Moving Joys and Two (Interestingly Related) Reviews: Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complex New Landscape (Orenstein) and Terrible Virtue (Feldman)

So, is it just me or does everyone label a box "Best Books" when they move?  We left Central PA and are now in Alexandria, VA, just outside DC.  Going from a three bedroom house with a large basement to a one bedroom apartment means most of my book collection (the only thing I hoard!) will live in storage for some time, but I can't fathom being book-less so I've got some of my favorites ready to be Virginians.  

Anyway, I've been a bit slower in my progress of late (hello, packing and unpacking!!) but have some reviews to share....

• Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complex New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein

Orenstein's prior book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, a look at the "princess-ification" (my term) of girlhood, remains one of the most interesting book's I've had the opportunity to read in many years.   So, I was really excited to have the opportunity to read a pre-release version of her newest book courtesy of the folks at Harper Publishing.  Short version: It wasn't Cinderella, but it is still a revealing read and should make it onto the shelves of parents of teen and pre-teen girls (and, perhaps, boys as well).

Girls takes up where Cinderella left off and looks at the lives of young women from junior high through college, with a tight focus on intimacy and sexual activity.  There's a lot covered: The rise of the "hook-up culture;" Issues of consent, rape, and assault; Alcohol and it's relationship to sexual activity; Coming out and the LBTQ community; and more.  There is an overriding theme though involving the pressure to act and perform sexually, a pressure that weighs very differently on females than males.  It isn't necessarily groundbreaking, but the lack of reciprocity in sexual relationships (especially with respect to oral sex) is disturbing.  Orenstein's viewpoint and message can certainly be heard throughout the book, including the idea that we need to teach girls that sex can be and, critically, that they have a right to have it be fulfilling and enjoyable.  

I didn't feel like I learned as much as I did in Cinderella; much of the content didn't feel new but it was valuable nonetheless.  The stories she tells put "faces" on the trends many of us have heard about.  She also provides some "hope" with reference to what most will call "more liberal" sexual education and a climate that accepts sexuality as part of life and part of adolescence.  I'd pick Cinderella over Girls for a "must read" list, but this is still useful.   It would be particularly interesting to parents of teens and pre-teens, including parents of males, but it has value for all of us who in subtle ways take part in constructing the climate in which kids come of age.

Four stars.

• Terrible Virtue by Ellen Feldman

Terrible Virtue (which I coincidentally read at the same time as I read Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complex New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein, both received free of charge in exchange for an honest review) is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Sanger, generally considered the founder of the birth control movement and a key player in making birth control available to women.  We meet Sanger in childhood where her mother is physically and mentally worn down by her brood of fourteen children (which doesn't include lost pregnancies).  This climate heavily influences her path which takes her through nursing school, passionate love affairs (perhaps trying to capture an intimacy lacking in her childhood), and a (often conflicted) role as a mother herself.  

Sanger works on the birth control movement from a philosophic, political, and practical vantage point.  She without doubt sacrifices a lot to the movement and women today owe her a debt.  Still, one can't say she's a perfect heroine and the novel leaves the reader a bit conflicted.  Sanger made important strides for women and society, but I can't say she's portrayed as likeable.  

I had high hopes for this story, but it never fully drew me in.  I can deal with a less-than-likeable protagonist, but I had trouble relating to Sanger and understanding her actions.  She is very polyamorous which doesn't necessarily bother me in principle but never felt very real.  It is an interesting read and I definitely learned about an important figure in women's history, but I can't really say I'd recommend the book wholeheartedly.  It may be an interesting starting point for people looking to learn more about Sanger (with the clear note that it is fictionalized), but I struggled to pay attention even with a relatively short length.

Three of five stars. 

 

Introducing The Healthiest Sick Gal You Know

Amid the chaos of moving, I decided to split off this blog into two separate sites.  This one will continue to host book reviews and hopefully get back to some of the more random musings that earn me the title moniker.  A new site, launched today, will deal more specifically with health issues (fitness stuff may bridge the two).  Please check out The Healthiest Sick Gal You Know and the first post in a series talking about the use of medications to manage chronic pain (spoiler: I used some tough meds over the years and even after a grueling withdrawal process, I don't regret it and I think it's important to remember these drugs DO have a legitimate use...don't let the "bad guys" stigmatize those who use pain meds to survive actual physical pain in accordance with their doctor's guidance).

