Mark B

"The God of Small Things" is an absolutely wonderful novel exploring themes of love, loss, family, and societal norms. Set in India, the story follows the lives of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel, and a relationship marked by tragedies and secrets. Also central to the story is the forbidden love between their mother, Ammu, and a lower-caste worker, which triggers devastating consequences. Roy's prose is rich with imagery and symbolism, and some of the best I have ever read. Sometimes funny, often sad, her writing touches off an array of the deep emotions. Through a masterful use of language, complex characters, and vivid portrayal of Indian culture, "The God of Small Things" allowed me to step into an unknown world.

"Between the World and Me" -- Ta-Nehisi Coates I finish reading this over a week ago, and have since struggled to gather my thoughts about this (well regarded) book. I began expecting to find a thoughtful work regarding the life of a black American. What I found was a myopic rant by a very angry man. It may be that his anger is justified, but as it's presented, his reasoning is unconvincing. While Coates indeed possesses a gift for writing, his message is predominantly rooted in bitterness, resentment, and blame. Many comments are completely beyond the pale. In a tragic incident, Coates best friend, Prince Jones was murdered by a rogue black police officer. Somehow he uses this to justify a comment regarding responders killed on 9-11. "𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐽𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒." In "Between the World and Me," Coates frequently speaks about his body as a site of vulnerability and as a target for oppression and violence. Sadly, it seems like it's his soul that's been destroyed. I suppose the more I say about this book, the more I'll come across as the dreamer who tried to push his kid out out of the way. So, I'll leave it with this. There are no solutions, no remedies, nor any hope to be found here.