Ms. Hen reviews Josie and Jack

Josie and Jack

Kelly Braffet

Houghton Mifflin Company

2005

Ms. Hen picked this book up at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She read on the book that it is a reimagining of HANSEL AND GRETEL, and Ms. Hen loves fairy tale rewrites. She doesn't know how close it is to that fairy tale, but this book weaves its own rendering.

This novel is about Josie and Jack, who are brother and sister, and live in a big house with their father Raeburn, a college professor, and he is not home that much because the college where he teaches is far away. He leaves his children alone most of the time, and they do not go to school, because they are homeschooled. At one time their family was wealthy. They are mysterious in the town, and everyone wants to know what really goes on with them.

Raeburn is abusive to them, and the siblings drink a lot together. They are dysfunctional, and they only have each other. Their mother died when they were young. Jack leaves, and Josie is depressed without him. He comes back for her, and they run away together. Jack is charming and women love him, and he takes advantage of that. They end up in New York City.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this book, but it took her some time to get into it. It's creepy, and a lot is not said. A question hangs over this novel, and the question is not answered. Subtext is something that is not said, and it makes the reader keep reading. 

This novel is unsettling, but it works. Ms. Hen wonders if the novel would be different if the question was resolved. Josie and Jack are not good people, and it made Ms. Hen keep reading because she needed to know the outcome. 

Ms. Hen doesn't think this is very similar to HANSEL AND GRETEL, but the brother and sister run away together. Ms. Hen doesn't imagine the original fairy tale would end up like this one. Ms. Hen says that this book is strange, but worth it, if you don't mind being disgusted. Ms. Hen is a hen who likes twisted things sometimes, if she's in the right mood.

Ms. Hen reviews East, West

 

East, West

Salman Rushdie

Vintage Books

1994

Ms. Hen picked up this book because she was in a used bookstore in Portland, Maine, and was looking for a book that spoke to her. She had never read anything by Salman Rushdie, even though he is well known. He was in the news recently for getting stabbed, and Ms. Hen thinks it's horrible for a writer to live in fear because of what they write. She decided to buy this book because she was curious.

This collection of short stories contains stories about the East and the West. Ms. Hen liked some of the stories, but not all of them. She found the story, "Yurik," which is about HAMLET irritating, and she felt the same way about the story about Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella. These stories are in the "West," section.

She especially enjoyed the stories in the "East, West" section of the book, which are about the intersection of the East and the West. The story, "Harmony of the Spheres," is about an author who is unstable, and his friend from India. Ms. Hen always loves stories about people who are mentally ill. She also enjoyed, "Chekov and Zulu," because she adores anything to do with STAR TREK.

The stories in the "East," section are about people living in poverty in India. The characters in these stories have to deal with people trying to scam them, and horrible things happen. Ms. Hen felt sorry for these characters.

This book isn't like other collections of short stories. Most of the sections are shockingly different from others. Ms. Hen didn't like this. She doesn't enjoy a collection of short stories that feels like she's jumping from one universe to another. She wants to exist in the same world, where she is able to understand the view.

Some of the writing in this collection of stories is stunning, but it made Ms. Hen tired. She might like a novel from this author better, but it might be a while before one falls in her path.

Ms. Hen at the Green Hand Bookshop

Ms. Hen reviews Brood

Ms. Hen eats breakfast

 

Brood

Jackie Polzin

Doubleday

2021

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel, because she learned it is about chickens, and she cannot resist chicken fiction. Sometimes she loves books about chickens, and sometimes she does not. This one falls into the latter category.

This novel is about a woman who has four chickens in her backyard. She takes care of them, and she is depressed. Her husband is a writer, and he's looking for a teaching job in Los Angeles, and if he gets the job, they might have to leave the chickens in Minnesota. She is depressed because she had a miscarriage, and wanted to have the baby. She doesn't do a good job of taking care of the chickens.

Ms. Hen wanted to love this book, since it's about her favorite subject. But she found it depressing, without character and vitality. The woman, who is unnamed, is one of those women who is Sad Because She Doesn't Have Children, which Ms. Hen thinks is tiresome. She doesn't understand this desire that most women have. Maybe because she is a chicken, or because she thinks there's more to life than taking care of children, Ms. Hen can think of ten thousand things better than having a child.

