Ms. Hen reviews A Natural History of Hell

A Natural History of Hell

Jeffrey Ford

Small Beer Press

2016

Ms. Hen decided to read this collection of short stories because she wanted to read another book, and the library recommended reading this one while she waited. Ms. Hen liked the title of the book, and she thought it might be like the other fantasy books she's read recently, such as BOY, SNOW, BIRD and THE DOLL'S ALPHABET.

 "The Blameless" is a story about a couple who goes to a neighbor's house to watch their daughter's exorcism, much like a christening or a confirmation party. "A Natural History of Autumn," tells the tale of a Japanese man who finds a lady for hire, and takes her to an onsen, and monsters appear. "Rocket Ship to Hell," is a story within a story about a writer who was sent to space in order to write about it, and he tells the story years later in a bar near a science fiction convention.

Ms. Hen liked this book, but it wasn't quite what she wanted. She likes to read collections of short stories that are similar to each other. Some of these stories, such as "Spirits of Salt: Tale of the Coral Heart," about a character who has a coral heart, and is intent on killing a person made of coral, which Ms. Hen would consider fantasy, didn't gel with other stories that are more magic realism, such as "Blood Drive," about a high school in which seniors are required to carry guns to school, in a near future where conservatives have taken over.

Ms. Hen liked a lot of the stories in this collection, and she might prefer to read a novel by this author, because it could be more cohesive. She has read a few books lately that she's truly enjoyed, and she keeps reaching for that ideal, but this book didn't bring her there. 

Ms. Hen reviews Boy, Snow, Bird

 

Boy, Snow, Bird

Helen Oyeyemi

Riverhead Books 

2014

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel, because one of the books she read recently, THE DOLL'S ALPHABET, had a blurb written by this author. Ms. Hen thoroughly enjoyed that book, and she wanted to read more like that, so she got this one from her library. Ms. Hen is fascinated by fairy tales, and retellings of them in fiction. This seems to be fashionable in literature these days.

This novel is a reimagining of SNOW WHITE, but with a complete do-over. The novel starts with the story of Boy, a young woman who lives in New York with her abusive father. She runs away to a small town in Massachusetts and starts a new life. She lives in a boarding house, and goes on lots of double dates, and eventually ends up with Arturo Whitman, who has a daughter named Snow. They get married and have another daughter whom they name Bird. Bird is born, and she is black.

Boy learns that Arturo's family has been passing for white since they came to the north. Nobody in the town knows this, but they figure it out when they see Bird. Boy is distraught at first by Bird's appearance, but she learns to live with it. The second section of the novel is told by Bird as a thirteen-year old girl. Boy hasn't told anyone in her family much about her past.

Ms. Hen thinks this novel reminds her of other fairy tale inspired books she has read recently, SPINDLE SPLINTERED, and THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY, by the same author, Alix E. Harrow. It also, of course, has remnants of THE DOLL'S ALPHABET, which Ms. Hen has already mentioned.

This novel is surreal, and disjointing. It makes Ms. Hen feel uncomfortable, but she thinks that is the intent. Many characters grace these pages, and Ms. Hen got them confused at times. This is a novel about how difficult it can be to be a woman, and how race is a factor, even when it is hidden.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel, and was sad when she finished it. It made her think that there can be more to people than what is known, and a person shouldn't always trust their instincts. Some people can be bad, but they could be more layers to them than what appears. Ms. Hen thinks that most people aren't truly evil, just complicated.

Ms. Hen reviews The Traveling Cat Chronicles

 

The Traveling Cat Chronicles

Hiro Arikawa

Berkley 

2015

Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she read about it in the library recommendations email. She loves books about Japanese culture, not just ones by Haruki Murakami. She also loves books that are about animals. This novel is from the point of view of a cat.

This novel is about a cat named Nana, which means seven in Japanese. He had been a stray, but was taken in by Satoru, who had owned a cat when he was young, but is now an adult. Saturo has to find a home for Nana, and he travels to places to visit his friends to see if they can take him. He visits his friend who owns a photography studio, his friend who works on a farm, and his friends who own a bed and breakfast that allows pets.

He reminisces about his past with his friends, but decides that none are suitable to take Nana. The cat loves traveling in the car seeing all the different places, but he is terrified of the sea. They go on a boat to an island to his aunt's house. She decides to take the cat. He lived with his aunt after his parents both died when he was in elementary school. 

