1. What is the book? 
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What is the book? Ring Shout Who wrote it? P. Djèlí Clark What is it about? This imaginative fable centers on three friends who are intent on eradicating evil in early 20th century Georgia. It weaves magical realism through a historically fraught time and place for Black people in order to accentuate real perils those communities survived. Why did I read it? I picked it up because the title evinces a spiritual, celebratory clarion that champions revival, as the upraised hands on the cover image echoes. However, the rest of the cover menaces with the haunting hood of a Ku Klux Klan member adorned by two open mouths for eyes, signifying danger for the congregation. The story also captures for me the importance of oral histories and the preservation of culture by those who create and experience it. The smattering of notes throughout that frame the sacred place the Shout holds to its members also provides context in a memorable way. What do I think? Ring Shout combines history with myth, placing real dangers in the realm of fantasy. While Clark does this, he also reestablishes appropriated and racist caricatures back in the context of Black and mestiza/o folklore (bruh fox and bruh bear). He also highlights the racial malice of the film The Birth of a Nation and the confederate monument in Georgia, Stone Mountain, using them as beacons to foment racist ideologies that helped motivate the Great Migration. The main characters, Sadie, Chef, and Maryse, each exhibit personality traits that endear them to the reader and to each other as well. They share a bond as vigilant warriors against an otherworldly evil and their differences are what make their connection stronger than blood. Maryse is the leader of the three, as her history and earlier loss at the hands of the enemies fortifies her resolve and her use of a magical blade against those enemies. I am reminded of Toni Morrison’s oeuvre and the Black Panther films because this story and those share the theme that ancestors provide lessons, motivation, and hope to present-day heroes. Overall, this short work is memorable for both its shout-out to the history of Black culture and for its ringing knell that historical enemies resurface if given the opportunity. You can place a hold on your copy of the book by clicking on the cover below:  1. What is the book? Siren Queen 2. Who wrote it? Nghi Vo 3. What is it about? Siren Queen tells the story of a fictitious star of the silver screen, Luli Wei, and the sacrifices she makes in her determination to make a name for herself outside the confines of racial and gendered tropes that were the studios’ bread and butter. It lifts the curtain on the entertainment industry in a creative way, blurring the lines between reality and make-believe in the process, and it reads like a historical novel of early to mid-twentieth century Hollywood, a modern fable seasoned liberally with magical realism. 4. Why did I read it? I picked up Vo’s book because I wanted to try something new. I’ve read fantasies and I’ve read historical fiction, but the blending of the two genres is something I haven’t experienced before. 5. What do I think? The most fascinating aspect of Siren Queen is that, as the layers of veneer and polish that create Tinsel Town’s luster and allure are peeled back to reveal the sinister dangers that propel its success, the mythical creatures posing as producers, directors, and actors help ground it in reality. It isn’t a far stretch to see a Harvey Weinstein inspiring Oberlin Wolfe, and the price for fame may not be one’s soul, but it does cost those who strive for it dearly. While it is the story of a fictitious movie star in the making, the novel does speak to the difficulties actors of color had in finding roles that were not one-dimensional or rife with offensive and oftentimes dehumanizing characteristics. In this way, it can be read as a companion piece to Charles Yu’s National Book Award-winning novel, Interior Chinatown. Vo also sheds light on similar issues women actors faced, and what sovereignty and self-preservation cost those who pursued it. In her mostly successful attempts at weaving reality into the fantastical there are times when Vo leans too heavily on rote characterizations of mythical tropes. Overall, Siren Queen offers a refreshing take from an insider’s perspective of the celluloid machine. You can place a hold on your copy of the book by clicking on the cover below:  1. What is the book?  1. What is the book? Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm 2. Who wrote it? Laura Warrell 3. What is it about? It is an evocation of the jazz that embodies one of the central characters, Circus Palmer, and many of the lives he touches. Like the music, it is at turns sultry, melodious, brash, and reverberating. 4. Why did I read it? As with many novels that capture my attention, the title drew me in first. It is from a quote by jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton, epigraphed at the beginning of Warrell’s book. Since jazz is the ebb, flow, and inspiration of the story, it recalled other authors who showcase its influence in their writing, like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. Of course, I cannot think of jazz in literature without thinking of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and so I imagined Circus as a contrast to that unnamed, young protagonist in Ellison’s novel. Where he is unseen raging against the machinations of a post-World War II society whose traces on that society are surreptitious, Circus, as an older Black man facing the harsh reality of fading talent and opportunity, leaves haphazard traces of himself on everyone who sees, hears, and touches him. Returning to the title, the novel’s sweetness is bittersweet; it is soft like a bruise; and its rhythm is as syncopated as a murmuring heartbeat. 5. What do I think? The most interesting part of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is the variety of perspectives from which the novel unfolds. Warrell places Circus front and center, like a jazz soloist who affects a bevy of women with his art, passions, fears, and outsized personality (his name is apt!), but the women and their voices are the rhythm section that set the tempo and provide context for the solo’s existence. The two recurring characters are Pia, Circus’ ex-wife, and his teenage daughter, Koko, and their cadence is a jazz suite on the page. Part of the charm of the book is that all of the characters are clearly flawed, which accentuates the beauty of their individual and collective struggles. Another character, Maggie, figures prominently in Circus’ thoughts, as she and their unborn child drive him to introspection, but her perspective is only seen in one chapter. There are some uncomfortable scenes in the book, particularly Circus’ painful, meandering, and philandering path to being a responsible and giving father to Koko, and I think Warrell overcompensates for this by presenting a tidily packaged ending, but it does read like the music that inspires it. Reserve your copy by clicking on the book cover image below:  1. What is the book? If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English 2. Who wrote it? Noor Naga 3. What is it about? It is about a couple in a caustic, toxic relationship in Cairo, several years after the Arab Spring, and the aftermath for both parties. 4. Why did I read it? Besides being drawn to the title, the structure of the novel got me to pick it up. It is divided into three parts. The first and second sections alternate viewpoints between the unnamed woman and man. In the first part, each perspective is prefaced with proverb-like questions. The climax occurs in the second segment, which is given context in part through footnotes. The final section, written as a play, somewhat deconstructs the rest of the text. 5. What do I think? If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English is more layered and complex than what I perceived at first glance. The short passages help to create a sense of the two characters fusing together occasionally. The woman is an Egyptian American living in Cairo, and Naga does a good job of articulating her thoughts as a cultural outsider with blood ties to the region. The novel is also uncomfortable at times, with glimpses into the man’s psychotic, misogynistic thoughts and actions. It also offers insights into his struggles with drug addiction and poverty in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. It is thought-provoking and, in my opinion, a worthwhile read! Interested? Reserve your copy by clicking on the book cover image below:  |
AuthorHello! My name is Tom, and I am a librarian here at the Niagara Falls Public Library. Welcome to a recurring blog post that comes out the 5th of every month, where I answer five questions about a book in our collection. Archives
May 2023
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