This book lacks charm, which Ms. Hen thinks is one of the most important things in life. If something: a book, a person, a cat, or anything has charm, it makes experiences much more interesting. Charm can open doors, and help you to see the world in a different way. The protagonist in this novel has a bad attitude, and lacks the charm Ms. Hen appreciates and looks for in everything. 

Ms. Hen was glad this novel was short, because it was over quickly. Ms. Hen wishes that someone would write a happy and charming novel about chickens, because that would please her. Her breakfast was delicious, and that was probably the best aspect of this review.

Ms. Hen reviews Light from Uncommon Stars

 

Light from Uncommon Stars

Ryka Aoki

Tor

2021

Ms. Hen usually finds books in unconventional ways, but she found this book by listening to a science fiction podcast on the website Bookriot. She decided to search out books, rather than having them come to her. This book was featured in a podcast called "Comfort Reads in SFF." She thought it sounded intriguing, so she picked it up.

A lot is happening in this book right from the start. A woman some people call "The Queen of Hell," Shizuka Satomi, is looking for another soul to damn to hell by becoming their violin teacher. She finds Katrina Nguyen, a transgender runaway from outside of Oakland, in a park near Los Angeles. She gives Katrina her card, and leaves her, but Katrina does not come to her house for a week. 

Lan, the captain of a starship, takes over Stargate Donuts, which has a big donut on top of it. She has to create a stargate with her family and crew. Shizuka goes to Stargate Donuts, and likes the Alaska Donut, but only half, since it's so big, and she and Lan become almost friends, and feed stale donuts to the ducks in the park. Shizuka has had her soul damned by a demon, and she has to produce seven souls to him in order to play music again. She wants Katrina to be the seventh soul.

Ms. Hen thinks this novel has an excellent world building aspect to it. This takes place in present day, but focuses on violin competitions, a specialty community. It's also about immigrant culture, and transgender people. But there is science fiction aspect that is hilarious. The team of aliens living in the donut shop bring humor to this novel. STAR TREK is mentioned a few times. A lot of food and eating appears in this novel, not just at the donut shop. The characters go out to eat a lot, and the food is described in an ambrosial way.

Several chickens appear between these pages, since this book is brimming with food. Shizuka is thinking about how she writes music, and she thinks, "When you heard that hum on the way to the donut shop bathroom. When you heard chickens outside your window." Shizuka is thinking of the important parts of her life.

Ms. Hen knows that this is one of the best books she has read this year. She thinks it's surprising and funny and complicated and important. And many other things, but if you like this sort of novel, she thinks you should stop everything you're doing, and start reading this right now.

Ms. Hen reviews While Beauty Slept

Ms. Hen drinks a pumpkin cream cold brew

 

While Beauty Slept

Elizabeth Blackwell

Berkley Publishing Group

2014

Ms. Hen decided to read this book because she found it at a Little Free Library near where she lives, and she was intrigued by the title. She adores fairy tale retellings, as you may know, and she is always intrigued by SLEEPING BEAUTY stories. Many versions of this tale have been spun again and again, and she dove into this one with curiosity, and an open mind.

This novel reads like historical fiction, and it's told through the point of view of the Queen's maid, Elise. She lived with her family when she was young, and they were poor farmers. Almost her entire family died from the pox, and she went to work in the castle, which is what her mother had suggested before she passed. She started as a chamber maid, but quickly rose to be the Queen's personal maid.

Elise watched and learned; she was discreet, and did her work. She fell in love, but had her heart crushed because she felt she had a duty to the Queen and the castle. She protected Rose, the future Queen, and everyone worried about the curse that her aunt Millicent had brought on the castle when Rose was born. Elise took care of the Queen, and gave her advice when she needed it.

This novel is part historical fiction, part fairy tale retelling, and some romance. Ms. Hen kept waiting for the SLEEPING BEAUTY parts to be revealed, but they came slowly, and were anti-climactic. Ms. Hen kept saying to herself, When is she going to go to sleep? But when she did, Ms. Hen thought it was silly. This novel dragged a bit, it kept going on and on, and Ms. Hen wanted to know when it would stop. 

