Snapshot Book Review: Losing My Cool

Losing My Cool: Growing Up with--and out of--Hip-hop Culture by Thomas Chatterton Williams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those "culture" books that everyone who ever believed a black stereotype should read. I count myself in this category. And actually, I think black people should read it, too. Because this memoir is accurate in ways that most "black culture memoirs" are not. It is a forthright, unapologetic, "inside-then-outside" look at what makes a majority (in this case, a black majority) ascribe to a certain set of beliefs and habits. Williams admits that he bought straight into the "treat women like they're dispensable," "money is the goal," and "act like Respect is something tangible that people will can steal from you if you don't defend it with life and limb" ideals. However, he then debunks them as his upbringing and further education open his eyes to the fact that these ideals are passed down from people with whim he has nothing in common (i.e. rap artists and the like).

Unfortunately, when Williams' story moves out of the realm of his "black culture" life and into his "newfound revelations," the book gets very tell-y: less showing and more explaining which, in turn, makes it more boring. By the end of the book, I truly considered skipping the last few chapters and in fact did skip the epilogue. There is nothing novel or interesting about someone writing, "I decided to cast aside my economics major--which I had only chosen because I imagined I could earn shitloads of money on Wall Street--and pursue philosophy because economics bored me to death and I found philosophy stimulating. I am so enlightened!" In fact, that sort of self-congratulation is annoying, because it assumes no one else has ever come upon such a revelation. Likewise, his epic decision to "defy stereotypes" and travel to France comes across as equally annoying.

Still, Williams' analysis of black culture and what creates, perpetuates, and limits it is on the mark. I think this memoir is worth reading, if only for that reason: we all need to understand each others' motivations and preconceptions, whether we agree with them or not. Understanding is the first step to appreciation and a necessary component of coexistence and, perhaps, change.

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Snapshot Book Review: The Daughters

The Daughters by Joanna Philbin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Dealing with issues like families, boys, and fashion, The Daughters is a very typical YA novel. The characters are stock, and the emotions expressed throughout the novel are even more cookie-cutter. Excitement = "Oh my god!" Worry = "Uh oh." Anger = "He's such a jerk!" The only vaguely intriguing character in the whole novel is the photographer who "discovers" Lizzie, and she is unlikely to play a prominent role in the series.

Perhaps I am merely too old to appreciate these sorts of YA novels, but I have read other books for this target audience (e.g. The Hunger Games) and found them deeper, more meaningful, and ultimately more compelling reads than The Daughters. It will likely be a successful sell to 8-12 year old girls, but I will not be on the waiting list for book two.

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How to Do a Relationship . . . Backwards

My relationship started out typically enough, I suppose. Boy meets Girl; Boy and Girl become friends; Boy dates other girls. Slightly less typical were the next stages: Boy neglects Girl because of school/current girlfriend/etc. and Girl gets angry, but things eventually smooth out. Girl develops a crush on (and is rejected by) Boy's Best Friend. Finally, Girl and Boy graduate and move to different cities.

Then, Boy's girlfriend breaks up with him.

This is the point at which, in any ordinary Boy-meets-Girl story, Boy and Girl suddenly discover they have been perfect for each other all along and start dating. Or maybe they try out casually dating and discover that they are a perfect match. However, for R___ and myself, there was no instant enlightenment, nor did we have the opportunity to "date casually," seeing as we lived in cities 4.5 hours apart. Instead, we started communicating more regularly over the internet and visiting one another under the pretense of being friends. Which we were . . . for a little while.

I don't know if I would necessarily recommend the following chronology to anyone wishing to start a relationship, but this is what led me to where I am today:

Note: insert bouts of worry and elation wherever applicable.

• We find excuses to invite one another to visit.
  
• I begin sacrificing sleep to stay online at night a little longer.
  
• We make out . . . and then reassure one another that we have no interest in dating.
  
• We find excuses to invite ourselves to visit.
  
• We sleep (literally) in the same bed.
  
• I stay up even later to talk online at night. I am now averaging 4 hours of sleep per night.
  
• He finally forces a confession of out of me. I am more worried than relieved.
  
• We establish that we dating long-distance is not an option and therefore leave our "dating status" contingent upon whether or not he gets a teaching position in NYC. Now I am more relieved than worried.
  
• We hold hands in public for (probably) the first time.
  
• He gets the job.
  
• He moves in . . . for the summer . . . .

And the final misplaced step in this relationship progression:

• He takes me shopping to ask for my input on his clothes.

I was pretty much flabbergasted when he asked me to take him to Macy's last weekend. If my opinion on clothing matters to him, you know this is serious. Proves there is no real reason to go by the book, right?

How to Do a Relationship

As most of my close and even casual friends know, I have never officially had a boyfriend before. Therefore, this whole “dating exclusively” thing is completely uncharted territory for me. Granted, there is a basic protocol that most people follow:

• Boy meets Girl (or vice versa—but for the sake of this example, let’s leave Boy first).
  
• Boy asks Girl out on a date.
  
• Boy and Girl kiss.
  
• Boy and Girl decide to become exclusive.
  
• Boy and Girl move in together.
  
• Boy and Girl get married.
  
• The End.

Obviously, this is a simplified version of a long and ordinarily complex story. Maybe Girl asks Boy on the date. Maybe Boy and Girl don’t move in together before marriage. Still, intuition tells us where these events would or would not occur. Boy and girl might hold hands in public before becoming exclusive; but probably not before the first kiss (unless there is some sort of religious stance at play, permitting hand-holding but not kissing). They almost certainly wouldn’t sleep in the same bed before the first date, barring any drunken frat circumstances.

I, however, defy tradition.

Snapshot Book Review: The Penelopiad

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I do not know much Greek mythology, I am an absolute sucker for "retold" fairytales. Consequently, a "retold myth" is right up my alley--so long as the original myth is explained. Which, in The Penelopiad, it most certainly is.

Margaret Atwood does an admirable job of introducing the story of The Odyssey right up front: her narrator, Penelope, explains what the "typically believed" story is, so she can spend the rest of the novel debunking it. Her narrative voice is both distinct and believable, and Atwood's telling of the story aligns so well with The Odyssey that it's a wonder no one has tried to tell that myth from the wife's perspective before.

What makes The Penelopiad particularly unique and interesting, however, is the way Atwood intersperses chapters of Penelope's narration with Shakespeare-esque interludes by "The Chorus," i.e. the maids. In some chapters, they "sing" verses of witty, sardonic poetry to further elaborate on whatever event Penelope has just told. In others, they play direct roles in imaginary events, such as in the trial scene at the end of the book.

Atwood is an excellent storyteller, and The Penelopiad illustrates her versatility as a novelist. She can write futuristic novels about imaginary worlds, such as The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. She can write make historical events come alive in novels such as Alias Grace. And she can retell myths to make us wonder who told the original story and why we did not question it until now. The latter is what she does in The Penelopiad, and she does it well.

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