Book Review: Maame by Jessica George

 

About:

Shortlisted for the TikTok Book Awards in the Book of the Year, 2023 and the Goodreads Debut and Fiction Book of the Year, 2023.

It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.

When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her life on the line.

Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.

My Thoughts:

In Maame we follow Madeline Wright (Maame) a 25 year old woman, of Ghanaian heritage who is a late bloomer. Maddie is this way , mainly because she, although being the last child in her family had the responsibility to take care of her ailing father. But as she navigates her life and struggles, she began craving independence, the kind that comes with young adulthood i.e. living with flatmates, having a boyfriend and other fun things. In the book we get to see Maddie come to her own.

What I liked about this book is that it touched on the issue of dealing with grief and depression. I liked how the author unpacked Maddie's grief by taking us through the stages. Maddie's grief emphasized the reality which is that everyone grieves differently. I have always been a believer of that. Apart from that Madeline's relationships (friends, family, coworkers, flatmates) were interesting especially her relationship with her mother, who by far was the most interesting character in the story. I began really disliking her but after reading on a bit I saw that she had a story to tell.

Overall this was a good story, very well written.

Book Review: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez

 

Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a profoundly moving novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench.

Montgomery, Alabama 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a worn down one-room cabin, she’s shocked to learn that her new patients are children—just 11 and 13 years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica and their family into her heart. Until one day, she arrives at the door to learn the unthinkable has happened and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten.

Because history repeats what we don’t remember.

MY THOUGHTS

A few years ago I learned about the Tuskegee study and I was mortified. Now reading this book and now learning that it was loosely based on a true story made me pause. In "Take My Hand", we meet Civil Townsend, a black nurse working for a family planning clinic in Montgomery Alabama. Excited to prove herself in her new role, Civil was eager to do her work with passion and efficiency. However, upon realising that Depo Provera shots was being administered  to children from low income homes from as low as twelve years of age, she became concerned.

Civil's concern grew upon meeting the Williams' sisters Erica and India, both of whom were much too young (12 and 13) respectively to receive the shot of Depo Provera. After once administering the shot, this did not sit well with the new nurse Civil, who after some research realised that this situation was a ticking time bomb. Civil began a quest to right some wrongs and in so doing this led to a series of events that took the reader on a whirlwind of emotions.

Again I cannot say it enough, one of my favourite genres to read are historical fiction novels mainly because it makes you think about the past, the things different people went through and even the future. Take My Hand is a MUST READ, there were all the elements of a solid tale wrapped in one, and reading that it was loosely based on true events, well for me at least. made it even better. Civil represented what a nurse should be and if you read this you would definitely connect with her character.

A well written and well put together novel. I will definitely recommend this.

Book Review: The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

 

About

"An epic account of Việt Nam’s painful 20th century history, both vast in scope and intimate in its telling . . . Moving and riveting.” —VIET THANH NGUYEN, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart.

Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.

The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

My Thoughts 

This book was a book club pick. I went into this knowing nothing about the book and let me tell you, this novel has to go down in history as one of the best historical fiction novels that I have ever read.

In The Mountains Sing, we follow the Tran Family through Dieu Lin the matriarch who survived loss and pain that went with war in Vietnam. Through her story, the writer paints a vivid portrait of what life was like during the war years.

I am now very interested to learn more about Vietnam and the war because of this book. Although there were some parts that were sad in the book, I think overall this was an excellent piece of writing. More people should read this.