Carina's Quadruple Book Review — The Woodward Post

(F) Home, Toni Morrison (2012)

Toni Morrison’s tenth novel, Home, follows Frank Money, a young African-American veteran of the Korean war and his journey home a year after being discharged from the army into a still-segregated homeland. Money struggles with PTSD, making this story ultimately one of recovery and redemption, of reconnecting with his family and roots and coming to terms with the horrors of the Korean War. In Home, Morrison overturns and challenges the traditional views of a novel, weaving a non-linear plot with mixed, alternating perspectives and fragmented flashbacks that combine with overarching racial and social commentary to neatly forge Home.

It’s undoubtedly powerfully written, but many argue that Home simply felt, for lack of a better word, half-baked. Morrison writes like an established author with nothing to prove– compendiously and eloquently, yet this definitely left a lot to the reader’s imagination. While the premise was promising, it almost feels as though Morrison’s usually relentless, unsparing pursual to uncover the darker crimes of humanity is completely absent from this. Frank’s redemption comes easy– an admission of guilt, the dissipation of the PTSD that so plagued him barely 50 pages earlier. Regardless, Morrison’s writing is superb and Home’s length definitely entices readers looking for a short but meaningful read.

(F) The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers (2012)

Kevin Powers, who enlisted in the army when he was 17 and served as a machine-gunner in Iraq, pulled extensively from his experiences there to write The Yellow Birds, a compact book that packs a punch. Fractured by staggering transitions through time, The Yellow Birds spans from 2003 to 2009 throughout the war Powers’ protagonist, Bartle, serves in and his return home. Serving as a striking commentary on the brutal truths of war and the often shadowed fact that in America alone, an average of 18 veterans commit suicide every day, The Yellow Birds is a powerful narrative on the frailty of man and the brutality of war. However, I definitely wasn’t the biggest fan of his writing, and while the way he structured his paragraphs to form a mystery that draws readers in, his writing seemed to be trying a little too hard. You know how some writers can write beautiful paragraphs chock-full of “big words” that still seem to mesh well together? He isn’t one of those. All jokes aside, this was by no means a badly written book, and anyone who’s interested in a short read should consider The Yellow Birds.

(F) Multiculturalism: Coming of age in America, Multiple Authors

Coming of Age in America is a collection of fictional stories from fifteen different ethnic groups that explore the complicated routes we navigate through growing up. Split into 4 parts, Coming of Age in America encompasses family, first loves, losses, and everything in between. Common between all these stories is the overarching idea that regardless of differences in race, language, religion, or gender, many American experiences are fundamentally alike. These stories never failed to draw me in, and many too are great examples of fantastic, almost-lyrical prose that made these personal narratives almost magnetic. I found myself relating to many of these stories, and I’m positive that most anyone could find at least one story that connects with them.

(NF) Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion (1968)

Joan Didion’s 1968 collection of essays entails her experiences in California, as they underwent the counterculture revolution that rocked America in the 60s. This 20 story collection is made up of 3 parts: “Lifestyles in the Golden Land,” ,“Personal,” and “Seven Place of Mind”. The first includes pieces specific to California, the second personal essays, and the third narratives of places that held personal significance to Didion or to America in that time period. Arguably one of the best collections I’ve ever read, Slouching Towards Bethlehem is very reminiscent of Chuck Palahnuik’s Stranger than Fiction, both of which are beautifully written nonfiction narratives on the human condition. Didion’s prose is immaculately composed and peppered with minute details that help weave such heart-rending narratives together. I highly recommend this to anyone!