More February Reading

 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

On every “must read” list of 20th century books, we find James Baldwin. Having listened to The Fire Next Time last summer, I was excited to dive into his fiction. Admittedly, the visuals of this book were difficult for me at first. Loooong paragraphs, lots of preaching, little dialogue. Admittedly, the religious aspect was challenging as the Pentecostal beliefs seemed based on fear, guilt, retribution, and punishment; as an avowed agnostic, thus pushed me, stretched my brain, angered me and forced me to see life through another lair of eyes. Just why we read, right?! I ate up the middle section of this book as it explored the main characters and how they came to be in this Chicago church and neighborhood. It connected so many dots of the other books I’ve read on the Black migration. Baldwin’s lyrical style delves deeply into each person and I found myself wanting to know more. Did I love this book? No. Did I appreciate the historical importance of Baldwin and his gorgeous writing voice? Absolutely. Will I read more of him? You bet.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Quirky, weird, totally outside the box - this National Book Award winner is all these things. And YES, I loved it! Our hero is Willis Wu, whose life is seen as a television sitcom; he plays Generic Asian Man, but dreams of being Kung Fu Guy. We see his parents and their immigrant dreams, his girlfriend and her ability to see more, and other Asian immigrants and children of immigrants and how this 'American Dream' is warped, bastardized, corrupted by racial prejudice and bias. Author Yu writes in screen plays, action shots, narrative, you name it. His dialogue made me laugh and cringe, all at the same time. In one word, this book is simply BRILLIANT.

How the One-Armed Sisters Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

Chosen by Good Morning, America for Black History month, the audio is this book is just spectacular. Set in Barbados, this book is part mystery, part social commentary, part family drama. It involves a young woman named Lala, her grandmother who raised her, Lala's abusive boyfriend, a past love, a vacationing family, and of course, a murder. It portrays the stain of colonialism, the insidiousness of domestic abuse, the tragedy of the health care system, and the attempt to escape the past as it draws us inexorably together. And the circular use of the one-armed sister is just, quite frankly, brilliant, as we all get pulled in to what we know is evil but we cannot look away, no matter the lessons we have been taught. Highly recommend listening to this one!

Bluebird, Bluebird (Highway 59, #1) by Attica Locke

You all know how I love a good mystery so my only question is...how the heck did I miss this series when it came out a couple years ago??? Set in Texas (and let's face it, Texas has a LOT of things to use for plot production - racism, arrogance, guns, you name it!), the main character is Darren Matthews and he is...complicated. A Black man raised by his two uncles, who dropped out of law school to become a Texas Ranger, who's in a tricky position at the beginning of the book and is then pulled into a murder investigation in East Texas. Whew, this book sucked me in quickly and never let me go, ordering the second book before I even finished this one.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orisha #2) by Tomi Adeyemi

Having loved the first in this series (Children of Blood and Bone), I am not sure why it took me so long to get to the second book. But this February was the perfect time to open it up, as I was determined to only read Bipoc writers all month. Once again, Adeyemi provided the perfect escapism as she creates a fantasy world part Black Panther, part Tolkien-esque, part Harry Potter-ish, and part African history, all pulled together with an incredible cast of strong, intelligent, courageous women in the lead roles. Looking for escape and inspiration in a story peopled with characters of color (rather than the all-white cast found in the vast majority of fantasy tales!),  I highly recommend this series.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

A debut collection of stories that will stunned me, lingered in my brain for days, and made me wish for her debut novel as soon as possible. Each story stands on its own, peeking behind the curtains of these women of the Black church: their love lives, their relationships with friends and families, their workplace frustrations, their homes, their homesickness, their grief, their confusions, their very souls. And oh my, the "Peach Cobbler" story still hasn't left my head. If you can, listen to this one as the narrator is amazing. Highly recommend this listen:)