Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered Africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An Ex-Mas Feast" needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school. Even when his twelve-year-old sister takes to the streets to raise these meager funds, his dream can't be granted. Food comes first. His family lives in a street shanty in Nairobi, Kenya, but their way of both loving and taking advantage of each other strikes a universal chord.
In the second of his stories published in a New Yorker special fiction issue, Akpan takes us far beyond what we thought we knew about the tribal conflict in Rwanda. The story is told by a young girl, who, with her little brother, witnesses the worst possible scenario between parents. They are asked to do the previously unimaginable in order to protect their children. This singular collection will also take the reader...
About the Author
Uwem Akpan was born in Ikot Akpan Eda in southern Nigeria. After studying philosophy and English at Creighton and Gonzaga universities, he studied theology for three years at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2003 and received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan in 2006. "My Parents' Bedroom," a story from his short story collection, Say You're One of Them, was one of five short stories by African writers chosen as finalists for The Caine Prize for African Writing 2007. Say You're One of Them won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Africa Region) 2009 and PEN/Beyond Margins Award 2009, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. In 2007, Akpan taught at a Jesuit college in Harare, Zimbabwe. Now he serves at Christ the King Church, Ilasamaja-Lagos, Nigeria.
My Thoughts
This was a very brief audiobook, being only 3 CDs long, with one story per CD. Of course, it does say "Unabridged Selections: 3 Stories on 3 CDs read by Robin Miles and Dion Graham". So it seems that this is not the complete book, but only 3 of the stories from the book.
The first story was the most powerful, told from the perspective of a young girl in Rwanda living through the genocidal slaughter of the Tutsi by Hutu members- a slaughter that turned family members and friends and neighbors against one another. This story drew me in, and the characters came alive for me. I loved this story, in a tragic and broken and heart-wrenching sort of way.
The second CD contained the story of a destitute Kenyan family living in shanty town, trying to gather presents for "X-Mas" (it was odd hearing them continually calling it "X-Mas" and never "Christmas"). This was my least favorite of the three stories.
The final CD consisted of the story of two young girls, best friends for years, torn apart by the religious differences of their parents. The third CD ends with an interview with the good-natured author.
These stories were brought to life by two narrators with authentic African accents, breathing life into the characters. As I've said before, I loved the first story, and loved the narration.
This was a quick audiobook, allowing me to listen through it in just a few hours, even though I had my attention towards the book continually interrupted by my workday. If all of the stories had been as good as the first one, this book would have been fantastic, and perhaps in its entirety it would be that fantastic. But as it was the book, with only these three stories, was just "okay". It had its moments.
I didn’t know that people come into our lives, and sometimes, if we’ re terribly lucky, we get the chance to love them, that sometimes they stay, that sometimes you can, truly, depend on them.
Cathie Beck was in her late thirties and finally able to exhale after a lifetime of just trying to get by. A teenage mother harboring vivid memories of her own hardscrabble childhood, Cathie had spent years doing whatever it took to give her children the stability— or at least the illusion of it— that she’ d never had. More than that, through sheer will and determination, she had educated them and herself too. With her kids in college, Cathie was at last ready to have some fun. The only problem was that she had no idea how to do it and no friends to do it with. So she put an ad in the paper for a made-up women's group: WOW . . . Women on the Way. Eight women showed up that first night, and out of that group a friendship formed, one of those meteoric, passionate, stand-by-you friendships that come around once in a lifetime and change you forever . . . if you’re lucky.
About the Author
from the back cover
Cathie Beck is a Denver-based journalist and creative writer. She contributes to a number of publications and to KUVO radio in Denver. She is the recipient of writing awards from both the Louisiana and Denver Press Women's Clubs, and the Scripps-Howard Award for Excellence in Journalism. She holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
My Thoughts
We are hurtling north of Denver on Interstate 25 in Denise's death-trap, bottle-cap excuse of a car, at eight-three miles per hour, with the plan to stalk Jerry Jeff Walker of "Mr. Bojangles" and "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" fame.
This is how we are introduced to our two main characters, Cathie Beck and Denise Katz: hurtling down an interstate as the two hurtled through the second stages of their lives.
