Book Reviews

Here are some recent reads:

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Balram tells his story from growing up poor in "The Darkness" in India to being a prosperous entrepreneur in the growing market of outsources technology jobs. His path involves loneliness, servanthood, being manipulated, and committing murder. It's a very raw story told as letters to the Prime Minister of China. Balram wants to give the PM a real picture of Bangalore, the city where he finally finds success, and entrepreneurship in India. It's is a deftly written, intriguing, gritty story.

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
This is Rob's memoir focusing on his relationship with his wife, Renee, before their marriage, during their marriage, and after her death. Each chapter begins with the song list from a mix tape that he (and often Renee) listened to during that time. Music formed the core of his life and their relationship. This book is achingly hilarious, both heartbreaking and laugh out loud funny. Sheffield is a bold, honest, smart writer.

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
The story centers on the Oscar, a Dominican kid in New Jersey, and his quest for love and to become a sci-fi/fantasy writer; but Oscar's life (and death) can't be understood without knowing his family's past. (The generational story of a Spanish-language-culture family reminds me of Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros.) Various narrators, some named, some mysterious, tell about his mother's youth, his sister's rebellion, and his grandfather's imprisonment. His family is haunted by what may be a curse, or fuku, because of an offense to the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Díaz mixes urban slang, Spanish, and sci-fi references to tell his story. Although I don't understand Spanish and don't like sci-fi, I wasn't lost. This book is rich with voice and history.

Note: Each of these books involved a significant death, but I haven't ruined anything for you by telling you about it. All three books refer to the deaths right away, but often leave details and whys for later.