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mrs_a_is_a_book_nerd's reviews
456 reviews
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
3.0
I rated this book a 3 because I'm glad I read it. The many characters in it were sometimes hard to keep track of, but I had the hang of most of them by the end. I didn't feel as resolved as I wanted to by the last page--maybe that was the author's point: the only stories with real resolution in the book are those who die; the rest continue on in the harshness of their reality, which never really resolves itself.
The book was sobering and pretty discouraging. It made me feel a strong desire to do something about situations like those described in the book, while at the same time making me feel impotent to do anything because of the corruption suggested by the book--even in organizations and charities that are set up for such help.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers reminded me that poverty isn't always as simple as it might seem. In the corrupt world of Mumbai, people living in the Annawadi slum learn from an early age the futility of hoping the government will look out for them, the police will protect them, or that justice will prevail. Instead, they look for small ways to have more for themselves than their neighbors have--which isn't much. They envy each other and each complain about their personal injustices, rather than uniting together against a cause that will benefit them all...because they feel powerless outside of their tiny reality, and why wouldn't they? In the author's comments at the end of the book, Katherine Boo notes that it is nearly impossible to be good in a world like this--but that even so, surprisingly more people are good--or try to be good--than would seem possible. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet some of those good people in Boo's book.
The book was sobering and pretty discouraging. It made me feel a strong desire to do something about situations like those described in the book, while at the same time making me feel impotent to do anything because of the corruption suggested by the book--even in organizations and charities that are set up for such help.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers reminded me that poverty isn't always as simple as it might seem. In the corrupt world of Mumbai, people living in the Annawadi slum learn from an early age the futility of hoping the government will look out for them, the police will protect them, or that justice will prevail. Instead, they look for small ways to have more for themselves than their neighbors have--which isn't much. They envy each other and each complain about their personal injustices, rather than uniting together against a cause that will benefit them all...because they feel powerless outside of their tiny reality, and why wouldn't they? In the author's comments at the end of the book, Katherine Boo notes that it is nearly impossible to be good in a world like this--but that even so, surprisingly more people are good--or try to be good--than would seem possible. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet some of those good people in Boo's book.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5.0
This book was incredible! A portrait of two Afghan women whose lives intersect, Suns starts off a bit slowly, but picks up about a third of the way in. It is both beautifully written and heartbreaking; I literally sobbed twice while reading it... moving and enlightening, I was ashamed that I knew so little about the realities of life in Afghanistan before reading this book. It is fairly graphic in places, but not sensationally so... just reality. I immediately moved on to Hosseini's first book, The Kite Runner, and am half way through.
In the Best Interest of Students: Staying True to What Works in the Ela Classroom by Kelly Gallagher
5.0
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
I wanted to like this book... I'm not generally a fan of graphic novels, but I like holocaust fiction, and this is considered a classic, so I grabbed it as part of my summer reading... oof. It was an interesting account-- what seemed to be biographical/autobiographical. It was as much about the author wrestling with some of his own demons and struggling to have a relationship with his father as it was about his father's holocaust experiences. For a holocaust book, it was pretty typical.
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
4.0
Part historical account, part espionage thriller... this nonfiction book lets readers follow the incredible story of the search and eventual capture and trial of the notorious Nazi commandant, Adolf Eichman.
The book begins with a profile and history of Eichman--his background, his personal attitudes, and his role in the removal and executions of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
The chronicle continues with Eichman's escape from Germany following the war, his assumed identities, and his years of living in hiding to avoid prosecution as a war criminal.
For various reasons, a handful of tips about his whereabouts are disregarded, and the trail on Eichman grows cold, until an accidental recognition leads a group of former holocaust prisoners and Israeli spies to undertake the most dangerous and implausible manhunt imaginable.
If they fail, Eichman may escape and disappear for good, never to be held accountable for his crimes, and the men undertaking the mission may, themselves, end up sentenced to prison in another country.
If they succeed, thousands of survivors and victim family members may finally get the closure they deserve in seeing Eichman answer for his murderous actions during WWII.
Written in an engaging chronology with inside perspectives from the many individuals involved, it was a fairly quick read. The story is peppered with photos of people and artifacts, making it the more interesting. At times, keeping track of the many names was a bit confusing, but the organization keeps each part of the story more or less focused on one individual's role or group's actions at a time.
This makes a great addition to a list of titles on the holocaust, for those interested in the subject, and a fascinating spy-thriller even for those who are not!
The book begins with a profile and history of Eichman--his background, his personal attitudes, and his role in the removal and executions of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
The chronicle continues with Eichman's escape from Germany following the war, his assumed identities, and his years of living in hiding to avoid prosecution as a war criminal.
For various reasons, a handful of tips about his whereabouts are disregarded, and the trail on Eichman grows cold, until an accidental recognition leads a group of former holocaust prisoners and Israeli spies to undertake the most dangerous and implausible manhunt imaginable.
If they fail, Eichman may escape and disappear for good, never to be held accountable for his crimes, and the men undertaking the mission may, themselves, end up sentenced to prison in another country.
If they succeed, thousands of survivors and victim family members may finally get the closure they deserve in seeing Eichman answer for his murderous actions during WWII.
Written in an engaging chronology with inside perspectives from the many individuals involved, it was a fairly quick read. The story is peppered with photos of people and artifacts, making it the more interesting. At times, keeping track of the many names was a bit confusing, but the organization keeps each part of the story more or less focused on one individual's role or group's actions at a time.
This makes a great addition to a list of titles on the holocaust, for those interested in the subject, and a fascinating spy-thriller even for those who are not!