Ms. Hen reviews Exhalation

 

Exhalation

Ted Chiang

Vintage Books

2019

Ms. Hen bought this book at a new independent bookstore in her neighborhood called Molly's Books. She went to there to check the place out, and it's a cute bookstore. There was a table that was dedicated to AAPI Heritage month, and she picked up this book because she had never heard of this author, but she loves sci-fi short stories, so she took it home.

This is a collection of nine stories, some are longer than others, but all of them dwell in other realms. Ms. Hen became charmed by each of these worlds, and she was swept away in each story.

The opening story, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," is an Arabian Nights type of story, that includes time travel through a portal. "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," tells the story of digients, which are digital pets, and their owners have to fight for their survival. "Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny," is a type of steampunk story about a robotic nanny that takes care of infants, or at least attempt to do so.

Ms. Hen thought it was interesting and different that there is an explanation for the inspiration for each story by the author at the end of the collection. She thinks that knowing a story's origin is cool, but not always necessary. She learned that the story, "The Great Silence," originated as an art exhibit about parrots that can talk that was a collaboration with some artists.

This collection reminded her of, "The Paper Menagerie," by Ken Liu, that she read a couple of years ago. That book contained short stories that possessed an entire world in each one, similar to this book.

Ms. Hen is glad she read this book. She loves to read books that are strange and unusual, because she herself is strange and unusual. These are stories that make a reader think about the world, and why it is the way it is, and how bizarre things can be if a person looks in the right direction.

Ms. Hen reviews Night

 

Night 

Elie Wiesel

Hill and Wang

1958

Translation by Marion Wiesel 2006

Ms. Hen found this book at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She thought she had read it before; she meant to read it, but as she started, she realized she never had. She knew it had been in her presence before, but someone might have recommended that she shouldn't read it, because she might become upset, but Ms. Hen can't remember.

This novel is about Elie Wiesel's experience in Auschwitz when he was young. He was sent with his family, as well as all the Jewish people in his town. His entire family did not survive. He talks in the novel about the struggles of the people in the camp: how they think about food more than anything, and how everyone seems to be out for themselves. 

He describes an incident when he hurt his foot, and ended up in the infirmary. Rumors fly that the camp is going to be invaded, so he struggles to walk to save himself. He found out later that everyone in the infirmary was liberated, but nobody knew that would happen.

Ms. Hen has read many books like this before, but she understands that this was one of the first of its kind. She thinks there is a dry humor to the book, and even though the protagonist suffers immensely, he finds a reason to laugh at times. People who can joke in the face of death will never fear anything.

Ms. Hen wonders why she had never read this before. She thinks she was dissuaded because it is so well known, but there are several that she has read like this such as SURVIVAL IN AUSCHWITZ by Primo Levi, and THE LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ by Antonio Iturbe, and others. 

The stories of survival and hope never become old. Ms. Hen knows that the world is still dysfunctional, but she wants to believe that through these books and stories, the tyrants of the world have a slimmer chance of succeeding than they would have before. If only more people read books, Ms. Hen thinks the world would be a brighter place 😊 

Ms. Hen reviews Ruin and Rising

 

Ruin and Rising

Leigh Bardugo

Square Fish

2014

Ms. Hen bought this trilogy together. She reviewed the two other books recently, and this is the last one. 

This novel continues the story of Alina Starkov and Mal, while they continue to attempt to destroy the fold. We start with Alina and her group underground with the Apparat, but they escape to try to find the Firebird, the third amplifier, which will make Alina's strength even greater. Alina, Mal, Zoya and the others end up with Nikolai at his hideout in a mountaintop that he calls the Spinning Wheel. Things don't go according to plan, as usual. The Darkling surprises them, and things take a turn for the worse.

The beginning and ending of all of these novels is a type of fairy tale about a girl and a boy that are not named, but are Alina and Mal, which Ms. Hen thinks are charming. She wonders if there will be a book of fairy tales about these novels. She especially liked the ending tale in this novel, but she will not give it away.

RUIN AND RISING reminded Ms. Hen of THE WIZARD OF OZ more than the other books, possibly because the characters were on a journey throughout the story, and they were all unique, quirky characters.

The books are very different from the TV series, but Ms. Hen can appreciate both of them. She loves a good adventure, with magic, and romance and intrigue, and she gets all of those here and more. 

Ms. Hen reviews This is How you Lose Her

 

This Is How You Lose Her

Junot Diaz

Riverhead Books

2012

Ms. Hen decided to read this because she found it at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She met the author many years ago at an event, and found him incredibly unpleasant, and difficult to converse with. (One of Ms. Hen's friends said he was coked up. Ms. Hen isn't knowledgable of such things, so she took his word for it.) Ms. Hen was turned off by interacting with him, and has not read anything by this author since then.

But this year she watched the film TAR, starring Cate Blanchett, and a scene in the film stuck with her, in which the character was teaching a class, and gave a lecture to a student about not judging the art by the artist. She was talking about Bach, but Ms. Hen has had this discussion with other creative people. It's different if someone is talking about Bach or Picasso, or any other offensive individual who has passed on, but if we talk about someone who is alive, are we right to judge the art by the artist? Ms. Hen hesitantly decided to give this author another chance.

This collection of short stories is about different characters who are from the Dominican Republic, men and women who are trying to make it in the United States. They are poor, but hard workers, and have strict ideas about how the world should be. A few stories circle around a character named Yunior at different times in his life. His brother dies from cancer in one story, and another takes place when he and his brother and mother move to New Jersey to live with their father, who had lived there for several years.

