Self-portrait in black and white: unlearning race, by Thomas Chatterton Williams

 

This book opens with the author describing the drive to the hospital in France where his white French wife gave birth to their first child, a daughter with blond hair. Thomas Chatterton Williams is himself the child of an interracial couple; his mother is white and his father is Black. With a fairly light complexion, Williams is often mistaken in France as being of Arab descent, but has strongly held on to his identity of a Black man for his whole life. Giving birth to what appear to be white children and his experiences living in France have changed his perceptions about the meaning or even validity of the concept of race. This book is a thoughtful exploration of both his experiences and the development of his new mindset that race is a false construction and that only if we leave it behind will we be able to move beyond and transcend the racism that permeates our reality.

The daughters of Cain, by Colin Dexter

 

In the 11th Inspector Morse mystery, an Oxford don has been stabbed to death and Inspector Morse has been brought in to work on the case after the original detective had to step away for personal reasons. As usual, Morse quickly identifies his favorite culprit, but when that person also turns up dead, Morse has to unravel the complicated chain of events and find the killer's own killers. Morse is beginning to think about retirement and struggling with health issues that hamper his physical abilities but not his mental acuity.

Fresh water for flowers, by Valerie Perrin

 

I enjoyed this novel about a woman (Violette) who was orphaned as a child and lived with a series of foster parents. At 17, she's working as a bartender and meets a man 10 years older with whom she falls in love. Philippe invites her to move in with him and in a short period of time she's pregnant. Philippe's parents don't approve, but they marry and take work as level-crossing keepers in a small town. The story is told in a non-chronological fashion, with the older Violette living alone as a caretaker in a cemetery. Her life is rich with friends, pets, and her garden, but it's a solitary existence that is interrupted when Julien Seul shows up to arrange to leave his mother's remains in the cemetery. As their friendship develops, she looks back into the past and we learn of everything that transpired to bring her to this point. There's love, loss, tragedy, betrayal, and much more, including a mystery that is only revealed at the end. It's a long book, and it could have been improved by leaving out a second narrative about Julien's mother and her lover Gabriel. This story doesn't add anything and only serves to stretch the book out to an excessive length. I feel like the translation was a little awkward as well, with many choices of words and phrases that don't ring true. Otherwise, it's a satisfying story.

Rental person who does nothing: a memoir, by Shoji Morimoto

 

When author Shoji Morimoto decided to change careers, he struggled to find the perfect fit. After leaving an unsatisfying career in a company where he didn’t feel comfortable and his boss derided both his efforts and his personality, he tried freelance writing and blogging, but he became bored and lost interest. Inspired by a blog post by Japanese therapist Jinnosuke Kukoroya arguing that people have value even if they do nothing, he developed a service in which he fulfills requests from strangers to just “be there” for them when they need it. Asking only for transport and meal costs (if applicable), Morimoto performs any number of acts as long as he doesn’t have to actually do anything or provide more than a simple response. Examples of tasks he has taken on include sitting and watching while someone works, attending events, seeing someone off at the airport and waving goodbye, and sitting in the park and having a drink. He shares his experiences by tweeting to his many followers. In this memoir, Morimoto writes about his experiences and speculates about what they mean to the people who request help from him. This is a fascinating and oddly endearing memoir.

A version of this review has been previously published by Library Journal here. 

Lessons in chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus

 

I really enjoyed this novel about a 1950s woman chemist who struggled against misogyny and bigotry in her education and career. She is a feminist well ahead of her time, and when she meets her soul mate she refuses to get married. I don't want to give anything away, but she ends up as a single mom who takes an alternative but highly successful career as a television chef who teaches cooking through the science of chemistry. This book has a lot of wit and charm, with a precocious child and a highly intelligent dog.

Some people need killing: a memoir of murder in my country, by Patricia Evangelista

 

Reporter and filmmaker Patricia Evangelista provides an upfront view of the war on drugs brought by former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte during his time in office as President as well as Mayor of Davao City in the decades prior to his presidency. Duterte was known for his volatile behavior and inflammatory rhetoric long before his election as President in 2016. His promises to kill drug dealers and addicts were not taken literally during his campaign, but extrajudicial killings of people involved with illegal drugs began on the first day of his presidency. Through her in-depth reporting, Evangelista shows us how Duterte’s orders to kill thousands of drug dealers and addicts were carried out by both police and vigilante groups. Evangelista worked the overnight shift, risking her own safety, going from the site of one killing to another to document the deaths and photograph the bodies. She explores the impact of the killings on the families left behind revealing the tragedy of so many unnecessary deaths. While Duterte denies knowledge of the extrajudicial killings, Evangelista’s deeply researched reporting and use of Duterte’s own statements show that he supported and encouraged them. This is an important record of the Filipino war on drugs. 

A version of this review was previously published in Library Journal here.

Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

 

I really enjoyed this book by Geraldine Brooks. She uses a style that was successful in People of the Book, writing from several viewpoints across centuries to slowly reveal and solve a historical mystery. She ties together an enslaved horse trainer, a famous 19th century racehorse, a painter known for his paintings of famous horses, several paintings of the racehorse (including some that have been missing), and a modern couple made up of a writer and art history graduate student and a biologist who specializes in anatomy. While I appreciated the author's attempts to not only tell the historical tale of what happened to the horse, the trainer, the paintings, etc., she weaves into the story some heavy-handed nods to social justice issues. These were clumsy at best, and didn't really add to the novel.

Rotten evidence: reading and writing in an Egyptian prison, by Ahmed Naji

 

In this engrossing memoir, Egyptian journalist Ahmed Naji shares his nearly year-long experience in prison after his conviction for violating public decency through his novel Using Love. Housed with other non-violent offenders, conditions were nevertheless harsh and difficult. Naji tells his story in a non-chronological fashion, with his time in prison intermingling with tales from his childhood, early career, and time in court during his trial and appeals. While in prison, Naji passes the time primarily by reading. He has access to the prison library, but he is also allowed to receive books from visitors, although the prison authorities use their power to dole them out to him slowly. Through reading, Naji was able to sustain himself during his time in prison, devouring not only classic Egyptian authors like Naguib Mahfouz, but also a variety of classics of Western literature. During his time in prison, Naji comes to see himself as a writer, not just a journalist. Rotten Evidence gives the reader an understanding of the precariousness of the Egyptian justice system and the risks taken by anyone who might challenge it, even inadvertently. This is a well-written and thoroughly absorbing memoir. 

A version of this review was previously published by Library Journal here.