Just like that, the ninth month of the year is already over. It still feels like yesterday when September started but now we are in October. Woah. We are in the last quarter of the year which is bound to be busy because most of us will try to catch up with our goals. I believe the time will suffice to complete our 2024 goals. Lucky are those who were already able to complete their goals. I hope you keep going for those who are just about to start. Starting is always the most challenging part of any task. I hope that the year has been kind to everyone. I hope the remainder of the year will be filled with blessings, positive news, and answered prayers. I hope you get repaid for everything you worked hard for from the start of the year. I hope everyone gets to accomplish their goals before the year wraps up. I hope that everyone will get to savor the fruits of their labor. More importantly, I hope everyone stays healthy, in mind, body, and spirit.
Speaking of goals, I have quite several lofty reading goals this year. These are goals that I still have to complete. I also have several reading challenges to tick. I hope that I get to achieve them before the year ends. Nevertheless, I am on track with most of my goals and challenges. A key factor for this is my early start on my 2024 Top 24 Reading List which I usually cram on toward the end of the year. As of the end of September, I am down to my last three books from the list. Further, I am also three books away from completing my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. So far, the only hiccups I foresee pertain to my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge, of which I have about eight more books to finish. I am also lagging behind in my goal of reading more translated books than books originally written in English. Regardless, I am beyond satisfied with how my reading year is shaping up so far. Anyway, here was how my September reading journey shaped up. Happy reading!
The Women by Kristin Hannah
One of my goals this year is to read at least fifteen new books. With eleven books so far, I am on track to achieving this goal. One of the eleven new books I read this year is Kristin Hannah’s latest novel, The Women. Honestly, I was not impressed with the first Hannah novel I read, On Mystic Lake, which I read while I was still in university. Her works have since tickled the imagination of many readers, making me reevaluate my own. The Women is my third novel by Hannah. Like the first two Hannah novels I read, The Women is a work of historical fiction that charted the fortunes of Frances “Frankie” McGrath. She was born to an affluent family with a long line of male war heroes. However, her gender relegated her to female roles. While her brother Finley was serving in the Vietnam War, she was biding her time serving local hospitals while waiting for a prospective husband. During her brother’s send-off party, Rye, Finley’s best friend, left a remark that stayed with Frankie: Women can be heroes. When a tragedy shook the family to the core, Frankie enlisted in the war to serve as a nurse. Her parent’s response to the news appalled her but she was undeterred. At the heart of the war, she witnessed young American soldiers, green as they come, get slaughtered. In a way, the novel was double-edged. It gave voices to the heroics of women which are often shadowed by the accomplishments of men, particularly in the battlefield. The novel also exposed the hypocrisy of the United States. The Women was yet another scintillating work from Hannah.
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Native Son by Richard Wright
One of the books I listed in my 2024 Top 24 Reading List was Richard Wright’s Native Son. When I first encountered the book, I barely had any iota of what it was about. My interest grew when I learned it is part of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list; I was hitting two birds with one stone. The introduction written by Arnold Rampersad provided an insight into what the book was about and the concerns it addressed. Set in 1930s Chicago, the heart of the story was Bigger Thomas, a twenty-year-old Black man born into poverty. He and his family were residing in a cramped apartment on the South Side of the city. He was cognizant that he lay at the mercy of other (“white) people. Only low-paying jobs were available to him and his fellows, making him resentful but also powerless to change his circumstances. With his mother’s coaxing, he took a job through as a chauffeur for a white millionaire philanthropist named Henry Dalton. This would set into motion a chain of events that would lead to his incarceration. Personally, three moments stand out. The sequence detailing the death of Mary Dalton was equally intimate and grotesque. The second was the confession – it was raw and honest – between Bigger Thomas and his lawyer, Boris Max. The last was the defense argument provided by Max in court which encapsulated everything that the novel was about. While I found the story predictable., I was gripped by the story. I was in parts torn, sympathetic, and angry about the injustices that pervade modern society. And the prejudices captured in the novel extend beyond race.
