Book Review: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Book #151 of 2020:

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

This 1848 novel is a neat early tale of women’s liberation, and one I was not expecting to have such sparklingly funny dialogue throughout. The comedy of manners doesn’t occlude the impact of the heroine leaving her abusive husband — although it makes it easy to sometimes forget that that’s the main thrust of the narrative — and overall author Anne Brontë balances the various tones of her text well. These characters can be a tad ridiculous, but the gravity of Helen’s situation is never treated as a joke.

The only real sore spot for me is when the narrator mistakes a friend’s intentions towards the titular tenant and proceeds to beat him bloody and leave him for dead on the side of the road, a fairly shocking act that is forgiven and forgotten far too quickly in my opinion. It fits with a general pattern of this protagonist leaping to all sorts of outrageous conclusions on the flimsiest evidence, and could have been a wake-up call for him to start improving on that front, but instead it’s just an odd impulse that never really gets examined.

Still, for a Victorian treatise on morality that draws back the veil on household turmoil and unequivocally takes the side of the alienated wife, it’s a pretty remarkable publication.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC: Navigating the Politics of Everyday Life by Paula C. Austin

Book #150 of 2020:

Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC: Navigating the Politics of Everyday Life by Paula C. Austin

Interesting but far too brief, with the whole first third of the text a dry academic overview of author Paula C. Austin’s archival source material. In the rest of the book, she brings the late 1930s to life and presents not merely the racist structures governing young African-Americans in the nation’s capital, but also how those youths understood and agentively constructed their own social realities. Drawing on sociological interviews of the time, Austin crafts an ethnography enlightened by the words of her (not-that-)long-ago subjects, and reminds us how a segregated underclass can still make active choices. I only wish there were more substance to the finished result.

[Content warning for discussion of rape.]

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Book #149 of 2020:

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

This 2020 YA novel has so much to say about contemporary racism and sexism (and their intersection, sometimes called misogynoir), and I could see it both validating the experiences of some readers and providing others a valuable window into their lives. From school microaggressions over haircare, to the outrageously deadly peril of a ‘routine’ traffic stop, to the #BlackLivesMatter rallies imploring the nation to “Say Her Name,” this story puts the concerns of its African-American teen heroines front and center and insists that we acknowledge their pain.

It’s also a book about a girl who’s a siren and her adopted sister who thinks she might be a mermaid, and I struggle to reconcile this heightened escapist aspect of the text with its harsh realities alluded to above. There’s a subtle point here that only sirens are viewed with fear whereas other magical people are celebrated, but the idea of a world so similar to ours yet openly populated with the supernatural isn’t delivered with enough conviction for me to ever wholly buy into it. I also feel like the rules behind the setting’s mythology need to be a lot clearer, in order for certain developments to land with their intended impact.

Still, the characters are fierce and fiercely loyal, and it’s easy to root for them even while not completely understanding the stakes (which I suppose is another lesson in and of itself). If an urban fantasy spin on The Hate U Give sounds up your alley, you may well enjoy this one more than I have.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Book #148 of 2020:

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan (Powder Mage #1)

The plot to this 2013 fantasy debut reminds me of the second Mistborn novel, from the challenges facing a force of rebels after they successfully overthrow their tyrant ruler and must figure out how to govern amid the dying warning of a greater danger, to the threat of a secret traitor (er… double traitor? reverse traitor?) hidden in their midst. Adding to the Brandon Sanderson resemblance, there are also multiple magic systems — including one that involves swallowing gunpowder to telekinetically control bullets — and some mythic god-beings returning to humanity after centuries away.

And it all works as an homage to that style, but the parts that showcase author Brian McClellan’s originality are somewhat disappointing. I want so much more for and from the women in this story, who are generally positioned as either beauties for men to ogle, children for men to protect, or villains for men to defeat, with little evidence of interiority or depth. At best, they sometimes move from one category to another, as when a protagonist’s mute ‘savage’ companion conveys to him that she is actually nineteen and not fifteen, and his appreciation immediately blooms into attraction.

Another hero is supposed to be a military genius, without whom we are told the tenuous new peace would swiftly fall apart. This man walks into an ambush on at least three separate occasions in this text, two of which even feature a subordinate directly raising the possibility beforehand and getting patronizingly rebuffed. That’s a poor piece of characterization in and of itself, but it becomes downright comical when you consider that that’s the male standard which the female roles are largely written to support.

I’ve debated between rating this book as two stars or three, and in the end I do think it’s strong enough to merit the higher score, despite the above issues. The worldbuilding is interesting, a few personal arcs have potential, and the sorcery action delivers some unexpected thrills. I don’t feel any strong need to continue on to the sequel, but I wouldn’t absolutely rule out picking it up at some point either, in the hope that McClellan has matured as a writer in the meantime.

[Content warning for death of a dog and mention of rape and sexual slavery.]

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★★★☆☆

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Book Review: How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

Book #147 of 2020:

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

Although it’s not necessarily my typical sort of read, I’ve found this novel about a pair of Chinese-American siblings amid the California Gold Rush to be utterly captivating. It’s a deeply personal and well-realized tale that somehow avoids the performative artificiality that marks much of the Western genre, and its distinctive focus on the first-generation prospecting experience and a gender-nonconforming child would make it worthwhile even without debut author C Pam Zhang’s flair for evocative figurative language.