February Hibernation Reads: The Good Liar (Searle) and Green Island (Ryan)

I've been busy squirreling away with blankets and books as we march through February (ha! little pun in there, well sort of).  While I must admit we've gotten off easy with this winter thus far, I still find February a dreary time when it feels like the sun and the warmth have been gone forever and are far from returning.  Still, I know each day is growing longer, and there's the added benefit of it being cozy reading weather.

Without further ado, a few reviews (prioritizing my Advance Reader's reads, taking my time with a couple re-reads and random "new-to-me"s):

• Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan

This piece of historical, place- and culture-oriented fiction opens as a woman goes into labor with our unnamed narrator.  She is born amid a clash between Taiwanese people and their government which has been passed from Japan to China with little regard for the thoughts of the people themselves.  She is delivered by her father who, after making a simple comment at a community meeting, is dragged off as a political prisoner.  The book tells us about the father's experience as a prisoner for over a decade and the daughter's experience growing up as the youngest of four trying to understand her place in her family and culture.  After over a decade, the father is released and the family tries to navigate the gulf created by the experience.  In time, the narrator marries and moves to the U.S., but the political climate of her homeland remains a major force in her adulthood impacting her marriage (her husband is involved in Taiwan's political struggle as well) and her relationship with her native country.

Before moving on to a more general review, an admission of my own limits and how it impacted my reading experience -- I never excelled at history class (I blame the fact that memory is not my strong suit...), but I'm fairly certain I never learned much about Taiwan or its struggle to be heard.  One of the most interesting parts of this read was the chance to remedy that, at least a small amount.  However, my limited knowledge also proved a hurdle at some points (to the similarly clueless, "Republic of China" and "China" are not synonymous, which the narrator eventually tells her American-born daughter in a latter chapter).  It seems unfair to "blame" the book for my own knowledge gaps, but it did make it a bit challenging to follow the political side of the story.

Trying to put that aside and moving on....  I'd give this 3.5 stars, a pretty mediocre, decent-but-not-great rating from me.  At times, I was fascinated by both the history and the fiction.  There is some beautiful language here and the author paints some vivid pictures of places and times.  Likewise, parts of the narrator's story (and her father's too) were engrossing and captured me.  However, it got far too long for me.  It is apparently took fourteen years to write and at times felt like it had fourteen years worth of ideas in it.  I got tired, even winded with the effort, which was at times emotionally appropriate but became a more general readiness to be finished.  I didn't care for some of the latter story points and had much more difficulty feeling the narrator's adult relationships than her childhood ties (despite both periods being complex).

This certainly isn't an easy read by any means, including emotionally.  There are many difficult scenes including some involving torture.  I think it is best suited to true lovers of historical fiction and narratives of place.  I'm a character-focused reader (although I do enjoy well-painted places) and I did find some interesting players here, but I'd have preferred a much abbreviated version.  This review is based on an Advance Readers Copy provided by the publisher.

• The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

Everyone has secrets -- a truth that forms the backbone of TGL.  Roy is an aging conman out to conduct his final swindle, targeting a woman in her senior years and eventually setting his sights on Betty.  As he moves in to her life, the reader slowly becomes privy to the fact that Betty has her own secrets and her own motives.  While the modern-day tale progresses, we also watch Roy's story in reverse and learn his truths.  The stories eventually coalesce, something the reader certainly expects but in a way I didn't predict.

I only read thriller/intrigue books on occasion, often as a bit of a respite between weightier tales.  I'm not going to reveal where this one goes, but I'll say that it ironically became more like my traditional fare towards the end.  I must admit not seeing the ending coming at all which is a good thing.  Usually.  This ending just felt like it didn't fit.  Still, the characters intrigued me and I felt compelled to continue reading which isn't always a given for me in more mass-market (read: less "literary") books.  

Three stars, maybe 3.5 if the sites would permit it.  A clever tale and a decent representative of the genre.  Fits my "airplane fare" category....enough to keep you interested but easy enough to put away when it's time to deplane.  This review is based on an Advance Readers Copy provided by the publisher.