Review 48: Rules of '48

Rules of '48 by Jack Cady
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's a brief seven weeks of summer when there seems to be an abundance of dead bodies showing up, during 1948 in Louisville. World War 2 is over and fresh in everyone's mind as so many are still dealing with the consequences. And attitudes are changing. This book shows a bit of how society starts to pivot. We see things like business and everyday activities happening on Sundays and how people of different backgrounds start to become accepted instead of separated. Although there certainly is plenty of racism of all kinds and anger towards the other in this book. How slowly things change, and they do.

The writing is very beautiful at times, wonderful sentences. Yet the whole book kept me somewhat at a distance. I'm not sure if it's just the time or feeling of the characters, or what exactly, but I wasn't fully involved.


Fun Note: Didn't plan that my blog post of review #48 would be a book with the title Rules of '48. Yet this coincidence makes me happy.
😃

Review 47: Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one person's tale of the experience of being an "illegal" immigrant. Jose Vargas came to the USA from the Philippines when he was 12, accompanied by someone he was told was his Uncle. Turns out it was a coyote and Vargas didn't know he had faked documents until he tried to get a driver's license when he was 16. From then on his life was changed, again.

Vargas became a reporter, a journalist, asking questions of why because that was part of who he became when his mom put him on that airplane alone; when his grandparents gave him fake documents and didn't tell him they were not real. Vargas has dealt with not having a true home where he is accepted nearly his entire life.

Vargas may not be a typical undocumented citizen but his story tells the truth about his life, and those of many others. The immigration policies of The United States may not make much sense to people who were brought over when they were too young to have a say in their lives. Our laws and polices do not help them out.

There's a lot in this book, the one thing that I came away with was how much this situation, which he did not choose, has affected his personality and life. If Vargas had legal documents when he went into the DMV that day to get his driver's permit, perhaps he would be an entirely different person. This is a fascinating look at a complicated issue.



I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

Review 46: The Wall

The Wall by John Lanchester
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I read this book about a month ago, in mid-June, finally had some time to add some thoughts on the reading.

First off, I started this book despite already a few going, because it looked like a simple and easy read. My life outside of reading was a bit stressful and the other books weren't relaxing enough, needing more concentration than I had the energy at the time. So did this book live up to the ease it promised? Yes, and then some. The language was very simple, too simple.

The story itself started out very slow. There is this wall, and the young adults, the first generation to do so, much go serve two years of their life on the wall. It's cold on the wall. The wall was built after the change to keep the outsiders on the other side of the wall.

The wasn't much to the book overall. I wondered often if it is a young adult book, perhaps. The generation that had to serve on the wall, feels like there is no future. They generally, do not become "breeders." They also have a huge disconnect with their parents, since they are responsible for ruining the world. The overtones are so distinct it is easy to see what the author is meaning.

The book grew on me as I read, although it turned out fairly predictable in nearly every way. Perhaps a surprise or two, but mostly not. The ending was somewhat abrupt, when it really could have continued just a little longer.

Oh, one last thought: I did not believe that even with rising oceans, that all beaches were completely wiped out over the entire world. The level of the seas would rise, but new beaches would occur, the ocean, with wave action, creates them. So how many years later after the ocean rising and the wall built? I bet there would be some beaches somewhere in the world.

Book rating: 2.5 stars



P.S. Left this book at the airBnB I was staying at when I finished reading it. I was visiting Washington, D.C. and it felt appropriate to leave a book with this title that is focused on keeping out the others, with the president that was currently occupying the White House. I realize the book is about England not the United States, yet politics.

Review 45: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book grabbed my heart. It also broke it many times, but in the end was healed. I had no idea there were Blue People of Kentucky, nor about the Pack Horse Library Project as part of the WPA in during the depression. This is one of the great things about historical fiction, providing information while giving you a great story as well. The author's note in the end was very much appreciated.

The main character, Cussy Mary also nicknamed Bluet was such a strong woman, particularly for the age during the Great Depression. She was one of those librarians, although on a mule, delivering books to people in areas where it's nearly impossible to regularly get to a library themselves. There seemed to be no wrong in her and she put up with so much from the men and town around her, most of it just because of her skin color showing blue.

A woman dedicated to bringing books to the people who can't get to a library, what is not to love? There is so much in this story, mining, women without agency, people of color, poverty, and in the end some romance too. This is a poignant tale, and recommended.

I listened to the audiobook from my local library and the narration added to the story. The narrator had just the right inflection and expression that increased my enjoyment and placement in the story.

Book rating: 4.5 stars


P.S. I recently found out about another book that covers the same topic: the Pack Horse Project in Kentucky. This book, The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, will likely get much more attention as being written by a better known author. I also saw that there already is a movie option being talked about from her book. I hope to read Moyes book as well, but hope people will also give this one a read.

Review 44: On Drinking

On Drinking by Charles Bukowski
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a compilation of poetry, essays and some interviews on everything Bukowski wrote on drinking. At points it become repetitive, as some of the exact same material is covered. Other moments give us his contradictions, or changes, hard to say. The timeline, or years aren't consistently mentioned.

There are moments where I laughed, but more where I cringed. He's a rough guy. And at times I wonder if this is Bukowski or just a role he is playing. The book was good, but could have been improved with not including every single thing. Perhaps choosing the poem, or interview that best represents the writing instead of all which ends with repetitions.

Book rating: 3.5 stars



Previously Read Charles Bukowski books:

• You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense (Poetry)
• (4 stars) August.1994
• Tales of Ordinary Madness (Poetry)
• (3 stars) October.1997