This is a very literary project, with a nonlinear timeline and one section narrated by a dead man, a stylistic choice that may not be to everyone’s speed. We also only ever see Sam through Lucy’s eyes, which entails an awkward avoidance of pronouns and the occasional use of words like ‘sister’ even though Sam is quite clear that he’s a boy. I’ve still really enjoyed these characters — who are prepubescent for much of the narrative — but they are put through the wringer in any number of ways, as my content warnings below should highlight.

The book is a fairly recent new release, and I’d like to see some reviews from transgender readers dissecting that aspect of the text. But for now, on the strength of its reclaiming space in the American myth and its themes of the ache of cultural loss and the generational divide from immigrant parents, it gets my highest rating.

[Content warning for racism including slurs, sexism, transphobia, rape and forced prostitution, domestic abuse, descriptions of a rotting corpse, and eating disorders.]

★★★★★

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Book Review: A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab

Book #146 of 2020:

A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab (Shades of Magic #3)

This last volume has the most coherent plot stakes of the Shades of Magic trilogy, but it’s still a pretty rambling adventure that never seems to take full advantage of the cool multiverse setting. There’s also a lot of backstory that probably should have been introduced earlier in the series, and over a dozen viewpoint characters by the end — which is not always a narrative weakness, but does speak to the general aimlessness that I’ve found so frustrating in this novel and its predecessors. I like the interactions among the five main protagonists and the continuation of a central gay romance — and the fact that there’s finally no threats of sexual assault — yet this is ultimately one of those fantasy epics that reads like someone’s tabletop roleplaying campaign, and that’s not my favorite mode of storytelling.

This book: ★★★☆☆

Overall series: ★★★☆☆

Individual rankings: 3 > 1 > 2

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Book Review: Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Book #145 of 2020:

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Made of Night #1)

This debut novel from Nigerian-American author Tochi Onyebuchi has an interesting concept of an underclass of magical sin-eaters who assuage the consciences of their society’s wicked nobility, but the plot is pretty slow and I struggle to ever understand and properly connect with the aims of its protagonist. The idea that other people’s crimes are now weighing on his soul never seems to move beyond the abstract, even though that ever-ratcheting horror should theoretically drive a significant degree of drama as the story progresses.

I also feel like there’s a lot that’s still unclear at the end about the basic mechanics of this fantasy setting, although that may be due to my lack of familiarity with the #ownvoices mythology that inspires the worldbuilding. I really enjoy Onyebuchi’s later book War Girls, but I don’t think I’ll bother reading the sequel to this one, despite the rather abrupt cliffhanger.

[Content warning for body horror and female genital mutilation.]

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Book #144 of 2020:

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

This standalone fantasy novel is a real gem, populated with endearing characters and the glimmering magic tomes that whisper to them in the darkness. I’m reminded of Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series, and not merely because the heroine has been raised in a library like his Lirael (or Lazlo Strange, for that matter). There’s also an element of necromancy, as well as an eldritch force bound in the guise of a mortal servant whom I could best describe as a cross between Mogget from Sabriel and Ianto Jones from Torchwood.

And the love story! I’m usually only halfheartedly into literary romances, but author Margaret Rogerson builds prickly animosity into reluctant connection and eventual trust in a sweet and believable way. That’s hardly the focus of this tale, yet it’s a piece that really resonates with me especially as the protagonist faces some infuriating sexism from other quarters. With so many men doubting her word, it’s nice to have a stalwart presence backing her up throughout.

The plot is interesting too, and although I wish the worldbuilding were a little more distinctive and complex, as an overall effort I’ve been utterly charmed by this book. I suspect I’ll be reading it again someday, and if Rogerson ever wants to pen a sequel, I’d be thrilled to see where she could take the concept next.

[Content warning for implied sexual assault.]

★★★★★

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Book Review: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Book #143 of 2020:

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

A rather dry account of an interesting and important topic. Author Richard Rothstein walks readers through various related factors that have led to black families being congregated within lower-resourced ‘inner cities’ across America, from overtly discriminatory government and neighborhood policies to purportedly neutral workarounds and police and prosecutorial inaction even once such practices were deemed unconstitutional. This text provides a close reading of legislation and court rulings on the subject, and it spends a lot of time splitting hairs over whether segregation is technically de facto or de jure — which may be a highly relevant legal distinction, but which I’ve found somewhat tedious to wade through as a layperson. Still, the extensive research behind this book makes it a worthwhile addition to any understanding of our contemporary racial landscape.

★★★☆☆

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TV Review: Shameless, season 5

TV #23 of 2020:

Shameless, season 5

After a season of unusual focus and compelling character drama, it is disappointing but I suppose not surprising to see Shameless crashing back into its usual brand of messiness. I don’t mind these characters being self-destructive, but I do mind the lazy writing that too often lets them off the hook or even rewards them for that behavior. This year also features a number of subplots that feel recycled from storylines we’ve seen before, from Fiona’s infidelity to Frank’s mooching off sad rich folks to Lip’s dalliance with a lover who pushes him to realize more of his potential. That repetition is both tired in the moment and a worrying sign for the seasons still ahead.

I do like that we finally seem to have written off a few cast members who never fully interested me, and the frustrating decision to bring a certain someone back at the end of the fourth finale at least doesn’t overstay its welcome and play too large a role here. I still enjoy enough of each individual episode to give this run a solid three-star rating, but I really hope the series can get its act together again going forward, now that I know for a fact it can be better than this.

[Content warning for rape, racism, and drug abuse.]

★★★☆☆

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