August Wrap Up Week #2

This past week I've read four books.

The first I finished was Nomadland by Jessica Bruder. This is a nonfiction book focusing on older and poor Americans who used to have stable jobs and homes but due to the Great Recession of 2008, they've have been forced into a nomadic lifestyle. These people sold their homes (usually at a great loss) or had them foreclosed. They then live in a van, RV, camper, or bus driving around finding temporary work which was grueling and usually provided little money and no insurance. While I found the topic fascinating, I took issue with how the author wrote about this sad phenomenon. She portrayed these individuals as adventurers embarking on a exciting prospect rather than rootless, destitute elderly people pushing themselves until they die because they can't afford retirement or a home. I gave the book 3 stars.


The next book I read was The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia translated by Simon Bruni. This was a beautifully written, magical realism story about a family living in Mexico during the revolution and Spanish flu epidemic. The story follows a boy named Simonipio who can communicate with bees and see glimpses of the future. He tries to use this knowledge to keep his adopted family safe from the dangers around him. It was a lovely sweeping family saga and I gave it 4.5 stars.


Then I picked up a short story collection titled Dawn by Selahattin Demirtas translated by Amy Marie Spangler and Kate Ferguson. This was written by a Turkish political prisoner who currently has a sentence of 183 years. He wrote stories of things he knew to be true in the Middle East, especially with women having little freedoms. The first story called Sehar is horrifying and immediately wounded me as it is about a honor killing. Some of the other stories don't seem as well thought-out, almost more like a prompt than a complete story. I gave the collection 3 stars.

The last book I picked up was a graphic novel called As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman. This is a graphic novel about a dark-skinned girl who is questioning her sexuality at an all-white Christian camp. I think this could be powerful to other young girls who are struggling to find a way for religion and sexuality to harmoniously coincide, but as an adult, I felt the story was lacking an ending. I ended up giving the book 2 stars.