Whatcha readin'? Weeks 21-22
- Le Nerd Librarian
- Jun 2, 2019
- 3 min read
Hi nerds! So many books, so little time. I've been feeling overwhelmed lately as the shortlists for next (school) year’s YA awards have started dropping. But no matter, let’s take it one page at a time.
On the menu Chez Le Nerd this week:
A didactic novel about a French suffragette in Lyon during WWI.
Annoying characters who keep wanting to Talk About Their Relationship.
A masterpiece.
Bon appétit!
Celle qui voulait conduire le tram
[Fiction, Lang.: French]
Catherine Cuenca. Talents Hauts, 2017. 160 p.
Here comes Talents Hauts again, with another Book With A Message. Here we follow Agnès as she struggles to adjust to post-WWI life in Lyon: her husband has become an abusive drunkard and she is let go of her job at the tramway company because men coming back from the war are getting their jobs back. She eventually joins a feminist group, which will make her life significantly more complicated and lead to her untimely death (not a spoiler, since this is told in a flashback).
I liked reading about life during, and after WWI on the French home front. I guess it’s always surprising to read about how difficult life was back then for suffragettes/women who lived on their own/women who wanted to wear trousers/lesbians…. It’s always good to be reminded not to take things for granted (The Handmaid’s Tale anyone?).
I see why this is on the Official French Department of Education reading list, but again with Talents Hauts, the topic takes precedence over the story, which here is predictable and too didactic. It “feels” like the assigned reading for a History class.
In short: interesting topic, positive message but not a thoroughly engaging read.
What if it's us
[Fiction, Lang.: English]
Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera. HarperTeen, 2018. 437 p.
I was psyched about this because I LOVE Becky Albertalli, but this book is such a let-down. It is sooo chatty. It’s all about people explaining what they’re planning to do, then commenting in what they’re doing, and finally analyzing what they’ve just done.
The two main characters – the couple on the cover – have no chemistry. They actually remind me a lot of Nico and Levi from Grey’s Anatomy. Ben (the ‘Nico’-type) – is tolerable and reads like a real person, but Arthur (Nico) is annoying to no ends. He is actually described as having “zero chill”, and this is true: He keeps “wanting to talk”, which results in a LOT of empty conversations, because the authors haven’t taken the time to have their characters develop a real relationship, with its moments, quirks, inside jokes and what not.
Nothing about this story is grounded, everything feels like a convenient plot point, with one exception: Ben’s thoughts on ethnic identity and what it means to be part of a culture when you don’t “look the part” or speak the language. This, I think, will speak to teens – or anyone – with a bicultural background. Other than this one interesting detail, it’s a pass.
Long Way Down
[Fiction/Poetry, Lang.: English]
Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2017. 306 p.
[This novel is on the 2019 Carnegie shortlist, so I read this as homework for my book club at school.]
This is a masterpiece. I’ve never read anything quite like this.
It is moving. It is profound. It is beautiful. The structure could have easily veered on the gimmicky but nope, it works and makes sense.
This is what a Book With A Message should be. It tells us about gang- and drug-related violence in NYC, but without shoving a moral down our throats.
This should win the Carnegie Medal. Hands down.
Aiiight, that’s all for now! Happy readin’!
Komentar