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Book report
Mar. 22nd, 2007 09:12 pmHere’s my latest crop of books along with my reviews.
1. Peace Mom by Cindy Sheehan – This is Cindy Sheehan’s story of going from a non-activist to someone who spends every ounce of energy working to oppose the war in Iraq, spurred on by the death of her son Casey. Sheehan is an activist and not a writer, and the prose in her book is definitely not elegant. (I was a tad put off by the occasional profanity but, then again, I totally understand her anger). I enjoyed learning more about her, more about this unjust war, about Bush’s ineptitude, and the unfair smear campaign against Sheehan. She’s bipartisan too – she doesn’t let the Democrats off the hook either, for their lack of outrage over the war. I’d recently read Jane Fonda’s biography and found it intriguing to read of the parallels between the vitriol shot at these two women for advocating peace and an end to the killing. (It was also cool to read about how Sheehan and Fonda even eventually met up!) Grade: B
2. A Simple Distance by K.E. Silva – A novel about a young woman, Jean, whose cold and distant mother is from a fictional island in the West Indies. Jean -- and eventually her mother -- are shunned by their extended family when it is discovered that Jean is a lesbian. The novel skillfully handles issues of sex, sexual orientation, class, and race (Jean’s father is white) while keeping an interesting plot moving forward. The prose was well-crafted and even poetic at times. Grade: B
The rest will be behind the cut.
( Read more... )
1. Peace Mom by Cindy Sheehan – This is Cindy Sheehan’s story of going from a non-activist to someone who spends every ounce of energy working to oppose the war in Iraq, spurred on by the death of her son Casey. Sheehan is an activist and not a writer, and the prose in her book is definitely not elegant. (I was a tad put off by the occasional profanity but, then again, I totally understand her anger). I enjoyed learning more about her, more about this unjust war, about Bush’s ineptitude, and the unfair smear campaign against Sheehan. She’s bipartisan too – she doesn’t let the Democrats off the hook either, for their lack of outrage over the war. I’d recently read Jane Fonda’s biography and found it intriguing to read of the parallels between the vitriol shot at these two women for advocating peace and an end to the killing. (It was also cool to read about how Sheehan and Fonda even eventually met up!) Grade: B
2. A Simple Distance by K.E. Silva – A novel about a young woman, Jean, whose cold and distant mother is from a fictional island in the West Indies. Jean -- and eventually her mother -- are shunned by their extended family when it is discovered that Jean is a lesbian. The novel skillfully handles issues of sex, sexual orientation, class, and race (Jean’s father is white) while keeping an interesting plot moving forward. The prose was well-crafted and even poetic at times. Grade: B
The rest will be behind the cut.
( Read more... )