This novel doesn't take place in a particular country, it could be England or France or anywhere in Europe. It had its charms, and the right person would love this. Ms. Hen has a difficult time handling romance novels, because she thinks they're trite. The characters and setting are well drawn, but like Ms. Hen said the book went on too long, and the ending was odd.

Ms. Hen doesn't know if picking up books at a Little Free Library is always the best way to find books. She wants to do more research before she reads, because sometimes a free book isn't always the best. Ms. Hen likes free books, but nothing in life is truly free.

Ms. Hen in Portland, Maine

  

Ms. Hen reviews Open City

 

Open City

Teju Cole

Random House

2011

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she found it at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She didn't know anything about this book, but she saw it had good reviews, and won some awards, so she gave it a try.

This novel is about a man from Nigeria, who is a Psychiatry Resident in New York City. He is finishing his residency, and spends his free time in the city, wandering the streets. He encounters different kinds of people, and talks to some. This novel takes places around 2006, when Tower Records and Blockbuster Video were in the process of closing, due to the Internet, and Ms. Hen thinks it's an interesting time. The world was in a state of flux. The character travels to Belgium to look for his grandmother, and meditates on the Nigeria of his youth.

Ms. Hen found that this novel left a bad taste in her mouth. Critics praised it up and down, and it won major awards, but Ms. Hen did not like spending time with this character. He is an elitist, and is condescending, and Ms. Hen thinks he is a sociopath. He seems like the type of person who enjoys hearing himself talk, and will force anyone around him to listen to his pontificating about any subject he thinks he possesses knowledge on. 

Ms. Hen came to the conclusion that the critics who praised this novel vehemently are the same type of person this character is drawn out to be: pompous, snobby, and difficult to be around. Ms. Hen prefers quirky characters with personality and charm, who will make her laugh, and help her think about the world in a new way.

Ms. Hen suffered through this novel, but fortunately it is short. One takes a gamble reading something unknown, but risks have to be taken in life, or else nothing would be gained.

Ms. Hen reviews Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah

Volume 4 of In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust

1921

Translated from the French by John Sturrock

2002

Ms. Hen read the first three volumes of IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME years ago, before she had her blog. She read the third volume on her Kindle in France, and she didn't like reading it on her Kindle, but she enjoyed that she had the opportunity to do so in France. She decided to read volume four, because she does not like light summer reading, she believes that longer daylight calls for heavy books, since she has more energy when the sun is out.

Ms. Hen read 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, and a great quote about this book appears there:

“How about Proust's In Search of Lost Time?" Tamaru asked. "If you've never read it this would be a good opportunity to read the whole thing."

"Have you read it?"

"No, I haven't been in jail, or had to hide out for a long time. Someone once said unless you have those kinds of opportunities, you can't read the whole of Proust.”

It's a long book, and it takes time to read. But Ms. Hen doesn't think a person should read the whole thing at once.

This novel is a continuation of the last three. The narrator, in the beginning of this volume, is observing men who are attracted to men, and women who are attracted to women. The first section is a party, and it's full of snobs who insult everyone they can. Afterwards, the narrator goes to Balbec, to the seaside, and observes the girls there, and falls in love with all of them. His romantic interest, Albertine, stays at the hotel, and he thinks she is attracted to a woman. Parties occur, and the people talk about everyone they know, and who is interesting, and who isn't. The narrator wants to break up with Albertine, and is jealous of everyone who speaks with her.

This novel is densely written, and Ms. Hen had a difficult time reading it. She took a seminar with a professor years ago, and he recommended only reading two pages of this every night before bedtime, but Ms. Hen thinks that if someone did that, it would take twenty-five years to read all the volumes. Ms. Hen might not live that long! She thinks the prose is dense like layered buttercream cake, and must be consumed slowly, but deliberately, so the reader does not get a headache, or a stomachache. 

Ms. Hen believes the reason readers still love these books is because they portray people the way they truly are: brutal and petty and jealous and rotten, with selfish needs and narrow views. The narrator wants to hurt the one he loves, but he doesn't know what he truly desires. The best novels and stories do not lose their shine over time, because humanity never changes - society changes, and societal norms, but humans are always the same.

Ms. Hen will take a break before she reads the next volume. She thoroughly enjoyed this, but it's a huge chunk to chew and swallow, and the days are getting shorter now, and Ms. Hen needs to rest her feathers.