04.21 Reading Report

General Themes

• Belonging

• Family dynamics and their long term impacts

• One story, many perspectives vibes

"Aftershock" by Nadia Owusu

Rating: 3 stars

Reading Time: 3.5 hrs

Why?

It was everywhere on black booktube so I decided to read the description. I ended up giving it a chance because nothing was doing it for me at the moment. I felt like reading about African stories especially after the amazing essay by Olly Nze

Likes

• The themes are very interesting and I have not seen them often in African Literature. Depression, coping with mental illness, loneliness etc...The african immigrant experience is usually around financial struggle which we do see in this book but it is not the ONLY thing. Sometimes i feel like people forget africans are people. Sometimes we even forget.

• I was interesting to read about similar experiences:

  • Being the child of a UN worker

  • How many people used books to virtue signal and differentiate themselves from the image of the Black person in the collective imagination. **coughs This blog? coughs

• Descriptions of "the orphaned" experience

• The use of the earthquake metaphor and how accurate it felt. It is truly the best description I have seen of anxiety and depression. This is how the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath was supposed to make me feel.

Dislikes

• It was short yet too long. I skipped through parts at the end (police brutality and racism). It was a lot of over explaining and plea for acceptance in the "Human" club. The attempt to demonstrate humanity itself allows for the existence of the opposite.

• Thoughts while reading: Race is not the reason behind our existential angst. Any well balance adult human should experience the dread of being alive and mortal. While "blackness" does not help the issue, it is not its cause.

• The obvious writing for a white audience. I have been spoiled by Madame Toni Morrison and I cannot be bothered by the explanations of what is obvious from a Black point of view.

• Everybody with taste loves Jazz so we all need to stop thinking it makes anybody special.

Would I re-read ? No. I will never subject myself to re-reading about the blue chair. Everybody should read it once though.

"Songs of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

Rating: 4 Stars - Abandoned

Reading Time: N/A

Why ?

I love historical fiction and greek mythology. I had not picked up any books on the subject since I was a kid and I was ready to fall back in love with reading. 2020 was a terrible year in reading so I was interested in being interested.

Likes

• Reading the book felt like watching a movie. The language was very easy and the story was told well

• The description of intimacy were very believable and touching

Dislikes

• I realized halfway through the book that I did not care for being in the mind of someone who has "side character energy". The main character was too busy living life through someone else for my liking.

Would I re-read? Maybe one day if I have really nothing else more enticing readily available

"The Death of Vivek Oji" by Akwaeke Emezi

Rating: 4 Stars

Reading Time: 3 days - I did not track hours

Why

I love fiction about events narrated from multiple perspectives. In this case the event is the life of Vivek Oji.

Likes

• I loved that the tensions in this book were not about food, shelter, fertility,matrimony or immigration. It is refreshing to read about the existential concerns of Africans and how they explain their own existence outside of what is deemed acceptable.

• Nothing was explained including references to specifically Nigerian/Igbo things. Loved it

• Nobody was a villain or a victim. Each character was a human being

Dislikes

• I would have wanted to be more in Vivek's head but I think that would have taken away from the story by offering a potential " truth".

Would I re-read? Yes. I do not have much to say about the book because I loved it Once done, I felt soft and gentle with the world. That is all you can ask from Fiction.

Going into May 2021 with:

• "Freshwater" by Akwaeke Emezi because Akwaeke Emezi.

• Truth or Profit by Dean Ney and Duncan Green. I should probably spend some brain cells on understanding the context of my professional life better. I have never worked in public accounting. I am interested in the role of Accounting as a profession in society. I need to justify the existence of my labor.

Books that are calling my name:

• "The Dutch house" because more family drama is needed for personal catharsis

• "The Deep" by Rivers Solomon I do not read about slavery by choice. I have made an exception for Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and it was amazing. I am hoping to have the same experience with this book since the story is so original.