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The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
Yangsze Choo’s latest novel, The Fox Wife is, like the first two books in the list, a part of an ongoing reading challenge; it is one of the ten books in my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. My first encounter with the Malaysian writer was with her novel The Night Tiger which was, at one point, ubiquitous. It was while searching for books to include in my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List that I learned about her latest novel. It is the fifth book from the list I read. The Night Tiger (just the title) provided me a clue about the brand of storytelling featured in The Fox Wife. Anchored on East Asian lore, the story begins in 1908, on a train heading south from Manchuria. Aboard the train a pimp and a fox, though the fox happens to be woman-shaped. The fox used to live a happy existence in the grasslands of Kirin with her husband Kuro, a black fox. However, their lives were shattered when their cub was killed by a local hunter. A scorned mother, the fox set on a hunt for Bektu Nikan, a Manchurian photographer who commissioned the death of her daughter. In Dalian, she was given the name Hu Xue’er or Snow and took a position as an assistant to an elderly woman running the local medicine shop. The family was cursed; no eldest son lives beyond 24 which complicates matters as the woman’s grandson is 23 and a new child is on the way. Running parallel to her story is the story of Bao, a detective investigating the mysterious death of a woman found outside in the snow. Rumors of a fox involved in her death piqued the curiosity of Bao. The mix of folklore and history gave the novel different layers and textures.
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My Friends by Hisham Matar
Following The Fox Wife, what ensued was a mini-foray into the recent works of African literature, starting with Hisham Matar’s My Friends. It was while searching for books to include in my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To that I first came across the Libyan-American writer. His latest novel was a recurring presence in similar lists, naturally piquing my interest. My anticipation for the book increased tenfold after it was longlisted for the Booker Prize. My Friends was narrated by a middle-aged Libyan man named Khaled Abd al Hady. When the novel commenced, he bid farewell to his old friend Hosam Zowa at St. Pancras Station in London. On his way home, Khaled reflected on their friendship. The main catalyst for their friendship was the shooting incident that occurred on April 17, 1984. Officials inside the Libyan embassy in London’s St James’s Square fired a machine gun into a crowd of unarmed protesters who convened to protest against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Among the wounded were Khaled and Mustafa al Touny – the second friend at the heart of the novel – both students at Edinburgh University. The United Kingdom was swift to sever diplomatic ties with Libya but the regime increased surveillance on its denizens abroad. As a result of the trauma, Khaled chose to detach himself from his country of birth while Mustafa remained nationalistic. Hosam, a writer older than the other two, also chose to detach from his homeland. Their story came to a head during the Arab Spring of 2011 when the regime was overthrown. My Friends is a multilayered and well-textured story that probes into history, politics, and even literature.
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This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
Like Matar, I have never encountered Algerian American writer Claire Messud until this year. Imagine my surprise when I learned that she has quite a prolific career. Her latest novel, This Strange Eventful History was churned out of my search for 2024 book releases to look forward to. Curious, I added the book to my own list, making it the seventh book I read from my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To list. Like My Friends, This Strange Eventful History was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Messud’s ninth novel, This Strange Eventful History was inspired by her family’s history and commenced in Salonica (now Thessaloniki), Greece. It was 1940 and the Nazis swept into France, prompting General de Gaulle to call on free French to join him and carry on the fight. Gaston Cassar, a naval attaché to the French embassy in Greece, hears the broadcast. To ensure his family’s safety, he sent his wife, Lucienne, and children to their native Algeria. Contrary to their expectation, the family was not as warmly received by the community. After all, they were among the French colonizers. As the story leaps in time, it paints the portrait of the Cassars and their descendants. Their stories were juxtaposed with the contemporary history of Algeria, from the Second World War through Algeria’s declaration of independence. This left the Cassars basically without a homeland, with the pains of colonization haunting them. This was, in a way, a foreshadowing as they soon scattered across the globe; the story moves between various cities and countries. The novel had moments of brilliance but sometimes it gets porous.
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The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
It was in 2020 when I first came across Ethiopian writer Maaza Mengiste. Her latest novel, The Shadow King, was nominated for the 2020 Booker Prize. The book immediately caught my attention because I had never heard of Mengiste before. I also could not recall ever reading the work of an Ethiopian writer before or a book set in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain a copy of the book back then. It was only this year that I was able to do so. Once I had my copy, I delved into it without further ado. The novel opens in 1974 with a woman named Hirut sitting on the floor of a train station in Addis Ababa, holding an old metal box. The story then flashes back to the 1930s when a young Hirut, recently orphaned, served as a maid at the house of Kidane and Aster. Kidane is one of the most important officers in the Ethiopian army. Kidane was fond of Hirut while Aster resented her. Aster was still grieving the death of her own child and was jealous of the attention Kidane was giving Hirut. The period was tumultuous, with the shadows of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War looming. Mussolini’s army invaded the country, prompting Hirut, Kidane, and Aster to retreat. Kidane was gathering forces to fight for Ethiopia while Hirut and Aster took care of wounded soldiers. The story also introduced Carlo Fucelli, a sadistic Italian colonel, and Ettore Navarra, an army photographer who was tasked to document Italian successes. Like The Women, The Shadow King underlined how women’s contributions and heroics are often muted by history. Overall, Mengiste weaves a lush and riveting tapestry.
