Book Reviews !

We Belong to the Land by Elias Chacour: such a good book!!! I whole heartedly recommend to anyone and everyone who wants to gain more understanding about the Israel/Palestine conflict and read about the lives of those actually impacted by the continuous violence and displacement. Written over 30 years ago, it’s a testament to the power of faith and perseverance in the quest for peace and reconciliation in Palestine. Abuna Charcour’s commitment to nonviolence and love for all people is made manifest as he works to bridge chasms between people in his homeland, inviting people of all faiths and from all around the world to join in the work God is doing through him.

Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa: Aptly named, Harsh Times tells the tale of Guatemala, artfully blending fact and fiction to create a compelling narrative of how corporate greed and a lack of faith in the democratic process of Guatemala led to US to intervene in this tiny country in a way that proved deadly and was woefully counterproductive to its progress, modernization and growth

Faraway Places by Patricia Engel: Engel fills this collection of short stories with hauntingly beautiful language, terribly broken people, and compelling but unsatisfying endings

Lila by Marilynne Robinson: This book challenges dominant narrative styles, the author abandoned chapters and the narrator jumped around in a way that initially confused me but began to make more sense as I got to know her: her story, fears and hopes. It’s a profound tale of grace and interrogates conventional ideas of wisdom, agency and heaven. As I learned to see the world through Lila’s eyes, questions of divine justice and mercy took center stage and I was left with more questions than answers.

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid: A scathingly honest perspective on colonialism, tourism and development that minces no words and gives no apologies.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: A chilling tale of disillusionment and self discovery. 

Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner: For me, this book prompted almost crying in the Phoenix airport and on the Pennsylvanian Amtrak.

The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde: A searing collection by a poet and essayist who still hasn’t gotten the recognition she deserves.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander: An absolute must read. Alexander offers a deep and probing investigation into mass incarceration, showing the ways in which it is set up to systemically incapacitate and marginalize POC, primarily black men. The obvious inconsistencies in our criminal justice system are laid out on striking detail and the truth she expounds upon should make us all uncomfortable. Alexander is not without faith though and her argument is compelling. While we cannot hope to move forward with the colorblind rhetoric and token figures of black exceptionalism that plagues our talks of racial reconciliation, there is another way. We must be bold in our cries for sweeping reform–advocating for love, healing, and bridges stronger than the divides that tear us apart. She ends the book by quoting Baldwin, “We can make America what it must become, (…) we cannot be free until they are free.”

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison: It was an enthralling novel that reeled me in and didn’t let me go until the last page. Morrison provides a reminder that we are more than our circumstances, and have the power to fight against the trials life has thrown our way. with a posture of grace and dignity yes, but also with one of messiness, despair and grief. And who is to say that our journeys cannot be a bit of all those things?

Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin: A thought provoking story that tells a tale of darkness and light, faith and folly, and the strings of humanity that hold us all together. 

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender: Perhaps one of my favorite books ever. Callender shares a touching rendering of life and love and art, as experienced by a teen trans boy growing up in New York City. They explore questions of belonging and identity, beautifully illustrating how so often we feel as though we could never be enough nor worthy of love. Felix, the young main character, wrestles with his own questions and feelings of worthlessness, as he questions his gender identity and tries to wrap his head around why his mother left him and why his father cannot seem to use his correct pronouns. The story is from a voice that is oft not heard in our heteronormative, cis, white society as Callender, a black non-binary writer, boldly proclaims their truth in a way that is both provocative and comforting, pushing their readers to engage intentionally with the world while simultaneously providing a safe space to uncover who it is we truly are.  

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde: WOW! Audre Lorde blew me away. She is bold and unapologetic and her words are powerful. And they are timely. Nearly 40 years after much of her work was written, her prose still resounds. Her critiques of the dastardly yet ubiquitous evils of the white western patriarchy are poignant and pressing. Lorde's grasp of intersectionality –as a black lesbian feminist poet who is a daughter of immigrants– and her insistence in the beauty of our differences contribute to her holistic feminist outlook and approach to the world. No woman is quite the same but we must celebrate and admire of differences, not condemn them. Audre states it much more eloquently than I, writing that "Difference must not be merely tolerated but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic (...) Difference is that raw and powerful connection from which our personal power is formed." I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, and cannot overstate how truly incredible it was. 

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie: I stumbled upon this book in the library and was intrigued by its haunting title. I snagged it and am so glad that I did. In a tale that spans generations, continents, and wars, Shamsie narrates love and loss, belonging and longing, in provocative prose, showing that we are more than our scars. Here, she shows life as a beautiful compilation of tragedies and triumphs, unbound by geographical limits or cultural norms.

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver: A prolific writer, Kingsolver never fails to captivate me with her marvelous stories, and this one was no exception. She delicately paints the plight of a white mother and her adopted Cherokee daughter and tacitly navigates the tension between cultural unity/identity and the ties of motherhood. She weaves in critiques of current systems of oppression, robust history lessons on the Trail of Tears, and a picture of a town called Heaven that we could all stand to learn something from.