This novel is sad and sweet. Ms. Hen thinks it is very Japanese. It's charming in a bittersweet way. The cat has an attitude, like all cats, but he has a good heart. Ms. Hen got emotional at the end, even though the ending seemed to drag on a little.

There aren't many books from the point of view of a cat, but Ms. Hen can remember a children's book like this, SOCKS, by Beverly Cleary, that she read as a child. Lots of books exist from the point of view of dogs, because Ms. Hen thinks that people understand dogs better. Cats are complicated, and somewhat indecipherable. People never know what to expect from cats.

Ms. Hen thinks this is a lovely novel, but if you read this, be prepared to be sad. Sometimes, life can be difficult, and everything can seem terrible. But the love of an animal can change someone's life. Animals are in touch with the world in the way we aren't, and they can teach us how to live better.

Ms. Hen and her cat

Ms. Hen reviews After Dark

 

After Dark

Haruki Murakami

Vintage International

2007

Translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she wanted to read more Haruki Murakami. That's all. This book sat on Ms. Hen's shelf for a while before she read it; it's not that she didn't want to read it, but she was waiting for the right time.

This novel is about a young woman, Mari, who is killing time between midnight and the morning. She starts at a Denny's reading a book, and is interrupted by a young man named Takahashi who she had known when she was younger. He tells her he has a practice session with his band, and he plays the trombone. Mari drinks her coffee, and after he leaves is interrupted again by the owner of a love hotel, or love ho. She wants Mari to be an interpreter for a Chinese customer at the hotel.

Mari goes with her to the hotel, and she is shocked that the young woman was attacked, and everything was stolen from her, including her clothes. She is a Chinese prostitute. Mari gets to know the people who work at the love ho. Her sister is asleep at home, and has been asleep for two years. We see her in her room reflected in a mirror, but we don't know what's real.

This novel is different from others by Murakami in the way that it is very simple. It makes Ms. Hen think of a really long short story. She read this quickly, faster than she usually reads a book. It reminded her a little of a Japanese show on Netflix called MIDNIGHT DINER, which Ms. Hen loved. It's a show about a diner in Japan that's only open in the middle of the night, and wacky characters come in, and the owner cooks for them. This show might have been inspired by this book, or by real life.

Ms. Hen thinks Murakami is always a good idea. This novel is haunting in in the right way. It's like real life, with a twist. That's what a good book should be, the right amount of fantasy to take the reader away from the world. We all need that.

Ms. Hen at the Boston Public Library

Ms. Hen reviews The Price of Salt

 

The Price of Salt

Patricia Highsmith

Coward McCann, Inc.

1952

Ms. Hen discovered this book because she was researching banned books, and this one came up. Ms. Hen is interested in banned books because she likes to know what people in power don't want the public to read, since those are usually the most interesting books. She read another banned book recently, AUGUST IS A WICKED MONTH, and she liked it, and she wanted more like that.

This novel is about a young woman named Therese who works at a department store, but wants to be a set designer for the theater. A woman comes in to buy a doll for her daughter, and Therese decides to send her a Christmas card. Carol and she have lunch, and Therese becomes fixated on her. Carol is about to get a divorce from her husband.

Therese's boyfriend, Richard wants her to go to Europe with him in the spring. She likes his family, but wants to spend time with Carol. Carol asks Therese if she wants to go on a trip with her, and Therese says yes. Richard is upset. Therese and Carol drive west, and have an affair. Carol's husband does not want her to have custody of their daughter, Rindy.

Ms. Hen does not this this book is very risque or graphic compared to today's standards, but she understands why it was controversial in its time. Two women having an affair would have been a scandal in 1952. Ms. Hen read that this was the first and one of the only lesbian novels to have a happy ending. Ms. Hen isn't sure it's a happy ending, it's more bittersweet.

Ms. Hen thought this book reminded her of a few different books. It has essences of CATCHER IN THE RYE, in the way that the character is young and confused about what she wants in her life. Ms. Hen thought that Therese and Holden Caulfield could have walked by each other on the street in New York. It also reminds Ms. Hen of THE STRANGER by Albert Camus, since the character is detached and possibly pathological. The travel scenes make Ms. Hen think of ON THE ROAD.

Ms. Hen liked this book, even though she didn't really understand the character. She is aloof, and is single-minded, all she wants is Carol. Ms. Hen doesn't understand what is it about Carol that she falls in love with, but some things have no explanation.