Ms. Hen thinks that the male characters in this book are misogynist and objectify women's bodies. She found it offensive how the men talk about women, but she believes this is a realistic portrayal of how these characters would act. All the men cheat on their wives and girlfriends. It's difficult for Ms. Hen to have sympathy for men who are such philanderers.

Ms. Hen did not start reading this collection of short stories with the idea that she would be disgusted with it, and she was hoping for a different feeling when she finished. Should art be judged by the artist? Ms. Hen does not want to think this is true, but she can't help feeling that she wasted her time reading this.  

Ms. Hen reviews Siege and Storm

 

Siege and Storm

Leigh Bardugo

Square Fish

2013

This is the second book in the trilogy after SHADOW AND BONE, and Ms. Hen is reading the books one by one, with some others in between for variety; Alina Starkov runs away with Mal, and is hunted by the Darkling, she saves the crew, and she ends up back at the Little Palace again, and she becomes the leader of the Second Army, but she doesn't know if she's up to the task; Ms. Hen thinks that every chapter has a tasty bite of something good in it; Mal isn't the way he used to be with Alina, and that upsets her, she wants to fight the Darkling's armies, but she doesn't think she has the strength, and she doesn't get much support; Ms. Hen likes the idea of a girl saving the world, even though that is not traditional, but she doesn't like tradition anyway, after all, look where that has brought us, we're in so deep that we don't know how to fix things; Ms. Hen wants to find a new tradition, and she thinks that stories like this could help us to save the world, if not completely, then possibly part of the way...

Ms. Hen reviews The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel

Emily St. John Mandel

First Vintage Books

2020

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she had read STATION ELEVEN many years ago, long before Covid, when everyone was reading it, and she was curious about other books this author had written. This novel is not speculative fiction, it's about people surrounded by a Ponzi scheme. Ms. Hen didn't know until she read the acknowledgments that this is based on Bernie Madoff's story. 

This novel is about people who surround a man named Jonathan Alkaitis, who created the scheme. Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a glass hotel on the shores on Vancouver Island, and her brother, Paul, works there as a maintenance worker. Someone scrawls on the wall "Why don't you eat broken glass," which shakes up the staff. Vincent starts an affair with Alkaitis, posing as his wife, and quickly gets bored with her life in the country of money. 

Vincent discovers her brother had stolen her films, and wrote soundtracks for them. An older artist, Olivia, comes into some money, and invests it all with Jonathan, and ghosts haunt Jonathan from the other side when he is away, including Olivia. He creates his counter life, or dream life. Paul becomes successful, but sees Vincent in a doorway in Scotland when she is not there.

This book is told through different characters in alternating chapters. This is a novel like a puzzle, the reader has to put the pieces together to sit how all the characters and storylines fit together. Ms. Hen thinks it's disturbing that people would scam innocent investors out of their life savings, but she knows the world is full of monsters, even when they don't look the part.

Ms. Hen likes the ghosts in this novel. She thinks it's fantastic that the evil people kept seeing ghosts of the ones the hurt, which is the way ghosts should be. Ms. Hen likes to think that ghosts are real, but she has never seen one. She might have felt one close to her.

Ms. Hen thinks this novel is upsetting, but important. It's about greed and lies and guilt, with some love and art thrown in for seasoning. Ms. Hen thinks that people should look out for situations that seem too good to be true, and we should realize that things aren't always what they seem.

Ms. Hen reviews Shadow and Bone

 

Shadow and Bone

Leigh Bardugo

Henry Holt and Company

2012

Ms. Hen came to read this because she enjoyed the Netflix series so much, she was curious about the books. She bought the first trilogy, but she learned there are other books in this universe, and she might read those too, someday.

This novel is about Alina Starkov, an orphan who works as a cartographer in the First Army. Mal has been her best friend since they were at the orphanage together, and she is secretly in love with him, but he doesn't know. They go with their group into the Shadow Fold, which is a rift that separates East and West Ravka, and it is treacherous to pass through because it is full of volcra, which are monsters that kill people. They get attacked, and Alina shines light from her hands to save Mal. The Darkling believes that Alina is the Sun Summoner, the one who brings light, a prophecy that tells that she will vanquish the Shadow Fold with the power of her light.

The Darkling is the leader of the Second Army, which is made of Grisha, a type of witch that has a special power. Healers can heal, and Inferni can bring fire, and Squallers can make wind. The Darkling brings Alina to the Little Palace to develop her talents as the Sun Summoner. Alina does not want to go, and she misses Mal. She writes to him, but he never writes back, and she worries that he has forgotten her, or does not care. The Darkling tell her about a magical stag from Mordova's herd that will increase her powers. She trains and waits.

Ms. Hen learned that this book is very different from the Netflix series. This is just about Alina Starkov, and there are no peripheral characters like in the show. It's a first person narrative, which Ms. Hen thinks is an interesting choice. When Ms. Hen read this novel, it reminder her more of the Harry Potter series, because it is about a girl that is a savior, and it is predicted that she will save their civilization. 

Ms. Hen thinks this book is charming, and she loved learning about the different types of Grisha. She decided she would like to be a Heartrender, a type of Grisha that can stop people's hearts, and also listen to their heartbeat to tell if they're lying. She is looking forward to reading the other books.