The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, 2006
The Man Booker Prize winner, I purchased The Inheritance of Loss at a newly opened woman-owned bookstore featuring works by female immigrants.
Hauntingly written, the book is about Sai, a young girl who grew up in a nunnery for orphans and sent to live with her grandfather Judge Jemubhai Patel after her parents perish in a car accident in Russia and are no longer able to pay for her keep.
Her grandfather is a former judge who lives in an isolated hillside in Darjeeling along with his cook. The cook is resigned to his life of servitude but proud and hopeful for his son Biju, who has managed to emigrate to American, working illegally in kitchens in New York City.
Sai is tutored by a neighbor Noni, sister to Lola, residents of Mon Ami, and Gyan, who becomes swept up in the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) movement.
Tragedy and sorrow are prevalent for all the characters. We learn about the Judge's difficult childhood and his cruelty towards his wife and loyal chef. Insecure and bitter, the Judge only manages to show love and affection for his dog Mutt.
Sai remains carefree despite loneliness filling her life and dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend Gyan. Gyan is torn between the hopes his impoverished family has put onto his shoulders and his friends pushing for violence and rebellion.
Biju lives the loneliest life in New York City, where everything is foreign. He can barely support himself yet receives constant requests for his father to help with others from the village who manage to emigrate to New York.
He meets other immigrants, including the Muslim Saeed Saeed, and realizes he does not hate the man as he has been taught to do. Biju has the most heart-breaking story as he becomes concerned about his father and decides to escape the grind of poverty and being an illegal immigrant in New York City by returning to India.
There is also much humor, like Noni's contempt for Mrs. Sen, whose daughter resides in the US, vs London, where Noni's daughter resides.
The writing is beautiful. Like so many Indian authors, the language, emotions and descriptions are transcendent
Caucasia by Danzy Senna, 1977
Sisters Birdie and Cole Lee are close, sharing the secret language Elemeno (named after the girls' favorite letters) that they whisper to each other in the bed they share while listening to their parents fight.
Cole has her father's darker skin and curly hair while Birdie has her mom's pale skin and straight hair. The appearances are significant as girls are enrolled in school after years of home teaching.
There is forced desegregation in Roxbury and Boston, but the protests are violent and the schools remain segregated. The girls attend the predominately black school Nkrumah where Cole is quickly accepted while Birdie is seen as an outsider.
The parents argue over their philosophy and approaches to racism. Sandy is more militant, hosting activists in their home while Deck is more cerebral and does not believe in aggressive tactics.
Sandy eventually needs to flee from the police due to her activism and she and Deck decide that Birdie will go with her while Cole goes with Deck and his new Brazilian girlfriend Carmen to Brazil.
The next few years follow Birdie as she and her mother flee from place to place, using false identities. Birdie becomes Jesse Goldman, not only white but also Jewish.
The pair eventually settle in New Hampshire as Jesse enters high school and deals with the challenges of her true identity, surrounded by the casual racism in the white New Hampshire town she is now in.
Beautifully written and capturing the environment of Boston and New Hampshire during the 80s. Caucasia is an incredible coming of age story that explores Birdie's struggle with her identity and relationship with her mom.
The Snap by Elizabeth Staple, 2024
Staple worked in media relations for teams including the New York Giants and my home team, the New England Patriots.
The story is very readable (i.e. a plot that moves things along) and provides insight into working for a football organization. The protagonist is Poppy Benjamin, who starts off as an intern in the male-dominated and testosterone-fueled environment of the NFL.
Poppy is part of WAGS (Women Against Groping Sh*theads), a group of high powered women in sports. The group is a safe place to vent and commiserate with other women in a male dominated field, where women are advised not to wear 'fitted' clothing and are treated as objects to be dominated.
The legendary coach Red Guillory of the Syracuse Bobcats NFL team has died, and the police start a murder investigation. At the same time, the WAGS receive mysterious threatening notes.
The novel moves back and forth between present day, where Poppy is the Director of Media Relations and part of the team leadership support General Manager Asbel, and fifteen years ago, when Poppy was an intern.
As an intern, Poppy was harassed by the men in the office - hip-checking here in the hallway, making inappropriate comments. She befriends the other young people in the office: James, Abby and Mo.
The commentary of going out and drinking after a stressful week and the dynamics between young co-workers reminds me of my experiences and the feeling one has when they are first out of college and made me smile.
There are many characters in the novel (in addition to the WAGS, there is the cocky quarterback, star running back whom Poppy befriends, reporters whom she works with, her parents and two brothers, etc.) as well as story lines that are there to build tension, but become distracting and superflous.
Overall, there was more of a plot than I thought and the twists were unexpected. There is also great honesty in the story, about how assault is treated fifteen years ago and how much really has changed. The decisions that Poppy have made are not black and white and although she is where she wants to be, there are many things she also questions in her life.
Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox, 2011
I have read many biographies about Henry VIII's six wives and am familiar with Katharine of Aragon, but reading about her in the context as Queen Isabella's daughter bought a new perspective and understanding of Katharine.
Known as Juana La Loca, I was not familiar with this Spanish Queen. Married to Philip the Handsome of Burgundy, Juana was in an abusive relationship where she was undermined and plotted against.
Her husband isolated her and spread the rumors of her madness, something her father Ferdinand continued to do so after Philip's death so that he could rule Spain.
Even more so than today, a responsibility of a royal couple was to produce children to ensure the peaceful continuation of ruling a nation. Katharine and Henry had a daughter Mary, but were unable to produce a much-desired son; leaving the opening for Henry to pursue his infamous affair with Anne Boleyn.
Juana and Philip did produce many healthy heirs: two sons and four daughters. Her oldest son Charles would become the Holy Roman Emperor while her grandson would marry Mary, Katherine's daughter.
The contrasting sisters provides insight on leadership. Katharine was firm and stood up for her birthright to rule while Juana did not fight for her chance. When the Communeros of Spain rebelled and offered Juana a chance to rule Spain over her son Charles, she dodged the opportunity, buying time for Charles's troops to come quell the rebellion.
Many reports indicate that Juana was not mad as her husband and father wanted others to believe. Perhaps the years of being isolated and manipulated broke her will to rule. Katherine experienced a loving relationship and had a chance to grow into a leader before Henry cast her away.
This provided the foundation for Katharine to fight back against injustices, while Juana suffered them locked away in Tordesillas.
Leadership does not just take the skills to do so, but also the will and fortitude, where will and fortitude are the more important factors.
