When I picked up this book as the latest read for my local book club, I was immediately filled with a sense of dread. Called “A Fall of Marigolds.” Pretty flowers on the cover. About a scarf? Oof. This did not sound like I was the target audience, and I steeled myself for yet another book club meeting where I would give a low rating and sound like a cranky cynic. I don’t know if it is because I went in with low expectations, but […]
The Good Immigrant – or how I realized how racist I’ve been all my life
I just realized I finished this review without saying anything about the book, so I’m back with a short summary. This book groups together 21 essays from minority ethnic people in Britain today, talking about how their ethnicity impacts their every day life. Some of them are famous – actors, comedians, journalists, bloggers -, none of them were known to me. The essays are raw and real, and paint an incredible picture I believe everyone needs to see. And they caused me to reflect deeply […]
Foreign Gods, Inc.
This is the seventh of ten African books. I’ve been trying to get these books from different African countries, but Nigerian authors are so prolific! They’re hard to escape. Maybe after I finish the ten, I’ll seek out more non-Nigerian books to even it out. Foreign Gods, Inc. is about Ike, a cabdriver in NYC who had a promising future…until he married poorly and started gambling. Embarrassed by his failures (and his ex-wife), he ignores his mother’s e-mailed pleas for help–he can’t send money home, […]