Curious, Healing

Books about healing, business, and fun

fiction

“Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword” by Barry Deutsch

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Subtitle: Yet Another Troll-Fighting 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Girl

Recommended to me by: Barry Deutsch’s Alas, A Blog

A graphic novel set in an Orthodox Jewish town called Hereville, in a blended family with many girls and one little brother. The facial expressions and other details in the drawings are captivating – I read the book twice and noticed a lot that I’d missed the first time. The characters are realistic even while engaged in unrealistic adventures.

The strict rules of Orthodox Judaism are included in the story, with only the occasional pictorial editorial comment, such as the bored expressions of the youth having “vibrant, passionate discussions” on Shabbat. Yiddish terms are translated in footnotes.

The fantastic elements of witch encounters and troll fights contrast oddly with the Orthodox background, sibling arguments about reputation, and a step-mother’s efforts to manage a large family. The ending is decidedly unexpected.

Mirka is portrayed as reaching for a knife, sword, or tree-branch to violently solve her problems. She is also portrayed as being so immersed in Jewish culture that she didn’t recognize a pig when she saw one.

I’m not sure what to think of the book. It draws me in, and at the same time leaves me wondering if the author’s message is subtly derogatory toward Judaism. While I wouldn’t want to live in an Orthodox community myself, I don’t want to see one exposed to ridicule, either.

Barry Deutsch is a cartoonist in Portland, Oregon.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Filter House” by Nisi Shawl

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Recommended to me by: emilytheslayer on LiveJournal because Nisi Shawl is one of WisCon’s 2011 guests of honor

“Filter House” is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories, written with exquisite integrity. I felt safe in the author’s hands as she portrays people of color, people of size, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups as whole, valuable people (what a thought!), without erasing the details of their experiences.

Some of the stories address dystopian futures where water is in short supply, reminding me of James Tiptree’s dystopian short stories.  Other stories playfully explore what it’s like to be a scholarly princess befriended by a marauding dragon, or to practice trance-possession on another planet.

Shawl’s other published book is “Writing the Other: A Practical Approach,” and I look forward to reading it as soon as I can track down a copy.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Imperfect Birds” by Anne Lamott

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Based on the title, I thought this would be a sequel to Lamott’s Bird by Bird, about the process of writing. Instead, it is a novel about teenage angst, drug-use, manipulation, and lies, and adult anxiety, denial, and tense sobriety. In each encounter, characters are described by weight and attractiveness, as if that’s what matters.

I kept putting the book down because the casual lying and drug-use got almost physically on my nerves, and picking it up again because I’d come to care about the characters in spite of myself. I did skip a chunk in the middle. In the end, there is a small hope for authenticity and responsibility.

I don’t know whether the narcissism in this book is wildly exaggerated or terrifyingly realistic. Either way, I don’t want to read about it.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Gone-Away Lake” by Elizabeth Enright

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Recommended to me by: Marissa Lingen

The title sounded familiar and I thought I read it as a child, but the story itself didn’t ring any bells. Published in 1957, the book features two half-grown kids interacting with two elderly people living in abandoned summer homes, surrounded by lots of nature and lots of kindness.

Portia visits her cousin Julian for the summer, way out in the country. At 11 and 12 years old, they blithely leave the house every morning to visit their new friends at Gone-Away Lake and don’t return until dinner, without accounting for their time to Julian’s parents.

Portia and Julian are close friends without a trace of romance or self-consciousness. They only quarrel once, late in the book. Although the quarrel seems resolved, they each spend more time with friends of their own gender after that.

There is some emphasis on the stereotypes of girls being afraid more often and talking more, and boys liking construction and dirt more. At the same time, the stereotypes are gently questioned by the boys admitting to being afraid too, and the girls exploring right along with them.

Minnehaha and Pindar live peacefully in abandoned houses beside the marsh which used to be Lake Tarrigo, without most modern conveniences. Their day to day activities gently question our assumptions about what is necessary for happiness.

It’s a relief to read a book about emotionally healthy people enjoying their world and each other.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Torch” by Cheryl Strayed

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Recommended to me by: Willamette Writers Portland

In this novel, a rural Minnesota family reels from the mother’s cancer diagnosis. We see Theresa, only 38, and her partner and children grappling with her illness.

I loved the finely detailed setting. The trees, the bears, the snow, and the routinely-traveled distances all bring rural Minnesota to life. The characters not only see and hear, but also smell their environment, from the slightly rotten odor of the first spring thaw, to the shampoo and conditioner in their partner’s hair.

I was puzzled by the way the characters left their inner lives largely unexamined, and instead fell into casual sex, instant relationships, and sometimes drugs to manage their emotions.

Also, do they really have group and individual therapy in jail, even in rural Minnesota? It seems too practical and enlightened to be true in our punishment-oriented society.

This is a well-written book, but I found it hard to read. There is no physical violence, but the characters seem painfully unaware of the emotional violence they are doing to each other.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Disobedience” by Naomi Alderman

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Recommended to me by: Spirituality Bookgroup.

This novel about convention, betrayal, growing up, and finding center is filled with wisdom and grace.

Ronit grew up in a tiny, insular Jewish Orthodox congregation within London. She is the rebellious daughter of their revered Rabbi. Aided by her father’s sending her to an American university, she has escaped to a secular life in New York City.

Now, her father has died, and she returns to encounter her cousin Dovid, the Rabbi’s heir apparent, and his wife Esti. Esti and Ronit were lovers as teen-agers. Despite her marriage and orthodox beliefs, Esti still carries a flame for Ronit.

The characters and the setting drew me in completely while I was reading. Where I expected the triumph of prejudice and small-minded cruelty, I saw instead surprising compassion and open-hearted possibilities. I celebrated that two couples found ways to re-commit to their marriages.

As I thought about the book afterwards, I started to wonder about the emphasis on marriage as sacred, leaving Ronit as the marriage-disturbing lesbian outsider. While I enjoyed the book, I strongly disagree with that (possibly unintentional) underlying message.

Naomi Alderman’s blog: naomialderman.com.

Available at bookshop.org.