Mini Reviews: Pairing Books with Movies 3

Kindred

by Octavia Butler

★★★★



When this book was published, a few decades ago, it gained fame because it was the first sci-fi book written by a black woman. I loved that the book began with a bang; it hooked me from the first pages.



Dana, a twenty-something black woman living in the 1970s, finds herself pulled back into time. She ends up meeting her ancestors in 1800s Maryland, when slavery ran rampant and the Civil War was still a ways off. She returns time and time again to the same plantation where she is often stuck for weeks or months, unable to control her ability to travel in time. I thought it was wonderful that Butler used the platform of time travel to study the life of a slave from the point-of-view of a black woman from the 1970s.



The set up of this book really made the reality of slavery hit home for me. Dana is just as disturbed by what she’s seeing as the reader is, which makes it particularly powerful. She begins the book looking down on the slaves in some ways, because she thinks they just need to stand up for themselves. Soon she realizes how hopeless their situations can be. Running away will get you beaten when you’re caught. Resisting the master will just make your life harder and may encourage him to sell your family members. It’s a tragic cycle and it begins to break her spirit as well.



I think it’s fascinating that Butler chose to have Dana marry a white man in the 1970s. The beautiful dynamic of their relationship is strained in that decade, but once they are thrust into the 19th century they must find a whole new balance. Her husband, Kevin, is kind and devoted, but their situation is incredibly stressful. 



The white son of the plantation owner, Rufus, is the reason Dana is continually drawn back in time. He is her distant relative and she first meets him when he’s a little boy. Watching his transformation from innocence to bitter maturity is, by far, the most powerful and painful part of the book. Like Dana, we have such hope for him, but at the same time, it’s easy to see how he is just a product of his environment. 



This is my first book by Butler and while I enjoyed it, I’ve heard some of her others are a bit stranger. I may hold off before reading more from her, but I would definitely recommend this one.


The Great White Hope

by Howard Sackler

★★☆ 



This Pulitzer-Prize-winning play didn’t thrill me. I’m sure it’s much better on stage, but on the page it feels dated. The plot is a fictionalized retelling of the real life boxer Jack Johnson. He found success during the Jim Crow era and became the very first African American world heavyweight boxing champion. 



The play focuses heavily on his white girlfriend and the controversy their relationship caused. He was actually sent to jail because of the relationship at one point. 

I had a hard time getting past some of the language, for example… 



“Stop beatin on de cullud.” 



“You juss nacheral.” 



“Git de wimmins inside.”



I think this is just one those plays that does a wonderful job representing a period in time, but after a few decades it loses its punch. 


Pair both books with a marathon of films covering some of the history of racism in America: Amistad, Glory, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, Do the Right Thing, American History X

Mini Reviews: Pairing Books with Movies 2

The God of Small Things 

by Arundhati Roy

★★☆



I really wanted to like this one. In fact, when I started the book and it was incredibly slow going, I decided that no matter what, I was sticking with it to the end. At times it felt like I was trying to run on a beach, the faster I tried to read the more exhausting it was. The book is set in India and tells the story of a set of twins, one male, one female and their complicated family.



My problem with the book lies mainly with the structure. It jumps back and forth in the timeline with no real warning. First we learn about the twins as adults, then as kids, then about their mother’s life as a young woman, then about her relative’s childhood, etc. It’s hard to follow where you’re at in the tale and whose story is being told if you have to pick it up and put it down a lot. 


The names made it more difficult as well, though that’s not the author’s fault. I wasn’t sure whether some of the names, like Aleyooty Ammachi, Velutha and Estha, were masculine or feminine at first. I figured it out quickly, but it was one more element to juggle. 


The novel feels incredibly ambitious. It deals with India’s political climate, the caste system, cultural and ethical taboos, molestation, religion, family dynamics, incest, guilt. I feel like it might have been more powerful if the story was a bit more focused on a smaller number of issues. 



I will say that my favorite part of the book was the descriptive passages. The author has a beautiful way of phrasing things….



“Margaret Kochmma’s tiny ordered life relinquished itself to this truly baroque bedlam with the quiet gap of warm body entering a chilly sea.”



…but that beauty wasn’t enough to make it work for me. I’d love to hear someone’s opinion on this one that’s familiar with Indian culture. I wonder if some aspects would have worked better for me if I knew the culture better.

Pair with a viewing of Monsoon Wedding


Black and Blue 

by Anna Quindlen

★★★☆



Fran has been the victim of domestic abuse for years. She’s built a life around the lies she tells her family and friends when a new bruise appears. Her husband, a New York cop, intimidates and threatens her into feeling helpless. 



Finally, she’s had enough and decides to take her young son and leave. With a new identity and very little else, she starts a new life in Florida. But even a new home and friends doesn’t help her shake the constant feeling of fear she’s grown to live with. Every new stranger talking to her son is suspicious and each wrong number leaves her shaking. 



I don’t know why, but I always seem to lump this author into the same group as Jodi Picoult, Anne Tyler and Anita Shreve. I don’t read much from any of those authors, so I tend to confuse them. I think I enjoy Quindlen more than the rest, but I’ve only read a few things by her. 



This book made me feel so grateful for the men in my life. My husband, father, brother, etc. are all wonderful men and I have never ever had to live with the fear of being hit. I think it’s easy for people who have never been abused, like me, to wonder why the women stay or go back to the men. This book helped give me a better understanding of their point-of-view and how hopeless those situations can feel. Quindlen did a great job portraying this without painting Fran as only a victim. 



I won’t give anything away about the ending, except to say it really surprised me. I was expecting something much more predictable and instead I think it was much more realistic.

Pair with a viewing of Enough and Sleeping with the Enemy