Books: February 2018

So, you may notice that this post is a little sparser in comparison to last month's reading post - suffice to say that things have picked up pace in my life recently. I'm hoping to get a little more reading done next month, though, so stay tuned! 

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee

This book went entirely undetected by me for the entirety of last year... until it landed on a New York Times 'Best Books of 2017' list where I finally, mercifully, discovered it. I read a number of really good books in January, but it's been a while since I've read such a hefty novel that engrossed me from start to finish. From the first chapter, I was hooked on Lee's simple but profound writing style -- highly conducive to fast page turning. Pachinko tells the story of a young Korean woman who marries a Christian missionary and sets sail for Japan. It chronicles their hardships and joys in the foreign and often hostile country, and traces the family's generations down all the way through to the present day. I was deeply moved by the struggles the family faced as they found their footing in Japan; I was rooting for them to succeed every step of the way. The long entangled history between Korea and Japan was also something I was previously unaware of and I appreciated Lee's meticulous research on the topic interwoven throughout the story. Min Jin Lee has become one of my favourite authors with this gorgeous book and I can't wait to read more of her work.

When Dimple Met Rishi

Sandhya Menon

Last month's book club pick was a heavy one, and so when my friend L suggested something lighter for this month I wholeheartedly agreed and mentioned this delightful book to her. I saw Sandhya Menon on a panel in Portland (are you sensing a theme here?) and was intrigued by her quest to write good, rom-com YA featuring Indian characters. I started tearing my way through it this last Saturday morning, curled up on the couch in my pyjamas, laughing out loud at Menon's witty and brazen characters. It was really interesting for me to read a book based around the experiences of Indian teens (I haven't read many before) and though I found myself nodding along to some similarities in parenting styles or showing proper respect to the millions of member of your extended family, I was also struck by the many differences in these teens' experiences of being Indian. Some of them were cultural, others religious and others perhaps simply because they were American-born whereas I moved to New Zealand as a child. Regardless of these, I thought it was a smart, funny romance which managed to both uphold and subvert various conventions of the rom-com genre. Sometimes a little YA is what I need to unwind from the stress of academic reading and this one definitely hit the spot!

Stay tuned for March - in which I may even writing something other than a reading-recap post!