Ms. Hen watched the film CAROL, which is based on this book, right after she read it. She thinks this is a fantastic film, and might be better than the book, if that's possible. The cinematography brought the 1950s to life, and Ms. Hen was transported back in time. The actors were fantastic also, with Cate Blanchett in the lead role.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel, and she understands why it was banned, but she doesn't think books should be banned, because people will just want them more. Ms. Hen dreams of one day writing a banned book to bring people into a frenzy. Ms. Hen dreams of a lot of things, and she hopes some of them might come true.

Ms. Hen reviews The Doll's Alphabet

The Doll's Alphabet

Camilla Grudova

Coffee House Press

2017

Ms. Hen picked this book up because it was recommended to her online. She got it from the library she patrons. She thinks this is a very strange book, but she liked it a lot.

One of the blurbs on the back of this book said something like, if fairy tales had dreams, these nightmarish stories are what you would come up with. Ms. Hen agrees. All these stories are creepy, and haunted Ms. Hen. But she loved them. She wished this book would have gone on longer.

In "Waxy," an alternate past, a woman works in a factory, but does not find a man who takes exams; they have a baby they have to hide. "The Sad Tale of the Sconce," is about a sconce that is the product of an affair between an octopus and a mermaid figurehead on a ship, and how the sconce is passed around, going from place to place. "The Moth Emporium," is a story about a young woman who starts to work at a used clothing store where she and her sister broke a mask years before; the store is filled with strange things from all over the world.

This collection reminds Ms. Hen of a few books she has read: ST. LUCY'S HOME FOR GIRLS RAISED BY WOLVES, A SPINDLE SPLINTERED, and STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN. This is Ms. Hen's favorite kind of book to read, about alternate messed up worlds. Ms. Hen thinks this world is dysfunctional enough, and she does not like to spend time in it, or reading about reality, because it can be too hard.

Ms. Hen says that if you want to be transported to strange worlds for a little while, read this book! It's very short, but should be longer. Ms. Hen loves weird things, and this book is full of them, things like buttons, dolls, tinned meat, octopuses, sewing machines, and women who do what they want, or what they don't want. Ms. Hen is a weird hen, and she admires other weird things in the world.
 

Ms. Hen reviews The Godel Operation

 

The Godel Operation

James L. Cambias

2021

Baen Publishing

Ms. Hen decided to read this book because she might go to a book club that is discussing this. She has never been to a book club before, and she's not sure why. It might be because she doesn't like the idea of someone telling her what to read, but she likes the idea of talking to people about books, which is her passion in life.

When she read the first four pages of this book, she hated it. There are so many adjectives in this book! When Ms. Hen was in writing school, she was taught not to use that many adjectives or adverbs in her writing. She gave the book another chance, and somehow got used to the descriptors.

This novel is described as a "space opera." This novel takes place eight centuries in the future, and it starts on Raba, which is in the Uranus system. It's about a boy named Zee who has a friend that's a droid, and they go on an adventure together. The novel is told through the point of view of Daslakh, the droid. 

They are working together in a mine, and Daslakh notices that Zee has been slacking off, so he asks God for help. God, in the form of a penguin, inserts memories into Zee that never existed, that he was in love with a girl named Kusti Sendoa, who is actually a character in an entertainment. They try to acquire the Godel Trigger, on the way meeting Adya, a woman from Miranda.

Ms. Hen thinks there are some very good world building descriptions in this novel. The character Adya's skin turns different colors when she is in different moods, like a mood ring. Adya's ship is in the form of a whale. Printers are everywhere that print clothes for people and food, but real things are coveted. An auction occurs where people are trying to purchase antiques.

Ms. Hen found a few Shakespeare references. The deceit that happened to Zee reminds Ms. Hen of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING in the way that it is silly, but not predictable. The moons are also named after Shakespearean characters, Puck and Miranda. Those are the actual names of the moons around Uranus. Most of the moons around Uranus have similar Shakespeare inspired names.

Ms. Hen liked this book, but she found she had to take breaks from reading it. It might have been because of the adjectives. She thought it was fun, and would recommend it to people who like heavy science fiction. It reminded her of STAR WARS and STAR TREK, which she loves, but she doesn't usually read books similar to this. There's adventure, and love, and vivid descriptions of a universe that doesn't exist yet, but might someday.