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The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
From Ethiopia, my literary journey next took me to Zambia, well, kind of. Namwali Serpell’s The Furrows is a book that I was really looking forward to when I first encountered it back in 2022 although it was The Old Drift that directed my attention to the Zambian writer. When I learned about The Furrows’ release, I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it took about two years before I was finally able to obtain a copy of the book. At the heart of The Furrows was Cassandra “Cee” Williams. Born to a white mother and a Black father, she was raised in suburban Baltimore. The story’s catalyst is an event that took place when she was twelve. When in her care, her seven-year-old brother Wayne mysteriously vanished; they were swimming in the sea when a storm intensified and separated the siblings. Wayne’s body was never recovered. This created chasms between the members of the family as they were never able to cope with Wayne’s disappearance. As a young adult, Cee constantly dreams about her brother. At this juncture, the story gets confusing. The story starts off fine but it soon peters out as the story moves forward. The premise had a promise and was at its most affectionate painting the portrait of a family that was divided by loss and grief, including the trauma and the impact of the untimely demise on them. The writing was lyrical and flowed diaphanously, particularly at the start. Serpell lost my interest in the second part when new elements, disjointed at best, were integrated into the story. Despite this, I am looking forward to reading The Old Drift.
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Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah
Another 2022 book that caught my attention back then was Oscar Hokeah’s Calling for a Blanket Dance. It was among the books that were touted by several literary publications as among the best books of the year. Even sans these accolades, the book immediately piqued my interest. Unfortunately, it also took me about two years to finally obtain a copy of the book. Without ado, I immediately immersed myself in the book. Hokeah’s debut novel, Calling for a Blanket Dance is polyvocal with the opening chapter narrated by Lena Stopp, the grandmother of Ever Geimausaddle, the novel’s main protagonist and also its final narrator. Lena recounts the love story of Ever’s parents, Turtle Geimausaddle and Everardo Chavez. Lena opposed her daughter’s marriage to Everardo. The couple, along with a six-month-old Ever, drove from Oklahoma to Chihuahua, Mexico to see Everardo’s parents to seek a cure for his temper. On their drive back, border patrol police stopped the family and beat Everardo. This set the tone for the story as the succeeding chapters painted an evocative portrait of Ever. While capturing Ever’s profile, Hokeah was also capturing seminal events that shaped contemporary American history; the story starts in 1976 and ends in 2013. It also captured the conditions of reserves; the characters have a mixed heritage: Cherokee, Mexican, and other indigenous tribes. The reserves were overrun with violence, drug abuse, petty crime, and poverty. The long wait for the book was worthwhile because Hokeah held my attention from the opening pages until the conclusion.
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God’s Ashes by Marga Ortigas
My reading journey then next took me to a place closer to the heart. Earlier this year, I read Marga Ortigas’ debut novel, The House on Calle Sombra. Recently, I learned that she released a new work, God’s Ashes. I was not initially planning on reading the book. I eventually relented because the book piqued in curiosity. There was something about the book that intrigued me. I am not exactly sure where to start with God’s Ashes. Unlike her debut novel which is more concerned with a family’s past, God’s Ashes is more concerned with the present and the future. However, the recent past remains an integral part of the story. The story blends elements of mystery and technology. It also introduces a vast cast of characters that takes the readers across the world, from London to Taipei to Guam to Palau and to the Philippine countryside. Apparently, the title was derived from a kind of coral subjected to nuclear radiation. It is both a narcotic and a raw material used in a kind of new superchip which is similar to cryptocurrency. On a larger scale, the novel deals with the environment, reminding me of Richard Powers. The book is ambitious and introduces a bevy of elements that could be both disorienting and riveting. Casting a net over a vast territory, the story is quite complicated. It was fraught with social commentary, particularly on the consequences of technology. It also probes into the impact of climate change, nuclear weapons, geopolitics, and even gender politics. These are all timely subjects The conclusion was rather unclear but I guess this is because chaos is the novel’s middle name.
