I finally finished my audiobook. I am so happy to be able to put that one down as read. I enjoyed every word of it, but it took me so long to finish it that I cannot help but feel it was becoming a bit of an albatross. That I finished the other novels this week is a surprise given Connor was home and Holly had another dance competition this weekend, but I’ll take it!
FINISHED SINCE THE LAST UPDATE:
Shea Ernshaw’s novel not only put the most recent books I have read to shame, it smashed them to bits. This creepy story about 200-year-old vengeful ghosts made me drop all plans I had for the evening as I literally read this until I was done. Powerful, poignant, romantic, and lovely, it makes me hope my next few reads will be just as amazing.
I finished my audiobook! It only took me three months to do so, but who is counting? Honestly, I loved every minute I listened to Ms. Isenberg’s insightful research into our class society. She not only got me thinking about my own prejudices in this area, but she raised some great points about our so-called democracy and its founding. Her research is so thorough and she makes her points so well that I can easily see this book become supplementary reading in any U.S. history class. Her findings also help explain how a certain someone was elected and remains popular in spite of his well-publicized failings as a human being. It may have taken me forever to finish it, but I learned so much from every chapter. (Is anyone as devastated as I was about her information about Alex Haley, or am I the only person alive who did not already know that bombshell?) I have already all but begged Jim to listen to it on his commute so that we can discuss what she has to say about the poor throughout history. I highly recommend this to everyone.
Sarah Henstra’s novel is rough. I think I read it in a fog because if I read it too closely I would not be able to finish it. A timely and erudite, if not at times pretentious, look at rape culture on college campuses, Ms. Henstra spares absolutely nothing in showing, well, anything. Her story is brutal, honest, and hyper-aware. There are going to be many people who are not going to be able to read it, not just because of the sexual violence she depicts but also because rape is the proverbial elephant in the room. When the girls are not talking about it, they are thinking about it. Every interaction between one of the girls and any boy comes with a tinge of fear at the possibility that violence and particularly violent, non-consensual sex could ensue. While it is an important novel for the #metoo movement, it may be a little too tough to read for it to gain in popularity.
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So did Isenberg research Alex Haley’s roots and find they weren’t what he said? Or what? I might be behind on this news as well. Congrats on finishing White Trash, an epic no doubt. It seems like a lot of important info in it.
Actually, Isenberg was not the first one to debunk Alex Haley’s claims regarding his lineage. Not only did he plagiarize many passages – with a hefty settlement – many historians have proven that his claims that Kunte Kinte is his descendant is false. Roots is a work of fiction and nothing more.
White Trash was a fascinating book. It is not an epic by any means. I just can’t find time or am not making time to listen to audiobooks like I once did, so it took me forever to finish it. Isenberg definitely sheds some light on our past and present situations and makes you think again about using the term “redneck.”