly written. Underneath are depths of feeling - especially relating to her concept of home, her sense of self, and her extended family.
I am not ordinarily much of a memoir reader but I found there are many delights in the memoir, not the least of which is the fact that it is so true to a person's experience of childhood, the precious memories attached to one house, and her experience of being an adult who is both a stranger and at home in Ethiopia. Haile's insights are lovely. Her voice is pleasant and engaging. I enjoyed the true to life nature of it, the fact that not everything in life has a pattern but some things do.
2. Samira and Samir, Siba Shakib
When Samira is born, she is not the son her commander father expected. Mortified, and wanting to save his position and protect his family, her father decides to bring Samira up as a boy.
Excerpt: With a quiet be-isme-Allah on her lips she parts the umbilical cord, knots around it the thread that she has pulled from the brightly coloured fabric of her dress. Daria wipes the blood from the skin of the newborn, wraps it in the white muslin. Did you see? she asks. It is only a girl.
The commander is silent.
His son is a girl.
The story is powerful. Samira is brought up hunting and riding and later reading and writing, things she would not have been allowed as a girl. As she grows, though, she has to make choices. There's an unsurprising but deeply complicated will she choose the love of a man or her freedom aspect.
Shakib succeeds in revealing the heart of each character. The point of view is elusive but I regularly felt I was sitting inside each person's head. Sometimes I did not enjoy inhabiting that brain.
However, although it is sometimes very beautiful, I felt it was over-written. I believe I enjoy dense novels but this one only worked for me in part. In particular, it dragged early on when I felt I was reliving the same scenarios and no one was learning or changing. It improved with reading and time.
Many reviewers have called this an extraordinary tale of love or a heartrending tale of oppression. And with reservations, I agree.
3. Always and Forever, Beverly Jenkins
Our heroine, Grace Atwood, is a pulled-together banker leading a wagon train of potential brides to a town out West. Our hero, Jackson Blake, is rugged and charming and maddening, but perfect for the job of wagonmaster. So Grace commissions Jackson for the difficult journey.
I loved this. It's a road trip and it's history and it's sometime funny and often pretty sexy. The historical detail is believable and rich. The plot is pulled along by the road trip. While some of the choices show little sense and everything tends to leap from episode to episode, it works because everything else is so charming.
The characterisation is strong. Jenkins brings together a huge cast of belieavable and engaging people, including a large number of women who work hard together and support one another. The hero is a little inclined to excessive ruggedness but works because Grace is so highly opinionated and is, in a sense, his boss. And the romance, while very straight, is believable - sexy and sweet.
1. Held At A Distance, Rebecca Haile
In the wake of a military coup deposing the Emperor, Rebecca Haile moved with her family from Ethiopia to the United States. Twenty five years later Haile is the first in her family to return to Ethiopia. The book is a memoir of her extended family and a travelogue of that trip.
Excerpt: As we cross from southern Egypt into northern Ethiopia, an hour or so before we are to land, the horizon finally begins to lighten. Soon, the sky over the vast highland plateau is awash in a deep, clay red. Jetlagged and on edge, uncertain what to expect from the country I am not sure I can still call home, I am grateful for this beautiful prologue to the month that lies ahead.
On the surface it is a simple story, lightly written. Underneath are depths of feeling - especially relating to her concept of home, her sense of self, and her extended family.
I am not ordinarily much of a memoir reader but I found there are many delights in the memoir, not the least of which is the fact that it is so true to a person's experience of childhood, the precious memories attached to one house, and her experience of being an adult who is both a stranger and at home in Ethiopia. Haile's insights are lovely. Her voice is pleasant and engaging. I enjoyed the true to life nature of it, the fact that not everything in life has a pattern but some things do.
2. Samira and Samir, Siba Shakib
When Samira is born, she is not the son her commander father expected. Mortified, and wanting to save his position and protect his family, her father decides to bring Samira up as a boy.
Excerpt: With a quiet be-isme-Allah on her lips she parts the umbilical cord, knots around it the thread that she has pulled from the brightly coloured fabric of her dress. Daria wipes the blood from the skin of the newborn, wraps it in the white muslin. Did you see? she asks. It is only a girl.
The commander is silent.
His son is a girl.
The story is powerful. Samira is brought up hunting and riding and later reading and writing, things she would not have been allowed as a girl. As she grows, though, she has to make choices. There's an unsurprising but deeply complicated will she choose the love of a man or her freedom aspect.
Shakib succeeds in revealing the heart of each character. The point of view is elusive but I regularly felt I was sitting inside each person's head. Sometimes I did not enjoy inhabiting that brain.
However, although it is sometimes very beautiful, I felt it was over-written. I believe I enjoy dense novels but this one only worked for me in part. In particular, it dragged early on when I felt I was reliving the same scenarios and no one was learning or changing. It improved with reading and time.
Many reviewers have called this an extraordinary tale of love or a heartrending tale of oppression. And with reservations, I agree.
3. Always and Forever, Beverly Jenkins
Our heroine, Grace Atwood, is a pulled-together banker leading a wagon train of potential brides to a town out West. Our hero, Jackson Blake, is rugged and charming and maddening, but perfect for the job of wagonmaster. So Grace commissions Jackson for the difficult journey.
I loved this. It's a road trip and it's history and it's sometime funny and often pretty sexy. The historical detail is believable and rich. The plot is pulled along by the road trip. While some of the choices show little sense and everything tends to leap from episode to episode, it works because everything else is so charming.
The characterisation is strong. Jenkins brings together a huge cast of belieavable and engaging people, including a large number of women who work hard together and support one another. The hero is a little inclined to excessive ruggedness but works because Grace is so highly opinionated and is, in a sense, his boss. And the romance, while very straight, is believable - sexy and sweet.