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A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
From the Philippines, my reading journey next took me to India, to an unfamiliar name. It was through must-read lists that I first came across Indian writer Rohinton Mistry. His novel, A Fine Balance, was a familiar presence in such lists and when I first came across it, I did not hesitate to obtain a copy of it. I also included it in my 2024 Top 24 Reading List. Set in mid-1970s India, A Fine Balance charts the fortunes of four main characters. Ishvar Darji and his nephew Omprakash, or Om for short, were traveling on a train to a big city after escaping from their village where the lower casts were constantly oppressed by the upper cats; they belonged to the untouchable Chamaar caste. While on the train to the city, the pair came across Maneck Kohlah, a student from Kashmir. Maneck was on his way to the city to pursue his studies. Unlike Ishvar and Om, Maneck was born into a more affluent family. Completing the quartet of main characters is Dina Dalal. Like Maneck, Dina was born to an affluent background. Following her father’s death when she was just twelve and the gradual withdrawal of her mother from life, her brother Nusswan took over family affairs, including her life. In an unnamed city, these four characters’ individual threads converged, and through their lenses, Mistry provided the readers an incisive probe into modern Indian society, with an emphasis on the consequences of the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the same period. I must say, A Fine Balance is quite an impressive read which reminded me of another Indian literature classic, Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy. Both novels were riveting and thought-provoking reads.
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A Small Town Called Hibiscus by Gu Hua
Capping my reading month is another work of Asian literature. Gu Hua’s A Small Town Called Hibiscus is also listed as part of my 2024 Top 24 Reading List and is part of my effort to expand my foray into Chinese literature. Before the pandemic, I had never heard of the Chinese writer nor had I encountered any of his works. Gu Hua, I learned, is a pseudonym used by Luo Hongyu (羅鴻玉). Originally published in 1981, A Small Town Called Hibiscus is considered to be his most renowned work. The winner of the inaugural Mao Dun Literature Prize (1982), one of the most prestigious literature prizes in China, A Small Town Called Hibiscus is set in the Chinese countryside, in the titular town of Hibiscus in the province of Hunan (Gu’s birthplace). The denizens of the village used to live in harmony but the village’s dynamics were adversely impacted by the Cultural Revolution, or, as the novel referred to it, the Great Leap Forward of 1958. The affluent were stripped of their properties and neighbors were forced to go against each other. Capitalism was dismantled, adversely impacting local trade. Among those who were stripped of property was Hu Yuyin who the locals referred to as Sister Hibiscus. The story of the village and of Hu Yuyin are microcosms of the conditions sweeping the rest of the nation during this period of political and social upheaval. In a way, the book reminded me of Yuan-Tsung Chen’s The Dragon Village. Both provide a window into Communist China and how it shaped the Chinese countryside. Overall, A Small Town Called Hibiscus is a lush and thought-provoking read.
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Reading Challenge Recaps
- My 2024 Top 24 Reading List: 21/24
- 2024 Beat The Backlist: 13/20; 86/60
- 2024 Books I Look Forward To List: 7/10
- Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge: 98/100*
- 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: 16/20
- New Books Challenge: 12/15
- Translated Literature: 43/40
*Updated my Goodreads goal from 80 to 100.
Book Reviews Published in September
- Book Review # 538: Little Rot
- Book Review # 539: The Road to the Country
- Book Review # 540: James
- Book Review # 541: The Fishermen
- Book Review # 542: The Women
- Book Review # 543: Long Island
- Book Review # 544: The Fox Wife
- Book Review # 545: The Old Capital
- Book Review # 546: The Doctor’s Wife
- Book Review # 547: My Friends
I guess I am picking up momentum. After eclipsing my July output in August – I published four in July and nine in August – I am on an upward trend again. I was able to publish ten books in September, the third time this year that I was able to achieve this feat. I guess this is partly due to my relatively loose schedule. However, a pattern is also emerging. Of the nineteen book reviews I published in the past two months, fourteen are of books I read in the current year. I guess this is also a good sign because it has been my goal to review a book within two weeks of completing it. Sadly, this means that my backlog from 2023 remains huge; I last counted 65 pending book reviews. Nevertheless, I will still try to tick off some books from the previous year. The goal is to reduce it to fifty before the year ends. The mantra, as always, will be to take it one step at a time; although a little sense of urgency might help.
In terms of reading, October is going to be a mixed bag, similar to how my September reading journey developed. Of course, the priority is my active reading goals and reading challenges. It is also my goal to read recently published or translated novels; I just finished Yoko Ogawa’s latest translated novel. Mina’s Matchbox and Nobel Laureate in Literature Olga Tokarczuk’s latest novel, The Empusium. Meanwhile, I am currently reading the work of another Nobel Laureate in Literature, Orhan Pamuk whose novel The Black Book is part of my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge. This is also my fifth book by the Turkish writer. Apart from these reading challenges and goals, I am also looking at reading the Booker Prize shortlisted books; five are currently in-transit while I have already read Percival Everett’s James. This is also an extension of my goal to read at least fifteen new books. There is so much to look forward to in the final stretch of the year.
How about you fellow reader? How is your own reading journey going? I hope you enjoyed the books you have read. For now, have a great day. As always, do keep safe, and happy reading everyone!
The Pine-Scented Chronicles 