Finding me: A Memoir by Viola Davis - Book Review

A completely baring, dismantling, raw, honest memoir. So honest it sometimes made my eyebrows furrow with worry, it made my insides quiver with unease and left a taste in my mouth. I heard the audiobook version, narrated by Viola herself and that made everything 100x more intense and real. Unlike fiction, there is no benefit of the doubt in memoirs and autobiographies- every cruelty in the book is real, every horrible thing mentioned was endured not imagined. It is impossible to dismiss or overlook the ruthlessness because it is somebody's life story, their history. Whether you like it or not, it exists and it muddles up your mirage. 

The book starts from the very beginning of her life, takes you through her very hard and heartbreaking childhood, her family dynamics, her education, her acting career, her marriage, all the way up to her success. Learning about young Vi was very dispiriting but it was so important to go neck deep with her into her past to truly understand the person behind the big name. For someone to come from such abject poverty and hopelessness to where she is today, is an unimaginable feat. I really didn't need any context to call her one of 'The Greats' before reading this book, but knowing her story makes my conviction that much stronger. 

There were many paragraphs where I just paused the book, opened the ebook version to read those lines again and again and to admire the depth of what she had said. It is always a learning- reading about the experiences of people, especially an oppressed people- and growing your sense of understanding about the world you live in, it fuels your empathy. That learning is never-ending and that is why it is so important to read. 

The last chapter alone has my whole heart. It is a fully grown, adult Viola talking about the most profound struggles of being a black woman, not fitting the conventional beauty standards, being a certain size and having a perceived unfeminine voice and physique, in Hollywood and theatre. If this is how Viola Davis, the star of stars feels I couldn't imagine how the others felt. Many of her thoughts and words about not fitting the beauty stereotype gave shape to emotions I didn't know I harbored. A thoroughly heartbreaking and inspiring read. Highly recommend the audiobook version, her voice is the voice that should be telling you this story.

Letter to my daughter - Book Review

I had a certain expectation out of this book because it comes with an author who is famous for her style of writing and is accepted world wide as one of the greats. If I had met her or heard her speak, I may have judged her differently because I'm a big fan of strong women, but sadly her writing did not touch me at all. It felt overrated, egoistic and very know-it-all. I stopped myself and wondered if I'm hating on her style because she's abnoxious, bold and proud in a way, women usually aren't. We don't want to come across as "full of ourselves". But no, I'd have hated her more if she was a man. I kept rolling my eyes and sighing every now and then while reading this book and I'm glad I picked something small to start with. I do appreciate that her ideas and rage may have been revolutionary at a different time. I might try again with her most famous book- her autobiography although my hopes are low. As much as I love memoirs and the chance to ruffle through a great mind and seeing how I relate to them, Maya Angelou was just not my cup of tea. 

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop - Book Review

A very light and heartening read that I began with little to no expectations. This is my second book by a South Korean author. I have been intentionally trying to expand my horizon since the last few years by trying to read more books from different parts of the world. Cultural differences fascinate me, it's one of the most important reasons why I travel and have so much curiosity when I meet new people. Ask my shipmates and they'll tell you about my incessant questions about their lives in their countries. I want to be a sponge, absorb all the world's diversity and it's similarity. Perhaps this is why I love reading books so much. Books are gateways, portals that secretly transport you to a place and back, with only words. You get to learn so much about someone imaginary living so far away, about how they like their coffee or how they perceive their wins and losses and more, without ever moving an inch.

'Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop' brings you a simple story with simple characters who have simple lives. Sometimes as in life, complex problems show up in the book every now and then but even those are dealt by the author with a light hand, never coating anything with too much heaviness. The book touched upon so many interesting topics within the realm of its characters and the space of the bookshop, a coffee roasters office and Yeonju's home- Yet no problem overwhelmed me or made me too sad or anxious. Even in those moments there was always an undercurrent of hope. This book is filled with a sense of community and an encouraging nudge to just focus in the moment and slowly keep moving forward even when things feel dire. 

I grew fond of the characters and found myself rooting for them. I felt like I was part of the ensemble most of the times, sitting at the Hyunam-dong bookshop watching things unfold. It made me yearn for such a warm, friendly independent bookshop in my area. A place where everyone loves books, there's excellent coffee available, bestsellers are not the main gimmick and you can meet like-minded people. Like every book lover, I've spent time wondering what it might be like to own a bookshop and envelope myself in books, to own a business where owners' profits are not the priority but meeting book lovers and making books accessible and interesting to everyone is. This book gave me a glimpse into that life and now I only want it more. 

