Learning About the Past and Shaping the Future: December Reads
Hello Beholders! Happy first day of classes or just happy Monday. I had a lot of fun getting back into reading more in December. When I went on vacation I was able to spend a lot of time reading and I’m very excited to share the books that I got through with you all.
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
This novel is about a college student, Greer, who starts a job in the world of feminism and power. In college, Greer goes to see a speaker, Faith Frank, whom she later meets in the bathroom and Faith gives Greer her business card. Many years later, Greer is given the opportunity to work for an organization run by Faith. Alongside this, we watch Greer and her boyfriend from high school, Cory, do long distance and then struggle as Cory endures family problems.
The thing that I love most about this novel is how inspiring it is to work towards something you care about. Greer’s best friend, Zee, is forced to become a lawyer by her parents. But she rebels, gets a job far from home that doesn’t even pay well, and, learns to love her job just because of how passionate she feels about it. Similarly, for many years Greer does nothing but busy work under Faith Frank. However, this doesn’t bother her too much because she knows she is still making a positive impact on society.
Some notable themes from this novel include power, loyalty, and ambition. This book is a great reminder to go after something that you care about and also that women rock.
Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton
Night Wherever We Go follows the story of several female slaves on a plantation in Texas in 1852. The primary conflict in this novel is that the plantation owners or “Lucy’s” bring in male slaves with the sole purpose of impregnating the female slaves. These women either have to use herbal remedies to keep themselves from becoming pregnant or allow themselves to be pregnant and endure difficult body struggles then have their children ripped from them. However, if they don’t get pregnant they will be punished and forced to continue to try to get pregnant. We also see the standpoint of another slave who is brought onto the plantation to breastfeed the owner’s new baby. She is worked until she is in so much pain from too much breastfeeding but made to continue.
Aside from diving into the struggles of these slaves when it comes to their womanhood, the novel also does a great job of incorporating other factors that are necessary to read about to fully understand their struggles and lives. For example, discussing the relationships between each of the women, their pasts and their past families, their religious beliefs and how they have adapted, and connections with slaves from neighboring plantations.
Something else that I found interesting about this novel is that the plantation owners aren’t very wealthy. They’re just trying to get by. Because of this, they retreat to forms of punishment outside of the ones that are normally talked about.
Lastly, the writing style of this novel is very interesting. The author jumps from the third perspective to each character throughout the novel but at times also writes in the first person perspective. This puts you in the shoes of the women. I remember the first time that I noticed this, I felt much more impacted by what they were experiencing. Not only did this writing style make me sympathize with the characters more, but I also just think this is a very unique style and I applaud the author for it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book mainly because it expanded my horizons. As I mentioned in my last books of the month post, I want to read more genres outside of the typical fiction that I normally read and this was a great start.
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This fiction novel begins with a black female, Emira, babysitting a white child, Briar, who gets accused of kidnapping her when taking her to the grocery store late at night due to an emergency. The story then follows the relationship between Emira and Briar’s mother, Alix. Alix wants Emira to like her so much and will do practically anything to plan her schedule in a way that allows Emira to babysit more. Emira on the other hand is unsure whether she should continue to babysit Briar. In addition, the person who films Emira’s interaction with the grocery store clerk, Kelley, becomes Emira’s boyfriend but (surprise!) he previously had a relationship with Alix.
There is a rollercoaster of events in this book. However, I think that one of the main factors of this novel that makes it interesting is how it is very “woke”. The language used and the way that problems are discussed is very current. Additionally, anxiety and monetary problems are discussed to a large extent.
There’s also a theme of external vs. internal truths in this novel. Many of the characters act in ways that conflict with how they feel. Themes of white privilege, ignorance, redemption, racism, and privilege are also very present.
This book was also a great read for me because it’s important to try to put yourself in other people’s shoes and understand how their day-to-day lives differ from yours. I try to think about how I may contribute to these problems positively or negatively and reflect on what I can do differently from there.
In total, all of the novels that I’ve mentioned today are great novels especially because of the awareness and messages that they spread. I didn’t even realize they were all somewhat thoughtful and progressive until I sat down to write this post, but I’m happy that they are. Here’s to a progressive month of reading! I can’t wait to see what next month brings.
Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,
Chlo
P.S. The Amazon links to these books are attached to the photos and titles as usual 🙂
Sources
https://www.supersummary.com/the-female-persuasion/summary/https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61054121
These all sound so good. I am adding them to my reading list!
If you are interested in books about empowered women, consider “The Power” by Naomi Alderman. The first quarter of the book was developed into a series on Amazon, and they did a good job of it.
They all sound so good. I love that you related their circumstances to how the lives of privileged and wealthy people affect negatively and/or positively the lives of others.