A "Glorious" step on the reading journey
The Lulu deadline for free proof copies is next Tuesday, so I've been spending way too much time editing and too little time cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping and, of course, reading. But I have read some books. My continuing journey really is continuing. And the books I've read, and reviewed, this week have certainly been interesting.
Number one has to be Glorious by Bernice McFadden. There's a brilliant Book Blogger Contest going on, and since my blog has finally crossed the magical 50-followers mark (Many thanks dear followers) I was able to get a free copy of Glorious to review.
I have to say I really enjoyed this book. The author gives a flavor of different accents and ways of speaking without making the words in any way hard to read. She creates a scarily real vision of life in the American South in the early 1900's too, with scenes that make both characters and reader want to turn away. A return visit in the 60's reveals how little and how slowly things change, but the author touches pain with gentle hope and resolution, creating a truly inspiring whole. The story moves from South to North, with images of love, hope and betrayal in New York as vivid as those on the railways and in Georgia. For more details, you can find my review of Glorious here on gather.
Besides Glorious I've read two books aimed at teenagers this week that also dealt with racial discrimination and related issues. Both Linked and The Intruders by Olive Peart were fascinating modern-day stories with very real teenage characters dealing with very issues, the whole wrapped in fascinating sci-fi situations. In Linked, two boys whose family ties are breaking apart find themselves so linked that they exchange bodies - an implausible premise I suppose but one with just enough logic applied to make it work really well. Hidden prejudices appear as the boys wish this, and their other problems, away. But they can't play the part of each other without trust, and trust leads to interesting solutions. In The Intruders and mixed bunch of teens find themselves transported through time, with new problems revealing new strengths and weaknesses, and highlighting the problems of the world they left. (The links above lead to my reviews on gather again.)
It was pure coincidence that I ended up reading several multi-cultural novels at once, but a happy coincidence. Now if only my publishing journey could progress as well as my reading one...
Number one has to be Glorious by Bernice McFadden. There's a brilliant Book Blogger Contest going on, and since my blog has finally crossed the magical 50-followers mark (Many thanks dear followers) I was able to get a free copy of Glorious to review.
I have to say I really enjoyed this book. The author gives a flavor of different accents and ways of speaking without making the words in any way hard to read. She creates a scarily real vision of life in the American South in the early 1900's too, with scenes that make both characters and reader want to turn away. A return visit in the 60's reveals how little and how slowly things change, but the author touches pain with gentle hope and resolution, creating a truly inspiring whole. The story moves from South to North, with images of love, hope and betrayal in New York as vivid as those on the railways and in Georgia. For more details, you can find my review of Glorious here on gather.
Besides Glorious I've read two books aimed at teenagers this week that also dealt with racial discrimination and related issues. Both Linked and The Intruders by Olive Peart were fascinating modern-day stories with very real teenage characters dealing with very issues, the whole wrapped in fascinating sci-fi situations. In Linked, two boys whose family ties are breaking apart find themselves so linked that they exchange bodies - an implausible premise I suppose but one with just enough logic applied to make it work really well. Hidden prejudices appear as the boys wish this, and their other problems, away. But they can't play the part of each other without trust, and trust leads to interesting solutions. In The Intruders and mixed bunch of teens find themselves transported through time, with new problems revealing new strengths and weaknesses, and highlighting the problems of the world they left. (The links above lead to my reviews on gather again.)
It was pure coincidence that I ended up reading several multi-cultural novels at once, but a happy coincidence. Now if only my publishing journey could progress as well as my reading one...
Comments
Malcolm