2014-02 – The Hungry Tide, by Amitav Ghosh

2 – The Hungry Tide, by Amitav Ghosh
WHY I PICKED IT: I have enjoyed lots of Ghosh’s other work
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING: Good

Piya is an Indo-American marine biologist who is studying the Orcaella (an endangered river dolphin) in the Bay of Bengal.  Fokir is a local fisherman who she hires as his guide (despite not speaking any language in common.  Kanai is an Indian businessman, returning to a place he had visited as a child at the behest of his Aunt, to read a notebook left to him by his long deceased Uncle.  

 The story switches between the present day, where Piya is seeking to understand an unusual daily migratory pattern, while navigating an unfamiliar physical and social environment, and the 70s, through a tale told in the notebook, of Bengali refugees settling and forcibly removed from the Morichjhanpi Island.  That tale is a comparatively minor part of the story, but plays a key role in describing several characters’ backstory, and educating the reader on a forgotten piece of history.

As an early work of Ghosh, you can see that he is honing what has become his style – multiple, intertwined, characters and stories and a lot of forgotten history – but it is nowhere near as polished as his more recent work.

2014-01 - Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter, by Alison Wearing

1 - Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter, by Alison Wearing
WHY I PICKED IT: I loved her last book, and one of her one-woman plays.
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Week
RATING: Very Good

Wearing's new book is a biography of her father.  Growing up with a pianist mother, a political science professor father, and two brothers in Peterborough, Ontario, was fairly normal... until her father realized that he is gay.  The first two thirds of the book is her own experience.  The next quarter is excerpts from her father's diaries and newspaper articles that he had cut out.  Near the end, she shares her mother's perspective.

She describes the challenges and the mistakes... but also the warmness that comes with living your life genuinely and true to ones-self.  I will continue to seek out, and read, everything by Alison Wearing.

Hassan's Book of 2013

As with the end of every year, I look back on the books that I have read.  This year, I read 51 books.  Of which, I gave 13 a “Very Good,” rating and 8 books that I would recommend as REQUIRED READING:

• 05 - Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
• 20 - The Submission, by Amy Waldman
• 22 - The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• 27 - Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• 32 - Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh
• 42 - Chasing Chaos, by Jessica Alexander
• 50 - The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden
• 51 - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa

Having lived with these characters now, I would downgrade The Submission and The Orenda to very good (both are very good, but not quite required reading).

• Cutting for Stone is the story of (bastard) twins raised in Ethiopia, adopted, and their lives.  They are warm characters who engage with the world in an interesting way.
• The Rosie Project is told from the perspective of a professor who has Asperger’s Syndrome.  It’s a quick read, and really warm and sweet.
• Americanah is written by my favourite author.  The story of a Nigerian woman who struggles in straddling Nigeria and America.  Ultimately, it’s a love story.
• Sea of Poppies stands out as the second best book of 2013.  Telling the story of the opium industry in India.
• Chasing Chaos is the autobiography of a humanitarian relief worker.
• Mornings in Jenin is by far my favourite book of the year.  The heart wrenching story of Amal, a woman born in the shadow of Israel, in a refugee camp called Jenin.

The Hassan Book of 2013 is Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa.

A LOOK BACK

• Hassan’s Book of 2012 was City of Thieves, by David Benioff
• Hassan’s Book of 2011 was True Notebooks, by Mark Salzman
• Hassan’s Book of 2010 was Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden
• Hassan’s Book of 2009 was The Help, by Kathryn Sockett*
• Hassan’s Book of 2008 (and of the decade) was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

* In retrospect, I sincerely regret selecting a book that is unintentionally racist.  That attempts to write a history of a people from an outsider’s perspective.

2013 - 51 - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa

51 - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa
WHY I PICKED IT: I enjoyed an OpEd by her on Al Jazeera's website, and wanted to read more
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING:REQUIRED READING

This book may be one of my favourite all time stories.  I have to wait a few days (or years) to see how the story sticks with me, but my gut perspective is that this story is simply brilliant.

In 1955, Amal is born in Jenin, a refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine.  This is her story. Starting with her grandparents and parents and the movement of Jewish people into the region.  The creation of Israel and the Naqba.  Her own birth experiences of growing up in a refugee camp in the shadow of Israel, including the Six Day War in 1967, through to her adult life in the USA, Lebanon, and the impact those experiences had on her as a parent, and a human.

The story and characters draw you in, but the depths of emotion make this a difficult (although brilliant) read.  This is explained well when Amal's sister-in-law explains: "Consider fear.  For us, fear comes where terror comes to others because we are anesthetized to the guns constantly pointed at us.  And the terror we have known is something few Westerners ever will."

Abulhawa writes in her acknowledgements that one driver for her was Dr. Edward Said, who lamented that the Palestinian narrative was lacking in literature. This, beautifully written story, makes great strides in filling that gap.  It gives voice to the experience of millions.

2013-50 - The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden

50 - The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden
WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Joseph Boyden
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING:REQUIRED READING

I believe history is best written by the people it represents.  More so in fiction where these is a tendency to paint with a broad brush people who are not "your own."  Joseph Boyden, whose background includes First Nations and an education at a Jesuit school writes both sides very well, with characters who are complex and nuanced.

The Orenda is the story of 3 people - Snow Fields is an Iroquois girl whose family is killed and who is adopted by Bird, the Huron leader who is responsible for their death.  Bird is a great warrior who is trying to build his people up through trade with the French.  Finally, Christophe is a Jesuit missionary who lives with the Huron people dedicated to learning their language and culture so that he may save their souls.  I particularly enjoyed the recognition by Christophe that the treatment of prisoners, although barbaric, was no more so than by the Inquisition or than during the Crusades.

Through trading summers and hibernating winters, through weddings and births, skirmishes and wars, you live with these three, experiencing the massive changes that are impacting their world.

2013-49 - People Around Here, by Dave Lapp

49 - People Around Here, by Dave Lapp
WHY I PICKED IT: Bought it at the Word on the Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Week
RATING: Meh

This book is a series of comic strips showing snippets of conversation that Dave has overheard around Toronto.  Interesting at first, it evolves into conversations that Dave has participated in around Toronto... and that is where I lost my interest.  Dave's life was simply not that interesting to me.

2013-48 - Band Aid for a Broken Leg, by Damien Brown

48 - Band Aid for a Broken Leg, by Damien Brown
WHY I PICKED IT: It's about an MSF Doc
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Very Good

Damien Brown is an Aussie doc who decides to volunteer for a year.  Starts in Thailand, and then joins MSF and goes to Angola.  The year up, he returns to his Western Hospital for (I'm guessing is) less than a year, before returning to the field: Mozambique, Somalia, and Sudan.  This is the story of the tremendous highs, the low lows, and the challenges that I see many of my friends experiencing.

It's well written - bringing the reader up to date on the context, without taking away from the experience.
- I loved how the Angolan Staff would sleep through their monthly reports, but listen intently, take notes and ask questions about MSF missions elsewhere, with compassion and engagement.
- I really appreciated how Damien wished that he could have stronger relationships with his National Staff, but recognized that the wealth and power imbalance would always make him an outsider.
- I appreciated how he asks tough questions about the value of Humanitarian Relief efforts, but gives credit to MSF for asking the same questions.

 I would recommend this book to anybody considering joining MSF as a field worker.  The stresses and experiences are well articulated and insightful.