What I'm reading ...

I have started To Kill A Mockingbird by Lee Harper. I realised, hearing all the discussion about the new book [“Go Set a Watchman”], that I had not read the classic original. So I decided to put that right. Here’s the blurb:

Atticus Finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel - a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice and hypocrisy.

Americanah - by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

An excellent, well-written book, IMHO. The story is quite simple - essentially about Ifemelu going from Nigeria to the US and then returning. As a result, one gains a lot of insight into life in Nigeria and about racism issues in the US. There is also coverage of similar topics resulting from Obinze spending time in the UK. Overall, i found the style of writing engaging, as there is a careful blend of facts, descriptions of places etc. and consideration of feelings. It was good to read something, written in excellent English, but with a “voice”, that is different from British and American authors [a similar pleasure can be found in the work of Indian authors]. I will certainly investigate the other work by this author.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I have been sitting on this book for a while - I think I first heard an abstract on the radio. I thought it would be nice to read something with a non-English “voice”. Here’s the blurb:

As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?

How It All Began - by Penelope Lively

I am fascinated by the interconnections and complex interactions between people - 6 degrees of separation and all that. This book is primarily about just this subject and addresses it very well.

There are quite a few characters in the book - necessary for such a story - but not too many. And the author handled their presentation quite well - I felt that I had quite a clear picture of all of them. I even found some of the characters quite likeable [Charlotte, Rose, Marion], though not Jeremy, obviously. The story kept me turning the pages and I found it reasonably credible. The wrap-up at the end was slightly artificial, but the only alternative would be to leave matters hanging, which I would find frustrating.

I will certainly be interested in reading more of this author’s work.