Student Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (reviewed by Camila H.)

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was honestly one of the best books I have ever read. It was a perfect balance between a captivating story, and non fiction history. It forced you to learn about the history of the character’s country, but it also got you attached to the characters and the plot line. The relationships and connections between all the characters was really well done, and I loved how it started out with Laila and Mariam’s separate stories and then came together as one. I also loved how they had so many plot twists, especially the one with Tariq. It brought up issues with the Laila and Mariam’s family that were real-life issues, but it showed them to you from an inside view. The writing was also really well done, and I really liked how the author showed the story from two different sides. The ending was a perfect balance of sadness and happiness, because Laila got her perfect family and job, but Mariam had to die for Laila’s freedom. I thought overall it was an amazing book, and I would recommend it to anyone. ~ Student: Camila H.

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Student Review: The Bastard of Istanbul, by Elif Shafak (reviewed by Ben T.)

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this novel, yet I would not recommend it. As rich and deep the conversations were between characters regarding the important Armenian Genocide, I found the novel to be boring at times, as there was no action, which is something I tend to enjoy when reading. Armanoush’s journey to Istanbul was interesting, as she learned a lot of Istanbulite culture and the unique culture of the Kazanci family. I would have never predicted that Armanoush has ties to the Kazanci family, as her Grandma Shushan was also the grandmother of Zeliha, Banu, Feride, and Cevriye. This was pretty cool, and I enjoyed the relationship that Asya and Armanoush developed when they began to get to know one another. Of course the stories of the Armenian Genocide were saddening, but were important to hear. Although this book is fiction, I am sure the ties that Grandma Shushan had to the Armenian Genocide can be relatable to other actual stories that some people had durin this time. However, there was no action in the story, as I said. But the book didn’t quite need it, as the relationships of the complex characters in the story filled that void that I felt when reading the book. ~ Student: Ben T.

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Student Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (reviewed by Anya G.)

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book- much more than I thought I would. At first it was a bit tricky to read, given that the point of view switches between characters, and jumps ahead years at a time. However, the way the two main characters’ lives come together was really interesting, albeit depressing. I liked seeing how they reacted to each other’s presence as wives to the same man. The author really got inside their minds, and made the book feel very real and close to the heart. Although the first 50 or so pages were a bit slow, after that, I really found the book hard to put down. The plot completely draws you in, and I found myself craving to learn more about Mariam and Laila’s plights, living with Rasheed. The plot twisted and turned, sometimes unexpectedly, keeping the reader completely immersed in the storyline. I sympathized with Laila and Mariam, laughing at the funny bits, getting weepy at the sad bits (and there were a lot of them!). I realized that right after finishing the book, I wanted to know more about Mariam and Laila and their lives. ~ Student: Anya G.

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In the Garden of the Beasts, by Erik Larson

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In The Garden of the Beasts by Erik Larson is the well-researched story of the build up of Hitler’s power in Nazi Germy as witnessed by an American diplomatic family posted to Berlin in 1933. Ambassador Dodd is an unassuming academic from Chicago and Roosevelt’s fourth or fifth choice for the unpopular post. Dodd is ill-prepared to respond to pressures from both sides: the American government wants him to ensure that the Germans make good on their debt to the US, and the German government wants him to suppress U.S. protests against Germany’s anti-Semitic regime. By contrast, Dodd’s grown daughter, Martha, is anything but unassuming. Martha recklessly engages in a series of dangerous liaisons first with Nazi officials, and later with a Soviet communist, shifting her loyalties only after the true nature of the Nazi regime becomes impossible for her to ignore. The story was pieced together through painstaking research into the characters’ lives and is liberally sprinkled with excerpts from their communications and personal diaries. While the author successfully evokes the tension of the era and clearly illustrates the willful ignorance practiced by so many eye-witnesses to the fomentation of Hitler’s power, he lost me fairly early in the book. Despite its potential, the story seemed to drag, haltingly inserting extraneous details that demonstrate the author’s authority on the subject but that add little to the appeal of the story. Larson also uses a heavy hand to forebode future events such that they are almost anticlimactic by the time they occur. This book has received very positive reviews from others, so perhaps my experience stems from a preference for fiction over nonfiction or my familiarity with the events chronicled in this book. I would recommend this to those who are interested in learning more about the build up to World War II and the Nazis rise to power. ~ Ms Dimmick

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Student Review: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez (reviewed by Samuel K.)