When Breath Becomes Air - Book Review

I am terribly heartbroken, there is truly no other way to explain how deeply moved and bereaved I feel on completing this book. I bought this book nearly 3 years ago as soon as I saw my friend Snegha Ananth's instagram post. I don't know why I set it aside for so long but the timing is almost unbelievable (for me to decide I wanted read a book about death at a time like now). I only wish I had finished this book back at home, where I still had the chance to run into the next room and hug everyone. 

This book is riddled with Dr Paul Kalanithi's thoughts, emotions and unavoidable pain through his cancer diagnosis and treatment. His writing is honest-to-God a blessing upon us all. I had to stop every now and then just to admire the depth and ease with which he wrote, the ascendancy with which he quoted poets and writers. I cannot get over many many paragraphs of this book where he proves himself to be simple, profound, a brilliant mind, and a true genius. One example would be:

"As graduation loomed, I had a nagging sense that there was still far too much unresolved for me, that I wasn’t done studying. I applied for a master’s in English literature at Stanford and was accepted into the program. I had come to see language as an almost supernatural force, existing between people, bringing our brains, shielded in centimeter-thick skulls, into communion. A word meant something only between people, and life’s meaning, its virtue, had something to do with the depth of the relationships we form. It was the relational aspect of humans—i.e., “human relationality”—that undergirded meaning. Yet somehow, this process existed in brains and bodies, subject to their own physiologic imperatives, prone to breaking and failing. There must be a way, I thought, that the language of life as experienced—of passion, of hunger, of love—bore some relationship, however convoluted, to the language of neurons, digestive tracts, and heartbeats."

Many a books have been good, even great, but for a book's foreword and epilogue to also win my heart, this should be a first. Must must must read. Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Tell me if you've read it, I would love to share favorite quotes with you. ❤️

26 Feb 2019

The Covenant of Water - Book Review

*contains spoilers*

I started listening to 'The Covenant of Water' (on Audible) almost 3 months ago. Like many other books (or any projects) I've undertaken in the last few years, I slouched through it. I didn't respect it enough and give it the time and effort a good book really deserves. And when I did start, I was extremely put off even angered by the way Abraham Verghese quite casually wrote about and romanticized underage sex in the beginning with little Mariamma. Although he was very delicate with her fears and feelings when she was 12, he somehow figured she stopped being a child when she was 16?! I understand that the Parambil story takes place in the early 1900s, that the circumstances and the plot are all a product of their time; but I also think as an author who has the power of influence, he has the obligation to reference history as it was without glorifying it, without making his writing rosy and nostalgic for a past where some things were considered normal, while infact they are wildly inappropriate (now and then). It's not that the author is incapable of this fine distinction, I found his dialogue on caste and the abhorrence of the girl child very well done. I immediately sided with Big Ammachi, I wanted to slap Philipose when he stepped back from his baby girl. I was most pleasantly surprised when Joppan-in a very nuanced but strong way- brought up the privileged oversight of his bestfriend and his family towards the pulayars' contribution. Those were honestly my favourite parts of the whole book. I felt like the author failed me monumentally not once but twice by allowing the 'much older man-very young woman' dynamic to play out, seeking the reader's validation of the couple with emphasis on the girl's consent. Either time it DID NOT sit well with me. Was little Mariamma really old enough to consent? And isn't it the older person's obligation, I'd argue duty, to reject such advances? How young is really old enough for a man stop to seeing a child as a child? And how much age gap is really acceptable before the man finds it creepy? Especially when you knew the girl as a 7-8yo child and you were in your 20s? I felt for both the girls, wanting to run into the book and save them. 

When I decided on this book, one of the reasons I picked it was it's length. I wanted to have something I could listen to in parts, over a long period of time while I'm onboard. I was confident I wouldn't be able to get through it at home, I mean it was 34h worth of content. However, the stunning narration, the little sprinkles of jokes interspersed throughout the book, the ease with which the author changed accents, the way the characters grew on me, the slow-but-never-boring-for-even-a-second story extended over 3 generations of the same family, the same house and village, all made it impossible for me to put it down. I was so into it, I'd spend hours listening to the book throughout my day. I was completely and easily transported to 'pandathe' Kerala within minutes. I particularly loved the pre-independence details, the development of characters, the depth in which 'The Condition' and 'Leprosy' or any medicine in this book was discussed (I'm a nut for medicine). 

I see why it is such an acclaimed book and Abraham Verghese's un-heavy, thorough, well-rounded writing deserves it. Despite my aversion to some parts, I'd still count this one among the top books I've had the pleasure to read.