This book is a memoir (a fact that I somehow missed and realized about a third of the way through). It isn't supposed to be a work of fiction, but a memoir of a friendship. Cathie Beck has had a tough life, raised in an unstable home, pregnant and married as a teen, abandoned by her husband with two children to raise at age 21, she has clawed her way through life. Now, nearing the age of 40, she finds herself an empty-nester in need of friends and begins a woman's group called WOW (Women on the Way). At the first meeting of their new group, Cathie meets Denise Katz: forward, unapologetic, brash, and Cathie doesn't think she likes this woman very much. But then she changes her mind, and finds she likes her very much, and the two begin a many-year friendship that navigates the difficulties of Denise's struggles with Multiple Sclerosis.
Cathie appears to be honest and real. She almost begrudgingly becomes friends with Denise, who is perhaps unlikeable to many, but I found that I liked her. Perhaps that is because I can identify with her. Denise has a warmth and heart that is kept very well hidden, but she also displays an evident strength.
This book was a very easy read. Certain writing styles are just very conversational and comfortable for me, and allow me to whiz through much more quickly than with strongly narrative or "stodgy" writing.
I sort of delayed picking this one up, because I just wasn't sure that it would be able to grab me. I was pleasantly surprised. It built and held me most of the way. However I did find the final 100 pages to be less captivating, and began to lose me, and the ending was less than satisfying. But, given that it is a memoir, that may be something that cannot be helped-- it ended as it ended. You can't change life.
One thing that confused me was that the beginning had nothing to do with the ending. The way that the opening chapter is laid out, I always thought that the end of the book would pick up where it left off and the story would end. But that isn't what happened. The story never really returned to that moment again, aside from a very brief mention of Wyoming at the end of the book. So that only added to disappointment in the ending. It's as if the beginning set me up for an ending that never came as expected.
For the most part, this was an enjoyable story.
Quotes:
"My loneliness had grown out of poverty and her ugly sisters- shame and desperation. It was hard to shrug off." p. 12
"Many people were afraid of Denise, but not me. Many people mistook her ballsiness for bitchiness, her inquisitiveness for nosiness, her brevity for rudeness." p. 292
Town/Location/Environment:
Much of the story takes place in beautiful Colorado, but the locale takes a backseat and plays very little into the storyline.
This book in five words: Honest, heart-wrenching, real, roller-coaster ride.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.
Yes, it’s my birthday today. I missed being a Valentine’s baby by 26 & 1/2 hours. I’d tell you what year I’m celebrating, but you wouldn’t believe me. Let’s just say I remember men walking on the moon for the very first time…
It’s a really busy week, too. Three speaking engagements, five clients, Valentine’s Day, and my birthday right in the middle. Guess every birthday can’t fall on a Saturday, right? However, I did get a really great gift from my husband - the new iPhone 32 w/4G! It's so neat. My old one was a six-year old basic model. Yes, it was sad.
My mother’s birthday is in a couple weeks and I decided to make her a picture book with old photos. Since there’s nothing quite like embarrassing myself on my own birthday, thought I’d share a few of the photos I scanned. Hold all laughter and chortling until the end…
This is my father and I at the Oregon Coast. We're bundled, so probably summer. LOL
My mom and I at Yesllowstone National Park.
I went to see the Mercury Cougar, and while you couldn't touch the big cat, I got to pet her cub.
Graduation day with my buddies Violet and Marlene!
Halloween with my best friend, Dale. No idea what I was supposed to be...
Unfortunately I haven't been able to read either Shiver nor Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, but both sit on my shelf waiting patiently for my attention. From all of the good things that I've heard, I have little doubt that it will be well worth the wait, and that this book will be a great conclusion to the series. So for those of you who have been lucky enough to have fallen in love with the series, here is a video excerpt from Forever, read by author Maggie Stiefvater...
We're in the final stretch of the One World One Heart giveaway, and you don't want to miss your chance to help worldwide entrepreneurs! It's the final couple of days of the international blog hop in which I am giving away a $25 virtual gift card to Kiva.org, for one of my blog visitors to loan to a person in need. Just head over to my other blog Heather's Eden for your chance to make a difference!