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novel is a stunning, adventurous story about the path of immigration by the Garcia family and the obstacles they had to avoid in the mid- 1900′s. This book is told in reverse chronological order, from when the four main characters, the Garcia sisters, are already residing in their new country and have already matured. In the early stages of their life, the Garcia sisters enjoyed a decently sheltered and luxurious life living in the Dominican Republic. The mother of the family, Laura, came from a wealthy and influential family in the Dominican, and their father Carlos was a political figure. From having their name widely known in their home country to becoming a middle class nobody in America was a very difficult transition for the Garcia family. At points in this novel, you may consider it to be tragic, according to the events that transpire for each individual sister. A non-significant one, for example, the second oldest sister, Sandra, is completely driven by her artistic ability and vision, until one day when she is thrown out of art class and subsequently falls down and breaks her arm. After this, Sandra lost all of her artistic vision and was simply not driven by art any longer. In this book I appreciated that there were high points and low points for the Garcia family, that the reader could easily reflect on. It explained how immigration is a rough process and that a family can go from riches to rags just by immigrating to a new country. I would specifically recommend this book to anyone interested in learning in diversity and globalization, who also appreciates an interesting family story. Last term I read “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago, and although the stories are similar in terms of plot, I believe this book to be more interesting and gripping. ~ Student: Samuel K.

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Student Review:Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi (reviewed by Khashayar D.)

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book 2 of Persepolis picks up exactly where book 1 ends. Satrapi is a teenager who goes to Vienna to continue her education away from the oppressive Islamic Regime that is ruling Iran. Book 2’s Marjane Satrapi is older and much more impulsive than the Satrapi in Book 1. I did not like this sequel to Persepolis 1 because the main character, Marjane, is much less relatable and un-engaging than the girl in Persepolis 1. As an Iranian who, like Satrapi, also left Iran at the age of fourteen, I have to say that this book is from the stand-point of a completely westernized individual. As Marjane grows up she becomes progressively stupider and more impulsive and gets herself into situations that usually take years to overcome. However Marjane, the will-guided protagonist of this graphic novel, overcomes drug abuse, depression, and a life that has been created by countless bad decisions by only a prevailing strength of will. Aside from miraculously mending her life, throughout the book, Satrapi makes decisions that make it hard for the reader to sympathize with her such as framing an innocent civilian to evade the police. Lastly I would like to point out that the “Graphic” element of this novel was completely ineffectual. Book 1 in this series succeeded because its childlike graphics and storytelling matched perfectly with this subject matter. We could imagine the child author telling her story in these terms. This sequel fails because the issues of growing up and dealing with the disillusionment of one’s own culture are much more subtle. The story and the graphics reminded me constantly of the nuances that are left out, like the issues of women’s rights and humanity that are sentimentalized and the real conflicts that this child/woman is undergoing remain untapped. I would not recommend this book to a friend.

Recommendations: Palestine by Joe Sacco, The complete Maus: A survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman, 1984 by George Orwell, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. ~Student: Khashayar D.

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Student Review:‘Tis: A Memoir, by Frank McCourt (reviewed by Isabel C-S.)

‘Tis by Frank McCourt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fantastic addition to the already fabulous book Angela’s Ashes. The Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt comes back to give us a phenomenal piece of literature that will have you screaming and crying at the same time. The memoir starts off where he left off last, crossing the ocean on a boat to come back to America. The rest of the story depicts and examines the life he leads there. All along the way he is met with stereotypes and people judging him because of his accent and his race. They say, ”Goddamn Irish always drinking,” and he is always told, “stick to your own kind”. The book embodies what it meant or might still mean today to be an immigrant of any kind with stereotypes following you around everywhere you go. As his life, and the story with it, progresses the reader finally gets an appreciation for how hard it really is to work your way up in the world. It might come as a bit of a shock for some readers, but overall it is well worth it to gain some overall knowledge about what our grandparents or great-grandparents faced during their first years in America. Before reading this book I highly recommend reading the prequel, Angela’s Ashes. While it is by no means necessary for understanding, it gives one a greater appreciation of Frank McCourt the character and the writer. This is an overall great book for anyone interested in immigration life. ~ Student: Isabel C-S.

