JoV's Book Pyramid
Women
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
3 years on, survived the pandemic unscathed, with less than a handful of books read (blame it on Netflix!) here I am writing a book review again. Who would have thought getting back into finishing an entire book would be so difficult??! But this book broke the reading dry spell for me…. Everyone in Shaker … Continue reading
Becoming by Michelle Obama
They say behind every successful man there is a woman (so is his downfall!). This woman that I’m reading about is successful in her own rights but faced many of the same dilemma women with children often feel, between their career and family, between self-fulfilment and also fulfilling the duty and love to their children. Except Michelle Obama, born Robinson, was born not with a silver spoon nor a head start in life, but was born into the impoverished South Side of Chicago. She held on to her ambition and dream, with the support of her parents, mentors and husband, emerged at the pinnacle of the eyes of the world as the First Lady of the United State (FLOTUS). Continue reading
Missing Wives….
Have you ever wanted to disappear and make a new life for yourself where no one knows your name? Coincidentally, I have been reading two novels about wives who run away from home. Who for some reason or another the protagonists have had enough and disappear to make a new life under the guise of … Continue reading
Purge by Sofi Oksanen
I won this book from Zee@Notes from the North last year. I have an extra copy to give away. The giveaway gave me the impetus to read this book. There was a stranger at the door step…. It’s 1992 (just before the closing of the iron curtain), Aliide Truu is an old woman living alone in a … Continue reading
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
While growing up I heard so much about this book. Since it’s republished as 2004 edition I picked the book from the library. There are a few things that surprise me about the book. I did not expect the book to be an epistolary novel, so easy to read, entertaining and full of wisdom. The … Continue reading
The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell is a name that I probably heard more than I read about. When I finished this book and googled up for reviews, sure enough everyone seems to have read The Hand that First Held Mine last year and the year before and I was probably 18 months too late! I also have 2011 … Continue reading
The Long March Home by Zoë S. Roy
Since 23 January is the Chinese New Year, I thought I read a Chinese Literature to commemorate the day. The blurb: The Long March Home tells the story of three generations of women. Agnes, a young Canadian goes to China as a missionary from the United Church of Canada and falls in love with a Chinese … Continue reading
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It is very uncharacteristic of me to read a book and drag on for months before deciding whether to abandon or finishing it. This year I have done it for this book and 2666. Before the year ends in 2 days, I’m planning to finish reading 2666. The Thing around your neck doesn’t falls in … Continue reading
Double Review of Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Shanghai Girls Shanghai, 1937, Pearl and May Chin are two beautiful, modern, carefree sisters, who are leading glamorous lives working as models, especially for calendars, in Shanghai – until their father tells them that he has gambled away the family wealth. In order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to … Continue reading
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives
Meet Baba Segi . . . A plump, vain, and prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, Baba Segi is the patriarch of a large household that includes a quartet of wives and seven children. But his desire to possess more just might be his undoing. And his wives . . . Iya Segi—the bride of Baba … Continue reading
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Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
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