I’ve started and stopped a few books this summer, but these are the two that kept my attention until the end!
Title: Kala
Author: Colin Walsh
Where I Picked It Up: Little Free Library
Kala takes places in Ireland it follows the story of a group of deeply connected teenagers, that eventually go their separate ways after a tragedy occurs within their group. The first time picking up this book I could NOT get into it. I couldn’t pronounce many of the Irish names, the colloquial slang was hard for me to understand (even with the context), and some other factors made this read a bit more of a brain exercise for me. Difficulty imagining the accents, setting, and other factors caused me to put it down momentarily to collect dust with my other books.
Although the second time that I picked up the book? I finished it in three days, genuinely couldn’t put it down.
The chapters are written from the perspective of three different characters, and constantly goes back and forth between their past memories, and the current day as the mystery unravels in real time. So there would be cliff hangers and revelations happening from one characters chapter that you couldn’t get answers to until after you caught up with the other characters first.
You can’t help but become very attached to the characters in this book. After finishing Kala I just wanted to hear more about their adventures, and be reminded of what it’s like to be a teen when the whole world revolves around you and your best friends.
SPOILERS
I had a lot of lingering questions to the plot holes though:
-Did Helen ever admit to her dad that she caught him at the Lyon’s property, and what was his involvement?
-More info in general about Kayla’s mom, but it also seemed like the Mammy continued to live with Mick Lyon after she realized he *assaulted* and impregnated their daughter.
-It would be interesting to see Joe’s character arc after this because throughout the novel he’s so insufferable. I want to see how he’ll redefine himself and his inner motivators after learning that his whole background was a bit of a mirage.
I’ve been wanting to read work from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for so long and I finally got around to finishing a novel of hers.
Title: Half of Yellow Sun
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Where I Picked It Up: Public Library
This book tells the story of Biafra’s passionate fight to become an independent state from Nigeria in the 1960s, through the perspectives of different classes of people in the country. Olanna and Kainene are twin sisters born to a wealthy businessman, Ugwu is a houseboy for university professor Odenigbo, Olanna’s husband, that he is so eager to learn from. Richard is a white journalist from England, in Nigeria with the goal of writing a book and studying Igbo culture. These characters are different races, genders, and classes in Nigerian society but are impacted by unspeakable changes made to their lives by war.
Adichie is able to beautifully give the testimonies of characters from all walks of Nigerian life with their complicated relationships, their tribal customs, their sense of humor and spiritual beliefs that carry them through war, and quirks. She has a great way of making you invested in the choices of each character and their development. Each character is constantly fighting to see one another as human, lovable, and worthy of forgiveness during a time when you can’t afford to cut people out your life, because its already happening rapidly against will. Of all the betrayals, Ugwu’s was one undoubtedly the most excruciating as a reader. He went from a wide eyed young boy who’s story I yearned to watch evolve, to a monster that I had no care for. That specific scene after he joins the war, was gruesome and hard for me the pick the book back up after.
Throughout the book each of the characters do some treacherous things. Things that were brought on either by the extreme conditions of the war, or their personal shortcomings. But of the most irreparable damage was done by the British that antagonized tribal wars within Nigeria. The British government used military power, starvation tactics, and other brutalities to lead millions of people to an agonizing death. In this historical fiction novel, we see Nigerians with their brothers and sisters now skin and bones, eating rations of yam with drops of oil just to barely maintain. We see them bombed, assaulted, and ignored by the world.
The ending of the book broke me into pieces, specifically when Olanna said that she and Kainene will be sisters in the next life time. I re-read that line so many times. It just perfectly described the desperation and yearning to see her twin again, the anxiety, and the guilt she harbored for past wrong doing. I cried so bad at the end of this book!!
Fall is quickly approaching and I want to try out some spooky/thriller reads!
That will be apart of the next review.