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Student Review: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie (reviewed by Liam S.)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book, written by Dai Sigie, is a novel about love, oppression, and Orwellian ideas of oppressing free thought. It will bring you inside the world of Mao’s cultural revolution, where all western thought is denounced.

The main characters are Luo, the unnamed narrator, and of course the little Chinese seamstress. Luo and the narrator are sent to a relearning camp called Phoenix of the sky. In this camp all outside influences are not allowed. No western music or media, only opinions that reinforce the communist ideals. They meet one man who has many western books hidden, and through much coercing they convince him to lend them a book. It is through these books they see the light, to say. They are encouraged to live and love. This is what sparks the relationship between Luo and the Seamstress. I really enjoyed reading this book, it did a great job painting the view of Mao’s cultural revolution, and showing the power of free thought. The story is told in a simple and direct narrative, which is refreshing considering the weight of the subject, and how other novels may deal with such a difficult subject. Instead of over emphasizing the pain the boys went through, it highlights the life they made for themselves. Interestingly, the author, Dai Sigie, lived through the reeducation. This gives the book an added authenticity, and help to build a believable atmosphere for the characters.

Overall the book was very enjoyable to read. It delivers a fresh way of depicting a dystopian society that is not often seen. ~ Student: Liam S.

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Student Review: When I Was Puerto Rican, by Esmeralda Santiago (reviewed by Shayla F.)

When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, is about Esmeralda becoming an American. She was born in Puerto Rico and lived there for a while, but then her family moved to America. The book is about her transition from Puerto Rico to America and what she does in both places. She started off in the barrio (not so wealthy neighborhood) then to Brooklyn, NY, and then becoming a student at Harvard. I liked this book because it was entertaining, I didn’t get bored while reading it. I also liked it because it showed that you don’t have to be a rich white male to be successful. The booked showed how Esmeralda got to where she is and it wasn’t because everything was handed to her it was because she worked hard and she believed that she can do it. This book showed me that despite what other people say or think about you it doesn’t have to affect your life, the only thing that matters is how you see yourself and if you want something so bad and you work hard enough to get it then you will have it. The only reason why I didn’t like the book was because there were parts to the book where I couldn’t relate because Esmeralda talked about being hispanic and what it is like to be hispanic, but other than that the book was a good read and I advise anybody to check the book out. ~ Student: Shayla F.

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Student Review: The Kitchen God’s Wife, by Amy Tan

The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Despite some abusive stories, The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan is a warm-hearted book that depicts a mother-daughter relationship. Winnie is a Chinese-born woman who is a mother of an American-born daughter, Pearl, and a fugitive from her aggressive ex-husband. Hoping to improve her relationship with Pearl that was exacerbated when she slapped Pearl for not crying at her beloved second husband, Jimmy’s, funeral, Winnie shares her deeply hidden secrets with Pearl. While Winnie narrates her stories, there exist many ironies. First, the stories consist of her bitter relationship with her father who is one of the richest people but is not caring enough for his daughter to force a marriage with a pretentious Chinese man, Wen Fu, who later reveals himself as sexually abusive and egocentric. Also, Wen Fu appears as a pilot who fights for China from Japan when he cannot even protect his family well. As I read more and more stories, it really depressed me to see Winnie heartbroken by her father and frequently abused by her ex-husband. At the same time, it made me wonder why almost every Asia-related book portraits women as weak characters. Even though Winnie once attempts to kill Wen Fu and later escapes from him, it still doesn’t make her a strong woman. I would recommend this book for those of you who want to experience probable lives of people during a war between China and Japan but not for those who are advocates of feminism or domestic tranquility. ~ Student: Jenny K.

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