Book Blog: March 2023
It’s April, and — no joke — it was a tough month of reading in March. A few of my much-anticipated books turned out to be duds (including *sob* Cloud Cuckoo Land, which I didn’t finish, and Matthew Perry’s autobiography, which I did) so I felt I wasted time trying to get into some books that I had long waited to read. So again it’s a shorter set of the 11 books I read this month that I’m recommending to you. Here’s to better luck in April!
Fiction
Malibu Rising (Taylor Jenkins Reid): This was a fun, slightly-scattered novel set over 24 hours in 1983. The four Riva siblings — Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit — are wading through relationship drama between themselves and with others with the backdrop of the annual Riva party. Having read one of Jenkins Reid’s previous books (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo), you can see how she connects her books with certain characters (in this case, the absent father of the siblings, singer Mick Riva). The first half of the book was easily 5-stars, but the party section felt disjointed (probably on purpose) *and* it seems was a way to introduce lots of future characters (namely Carrie Soto for her own book). That part felt a little gimmicky (more of a 3-stars second half), and I wished there was more focus on the four main characters during the party and less about so-and-so Hollywood person. Anyway, it was still a very enjoyable book and Jenkins Reid is a engaging, talented author.
Ordeal by Innocence (Agatha Christie): A young man is convicted of murdering his mother for money and is sentenced to serve time in prison… but, after his untimely death, a witness comes forward to confirm his alibi. But if he didn’t kill his mom, who did? There are only a few folks from the family in the house during the murder, so now they have to watch out for themselves and hope that they aren’t next. This was actually a really interesting book — the challenge was that there wasn’t a strong detective or narrator, so the story didn’t have the same intensity of a Miss Marple or Poirot mystery.
Sleeping Murder (Agatha Christie): By happenstance Miss Marple stumbles across young Gwen(da) in her house hunt in a charming English village, and when Gwen thinks she should research the house she has chosen because she realizes it is where she lived as a young child. Though many, including her husband Giles, encourage her not to proceed, Gwen carries on, wondering what exactly happened to her father and stepmother after she was sent back to live with relatives in New Zealand. Does it go according to plan? Of course not!
I continue to find the Miss Marple books more charming than Poirot as she intervenes and detects in a much broader set of ways, so you’re never quite sure where she will pop up or how she’ll contribute to a case.
Non-Fiction
Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents (Isabel Wilkerson): This book was a fundamentally different presentation of race in America — not focusing as much on race directly, but instead through the lens of caste. “Caste,” Wilkerson writes, “is the granting or withholding of respect, status, honor, attention, privileges, resources, benefit of the doubt, and human kindness to someone based on the basis of their perceived rank or standing in the hierarchy.” Weaving in examples of Nazi-controlled Germany and India alongside slavery, reconstruction, and discrimination against African-Americans, it seemed like a forehead-slapping moment to me as I noticed the similarities. I cannot recommend this book enough.
The Underground Girls of Kabul (Jenny Nordberg): This book was an exploration of a topic that I didn’t even realize existed, and this is a cultural practice of temporarily (or, in rare cases, permanently) raising girls as boys in Afghanistan. Girls, who seem to be very undervalued — to the point of being married without their choice — are looked down upon, and if they are unable to have sons, women/families might choose to raise a child as a boy, dressing her as a boy and treating her like one. The book explores the perspectives of the girls who are raised as boys, as well as their families. Many books today on gender center on a WASP or WEIRD perspective, so it was good to hear a different way that a country uses or plays with gender to align to or subvert cultural norms. I really wish Nordberg would give us an update as it has been more than 10 years since her research on the topic.
Happy Almost-Spring to you, and many better reading days ahead.
Cheers, S
