REVIEW: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

 

This was perfect for the Southern Literature Challenge as it takes place in Alabama, mostly. I had sadly never read a book by Ms. Perkins-Valdez even though she has two prior novels that came out in 2010 and 2015. This book was reportedly inspired by the prosecution of the former US Department of Health, Education and Welfare after it failed to protect young Black girls from involuntary sterilization in the wake of Tuskegee. In this novel, Civil Townsend is a 23 year old nurse in Montgomery, Alabama and she has two patients that she sees regularly - India and Erica who are 11 and 13.  They live in rural Alabama and are from a poor sharecropping family that lives in a one room shack with a dirt floor in the wake of their mother's death. The two girls are secretly sterilized under Civil's watch. 

The novel is deceptive in its simplicity.  Ms. Perkins-Valdez has researched the history of the area and the actual acts that form the center of the novel. I loved how Ms. Perkins-Valdez finally brings us the message that Black girls bodies have never been protected by the American experiment (honestly, it's shameful that it has taken so long  even though this book is an absolute gem).  I loved how the themes of justice, shame, redemption and racism are explored thoroughly. The characters themselves are amazingly developed as well.  I enjoyed getting to know them and accompany them on their journeys, difficult as they might be. 

Definitely a must read.  

REVIEW: Trust by Herman Diaz

 

I was in The Bookery not too long ago - I love that I work in Manchester now and can go back there more regularly - and I saw this book in the markdown pile and saw that it had gotten some good reviews so I was interested. And it was pretty decent - kept me on my toes that's for sure!

Trust is literally about that and money. It is about how money and it's ability to force things into a narrative that conforms to the narrative that whoever has the money wants it to be. The first section is a novel within a way - the novel within is called Bonds, a novel about a Wall Street tycoon named Benjamin Rask and his wife, Helen. During the twenties, Rask gathers money and Helen becomes a patron of the arts. Then the Crash of 1929 occurs and Rask is demonized and ostracized as is Helen (she's more ostracized then demonized). The last chapters of the novel within the novel are about Helen's time in a sanitorium in Switzerland where she's dealing with mania and eczema so bad that her skin bleeds. The next section is in kind of a direct contrast - we learn about Ida Partenza, her job as the secretary for another Wall Street mogul named Andrew Bevel and her ghostwriting of his memoir. Bevel's life forms the basis of the novel Bonds, which infuriates him because, in large part, he's not controlling the narrative. He's so infuriated he's used his money to have all the copies removed from NY's Public Libraries. 

It was an interesting and creative but at the end of the day it was not the best novel that I have ever read. I found the sections of ghostwritten notes very hard to read and tough to slog through, although I loved Partenza's part. I haven't discounted reading Diaz's other novel, however, as by all accounts that one is better.  

Links I love

The weeks here have felt very looooong lately.  But we're doing it! This week, I finished and reviewed the Testaments and I'm nearly done with Breaking Bad (I wanted to re watch this before I started Better Call Saul).  Tonight, I plan on watching the Outlander season premiere!  And I ran a 5K!  It's been busy! I hope that everyone else's weekend has been good! 

1.  Tamworth bans Reach the Beach relay.
2. The Moms of mystery - 6 great books about crime and moms.
3. Abraham Varghese on his whiteboard - article is timely because he has a new book coming out.
4. Is Disney Jail real?
5. Link between domestic violence and homicides.
6. What happened to Heather Mayer?
7. Elizabeth Gilbert halts new book over outcry about its setting.
8. What is eclampsia and who is at risk?
9. What does a good dystopian novel look like?
10. Pfizer warns of a penicillin shortage.
11. Lady Vols country.

 

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

 

This is the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, and is set 15 or 16 years after the end of the Handmaid's Tale. We meet three narrators - two young girls and one old and familiar woman - Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia is, as one would know if you had read the book or seen the show, the head "gender norm" enforcer who, behind her demeanor of anything for Gilead, actually is pretty pissed at the country. We learn about her backstory and how she became an aunt - a truly horrifying story of murder and torture. 

This novel, like The Handmaid's Tale, styles itself as a primary source - with chapters alternating between a written manifesto of sorts and witness testimony. There are three people involved - Aunt Lydia and two young women (one who grew up in Gilead and the other in Canada). Unlike The Handmaid's Tale, which chronicles a life of horrifically enforced passivity, The Testaments is about action. It's less speculative and dystopian and more of a mystery/action story. I actually preferred Handmaid's Tale because I liked the depth of the character of Offred and wondering what motivated people fascinated me.  I think that Atwood wrote this book to actually dovetail with the series and intended it to be read in conjunction with watching the Hulu TV series. What I did appreciate was learning more about Aunt Lydia - but it was because I learned about her motivations and reasons for her collaboration and about her backstory.  I enjoyed learning about her immensely because I had so reviled her in the first installment. 

Having said that, I'm still glad that I read this novel but I wouldn't run to get it again. 

REVIEW - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

 

In my opinion, this is one of the best dystopian novels written.  It's the first dystopian novel that I remember reading and it's easily one of the books that I consistently return to at different points in my life. And I end up learning something new every time I read it. The books is told from the perspective of Offred - a handmaid in the new regime of Gilead (which was once the United States). Offred isn't her real name - we learn that it is literally of Fred - the Commander she works for. The Handmaids are forced to provide children by proxy for the infertile couples that they work for - families that are of high status. We learn that Offred remembers the country Before Gilead took over when she had her own family with a husband, child and job.  

The novel is deceptively simply and lyrically written. But don't fall for it - it takes on several very heavy topics that required a few re-readings for me to fully grasp and process. Subjects, like theocracy and reproductive rights, continue to remain viable and significant subjects especially today. Other important and relevant themes include women's limited choices, the subjugation of women in patriarchal societies and the desire for independence. 

The reader should be wary - there are many scenes that are horrifying and triggering and will cause you to cringe. Atwood manages to make Offred's reality real - we can see her life and experience it with her. Atwood was also able to really humanize her other characters.  Definitely a well written warning for us.

Wouldn't recommend for young readers because of some of the violence and themes that occur but definitely a must read.