Becki’s Comments (group member since Jan 31, 2017)

Becki’s comments from the Around the World in 80 Books group.

Oh wow way to go - I'm down to try that if everyone else is! Thoughts on the rest of the books?

Agree, let's start with Other Russias - I really want to discuss that one! :) And I am down with continent by continent. Do we want to just pick a country randomly from each one? Stream of consciousness thought: we haven't done much in the Australia / Oceania region of the world yet; anyone ever heard of a book by any of the indigenous / Aboriginal / Polynesian peoples in that area? I recently learned some things about the history of Tanzania that really blew my mind and I'd love the chance to do a deeper dive / group discussion on that issue.

Long story short - agree with 1 book every 2 months, focusing to one book per continent this year that are easier to find, and I'm happy to help research books for one of the countries if we want to split out the work!

I do agree that some of these got hard to find. I'm wondering if Cait took an internet break, haven't seen her online in a while - let us know Cait! :)

Hey! Are we doing discussion for Other Russias? And are we continuing for 2019? I'm down but I know we all got busy this year, so just wanted to check!

Finished this finally as well! I agree with all of the comments above. I thought Chang had such a unique and visual voice; I love old 1940's era Hollywood movies, and I kept seeing film noir flickering through my head with each essay. I really enjoyed the fact that this covered China in transition - so often when I read historical books they cover eras that are firmly identified, but overlook those periods in between when people are living through change. I think her use of metaphor is especially beautiful and her lyrical prose shone through even with the translation. I agree with comments about missing some of the subtext due to not knowing a lot about Chinese culture, and I can see how this would be much richer with more knowledge about those things. For #3 I agree - I think there's a lot of cultural difference packed in there; this is a nation where less than 50 years before foot binding was all the rage, so I imagine the emotional relationships between couples would be all over the place as well. And Claire, your point about Jane Austen is really interesting and is one I'll keep thinking about, because it didn't pop up to me immediately but I can totally understand how you saw it. It definitely adds another layer to my interpretation of this. All in all this is one of my favorite reads in our book club so far this year and is one of the first short story collections I've ever liked (literally ever), so great choice everyone!

I read this a while ago which is why I haven't been commenting - but I echo everyone's sentiments! I loved this book and I thought the graphic novel format was especially compelling with this subject matter. I'm so excited to see more books moved into that format, I think it really opens literature up to new audiences. This book inspired me to order a fleet of similar books which are now piling up on my shelf... can't wait to learn more, especially because of the vibrant Hmong population here that I am so ashamedly ignorant about!

I was late to start this and now I'm really scared to open it based on all of your comments - yikes! What a bummer that this is such a downer. I might hold off or try to scrape my way through it this month (since I've already read The Best That We Could Do). Can't win 'em all I guess!

Yes to all of that Cait! I keenly felt the impact of being stateless in a way I hadn't truly considered before. Having an American passport is an almost unfathomable privilege and I don't think I'll ever truly appreciate it as I should, but I just can't imagine literally having nothing to "identify" yourself. Really hits home the idea that people cannot ever be illegal or alien - people are people, and always deserve to be cared for as such. It's amazing how many profound ideas can be packed into a slim graphic novel!

I hear you Sylvia! I barely "finished" it - really more like skimmed the last half for the major plot points. It just rose something in me that I couldn't get over, really disappointed with the tone of the book. I can't imagine reading it in your situation, that's too tough! But agree about the polls, I definitely added a few others from Venezuela that I'm excited to try.

Ok cool! I'll vote for Cuba if no one else is on it!

Ok, where are we going to sign up for the polls?

Agree with your thoughts Claire! I really enjoyed this, it was nice to have a graphic novel break from some of the drier books we've been reading lately. I knew a lot of the facts of events in this book but they really impacted me differently when seen through a continuous lens of experience as building on one another, and not as just isolated incidents. I've always really felt for the Palestinian people as they really did get a raw deal during the creation of Israel (#thanksbritishcolonization) and Baddawi made it so much more personal. I'm not sure what the solution is to that conflict but I am very glad that we read this! And Claire agree also about the power of the "Made in USA" on the bomb - I've seen more and more stories about just this, kids and civilians abroad being directly impacted by weapons we sold to other countries, and it just breaks my heart. I sure wish we found another way to engage in foreign policy with diplomacy and aid rather than bombs and bullets.

I'm getting married and at a national conference in August so I'm *totally* ok with skipping that month! Nice to have a little break too :) Maybe we skip August, add Russia, and skip December and that covers us through the end of this year? Sound ok?

And I agree about Soviet Russia! That would be a fascinating choice. I'm up for doing a poll for any country. If someone wants to assign me go for it or I can volunteer (basically I'm flexible LOL).

YES! LOL

Yeah I agree with all of that Cait. I hung through hoping there'd be a resolution by the end but there just wasn't. I think saying "that's just how it was back then" is a cheap and sloppy way to excuse harmful narratives, especially since this is true fiction - she could literally have written about anything in the world, and this subject and doing it this way is what the author chose? No thanks.

I'm fine with the four that you listed! I think it makes sense to continue to slowly evolve our theme and Communism is a clear step.

I'm getting it next :) So maybe you'll get the copy after me!

I agree with the above. I had to skim read this to the end to see where it went but I really couldn’t engage. I think it’s because it was never made clear whether the character or the book itself was racist; if the author was trying to make a point, she did it very poorly. I did appreciate the more global sense I got of the arc of Venezuelan colonialism and the factions that led to their current situation, but it just didn’t engage me well at all. The structure reminded me of Homegoing, which I SO enjoyed, and which also tackled tough subjects like slavery, but did it in a way that directly acknowledged the cause and effects and didn’t try to align you in favor of it. After reading I’m a bit baffled by the reviews this got. Overall I didn’t think this was a successful book and I wouldn’t return to it. Bummer that we were all so unengaged, I was really excited for Venezuela!

Yes Cait, I agree on both points! I have Marx AND Adam Smith's full books on my to-read list because although I took an economics class I never read either directly and I feel so sorely ignorant when it comes to anything beyond the global scope of both theories. It's super frustrating and I wonder how any of us can have real debates about policy in this country when it feels like no one knows what they're *actually* ascribing to when they talk about it. Can't wait to fill that gap in my own learning!

And for #2, I'm so glad I read this for that reason - it just helps make a clear case against all the BS that people try to get away with saying about this history! I find our general knowledge of our own history in the U.S. - particularly the history of slavery and the civil war - SO lacking in this country and it gets even worse when applied to other places. Anything that helps inform us for how to have a place of knowledge to discredit those lies is great! It's just nice to see a measured, thoughtful, interconnected explanation that embraces the complexity of this history. I am really, really intrigued to see what this updated edition says as obviously so much has changed in 50 years. If they have been able to add in some helpful maps and graphics and corrected some of the more hyperbolic statements on other cultures / economic theory I think this could be such a strong educational text. Definitely will be looking out for this!

Maybe the confusion is that (as I read it) most of when he's comparing development to me feels really grounded in the past 500ish years ago. Again only halfway through the book so far, but it feels to me up to the point I'm at that a lot of his argument about development is comparing the initial point at which Europeans and Africans crossed paths and less to the modern world. Which are really quite different things and would need different criteria. But yes - per capita wealth and actual distribution of wealth are definitely different things and something to think about for sure!