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The Help

In light of the Oscar ceremony, and the win by Octavia Spencer for her role as Minny in The Help, I wanted to talk about the book that inspired the movie. The Help is the first book written by Kathryn Stockett, and what a first novel it is. The book takes place in Mississippi during the start of the Civil Rights area, when white women regularly hired black women as maids. Even though it does focus on Mississippi, the novel's theme could really include any city in the South, including Atlanta.

The story focuses on a woman named Skeeter, who comes from impeccable Southern breeding. Her family owns a large house, formerly a plantation home though it's now simply referred to as a farm. Skeeter is a bored young woman who wants to be a writer, but doesn't know what to write about. Then she meets Abilene, who works as a maid for her friend and the idea forms in her head to write a novel from the point of view of the maids. At first Abilene is hesitant to help her, because if anyone figures out that Abilene had any part in the book, the repercussions would be severe. Eventually Abilene does decide to help, even enlisting other maids, such as her best friend Minny, to supply additional stories to Skeeter. They find out, however, that writing the book was the easy part once Skeeter's old friend Hetty starts snooping around.

It's an admirable book because it focuses on a subject that is often glossed over. Many Southern novels written during this time period, such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Summer of my German Soldier make mention of white families have black maids, but they don't examine the issue. It's often just accepted as one of the many racist examples of the South under the Jim Crow laws, when black people lived separate, but definitely not equal lives. The novel is full of strong women, including Minny. Minny was formerly the maid of one of the most powerful women in the county. When the woman dismissed Minny for frivolous reasons, in a scene eerily reminiscent of how masters once had complete control over the lives of their slaves, Minny decided she wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. Her retribution on Hetty alone is reason enough to read this novel.

A Dance With Dragons

A long slog through fantasy-land

I first read George R.R. Martin's epic series, A Song of Ice and Fire years ago, when there were only 3 books. The series has come a long way since then, for better and worse. Now there are 5 books, with A Dance with Dragons being the most recent, as well as numerous spin-offs including the popular HBO series A Game of Thrones. This is the best fantasy series to come along in a long time, ranking right up there with The Lord of the Rings. And yet, as hard as it is for me to admit, the series is developing several pitfalls the further it progresses, making it difficult to believe it will ever be finished.

If you've made to a A Dance With Dragons, then you know the setup by now. Several kings and queens are vying for control of the Iron Throne, but there are dragons in the east and zombies in the north that can destroy even the best laid plans. This volume continues the series, and Martin's excellent writing shines again, making it possible to care for even previously despicable characters like Theon.

But something has to give, and I think the problem is too much of a good thing. Mr. Martin's writing style is head and shoulders above most fantasy authors, but I've found both this book and the previous volume, A Feast for Crows, to be desperately in need of editing. I could have done without the Brienne chapters in Feast, and almost all of the new POV chapters in Dance. They don't advance the story at all, and so by the end of the novel one comes to the realization that, other than the fact that one of the main characters might be dead, nothing much has happened at all.

Is the magic of the novels still there? Yes, of course. I always recommend these books to my friends, even the ones who don't typically enjoy fantasy because there are so many other elements to these stories that, like all other great books, they are not easy to confine to a single genre. However, I am well aware that if the next book in the series takes as long to publish as A Dance With Dragons did, then this series is in real danger of “pulling a Jordan” and may be destined to remain unfinished. And that saddens me.

In the company of men now dust

A short review of William Faulkner's "Flags in the Dust

You can't talk about Georgia writers without discussing Southern literature, and you cannot talk about Southern Literature with mentioning William Faulkner. In Faulkner's novels the southern landscape is laid bare for all to see – the good, the bad and the ugly, the very, very ugly. His writing deals with themes such as the Civil War, Reconstruction and the changing of the South from an agricultural land to an industrialized one.

“Flags in the Dust” was Faulkner's third novel, but only a highly edited version of the text, called “Sartoris”, was published while he was alive. “Flags in the Dust” itself was not published until 1973, after Faulkner's death. While it is not as famous as some of his other works, it is one of my favorite Faulkner novels and provides a good introduction to many of the characters who appear in other Yoknapatawpha County books. The reader meets the legendary Colonel Sartoris himself, who served as a cavalry officer during the Civil War and was never quite comfortable in his own skin afterward. We also meet his descendents, the brothers Bayard and John Sartoris, both reckless young men who serve as pilots during World War I. Due to Faulkner's unique writing style, readers are drawn to the hopeless brothers, as is the character of Narcissa Benbow who marries Bayard Sartoris against her better judgment.

Faulkner writes using the stream of consciousness narrative method, which means long sentences that ebb and flow with the thoughts of the character. To those who have never read Faulkner before, his writing method can be somewhat intimidating, and this may be one of the reasons why his work is hardly taught in American public schools. Personally, I think reading a Faulkner novel is like reading a piece of poetry and that the meanderings of his characters only make them seem more alive.

Overall, “Flags in the Dust” is a good starting point for those looking to delve into the world of William Faulkner. The tone of the novel also sets the stage for many events in his later novels, where the gradual decline of the Sartoris family mimics the overall decline of many of the old Southern families who are lost in a world without a place for all the Colonel Sartorises anymore.

Moonbeams, Dumplings, & Dragon Boats

Celebrating Chinese traditions with recipes, activites, stories, and more

Every year I search for the perfect books to use when celebrating the Chinese New Year with my daughter. I should just buy some, of course, but it’s always around the time of year when there’s not much money for extras, so we usually just use the library. This year, in addition to our usual picture books, I was able to get a copy of a wonderful book called Moonbeams, Dumplings, & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities, & Recipes.

Written by Nina Simonds and Leslie Schwartz, the book is an absolutely gorgeous introduction to Chinese holidays and customs. It doesn’t look like as much from the outside (though the illustrations by Meilo So are just lovely), at only 90 pages, but it’s one of those books that is brimmed with folklore, stories, recipes, crafts, and just about everything you need to begin celebrating Chinese holidays.

The thing that I didn’t really realize was that most Chinese holidays vary throughout the country by region. This doesn’t occur to me about Western holidays, either; where in America, for example, do they celebrate, say, Easter without eggs? I am positive that I am ignorant in this respect and that many different locales have their own customs and traditions—just as they do in China. The authors make this clear in their book, so you know that whatever activity you choose to celebrate may not be practiced everywhere in China.

Five holidays are celebrated in the book altogether: the Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival, Qing Ming, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The stories are so vibrant and engaging; I didn’t even expect them to be in the book. Crafts for dragon boats, New Year prints, and so many other cool projects are explained as well.

The crafts are simple enough to make (though the book is recommended for ages nine and up), and the recipes, though delicious, do look a little challenging as far as locating ingredients. The back of the book does feature many resources to use in searching for the ingredients, however, so if you use the book with advance timing and planning, you could probably manage making most of the foods in it. Food such as peanut sauce, dumplings, and many other traditional favorites are included.

I am very reluctant to give this book back to the library! It’s definitely one that we will be adding to our collection soon.

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