When Fate Decides

I love watching movies. I think mostly because it does for me what books can't; and am not saying I'd trade books for a movie, no way! Movies give me the visuals that even a good book can't. However, that said, I'd prefer reading a book than watching a movie adapted from that book any time. So, when I went looking for my monthly read in my local library, I stumbled upon the book 'A Twist of Fate'. I remember thinking...' what a cliche way to name a book'. However, once I read the back of it, I thought...'well, this could be an adventure.' So I took it home.

'A Twist of Fate' to me was an actual drama movie in play...and in my opinion, if it were to be adapted into a film, would sell for a lot. After reading the prologue, I couldn't help but wonder where Joanna Rees derived her motivation from...a movie perhaps? I have to admit, while reading I felt a sense of 'book deja vu' if that makes sense. Most parts had cliche moments and I could figure out how things were going to turn out. However, there were parts of it that left you thinking...I didn't think it would go that way. This made  it all the more worthwhile. :)

Joanna seems to have a knack for detail, because this book oozes it. From the beginning everything is explained in more words than you would think necessary. For example, if I quote a line..."she turned now as the telephone rang next to the hotel bed, quickly fastening her dangling jade earrings, which she'd bought in Switzerland." You see, that sentence could have easily made sense without the emphasis on her earrings but Joanna wants to give her readers a visual and she goes all the way to pointing out that her earrings were jade! So immediately you can tell even without reading the book that the 'she' referred to here is rich and what's the opposite of that...well, poor! Hence the cliche theme of rich girl-poor girl is in play. However, many a time, Joanna pulled a surprise on me that got me saying.. aaaaaahhh . :)

The book speaks on two sisters born within months of each other. They are separated at a few months old, one to live a luxurious life in America and the other, to a pathetic life at an orphanage in East Germany. Romy (poor girl) manages to escape the orphanage but not her past. In a desperate fit to bury it, she makes choices that altogether lead her back to that past. Then we have Thea (rich girl) who lives happily up until her mother dies and her father immediately remarries. With a new step mother and an older step brother who assaults her, she is desperate to reclaim her birth rite and work to make her father proud. From here, we see their lives unfold and fate take its place as their paths cross severally without either knowing who the other is.

This story I have to admit took me on an emotional roller coaster. One time am fearing for Romy and another time, am feeling sorry for Thea. Don't worry dear readers, there are many a good times in this book. The general idea about it is based on triumph, love and yes, ultimately, a reunion. I do however appreciate that Joanna was careful not to make romance the main theme in the novel. One other thing she excels at is making sure the story moves along in rhythm despite the huge time span of 40 years (1971-2011). I applaud her, for this is no mean feat. She even manages to squeeze in the 9/11 attacks in the story that saw and to my surprise, the death of a character I had come to really like. Nevertheless, I give her a thumbs up for not giving me what I expected...the element of surprise was therefore not lacking in this book. :)

'A Twist of Fate' is a book for anyone who loves a good drama. With lots of stories neatly put together chronologically, it promises a good read. And if you have a lazy day, I highly recommend it. You might not want to put it down. :)

You're Different? No Worries!

I had mentioned in my previous post about how I think Aussies are quite accommodating of people
despite their differences. In fact, I bet they are the most accommodating bunch of people in the world! You're different? No worries! (a very common phrase used here) You will fit right in. :) I think in my honest opinion...there's no place on earth you can find such a laid back society. I mean, you can literally belong here from outer space! Just kidding. Still, this accepting culture is really what makes Australia a great nation. I bet that's why there are so many nations converged here.

In my train rides, I have come to actually see for myself this accepting culture played out. For
example, a guy having no shoes on walks into the train...no one even takes notice. It's actually a thing. In my country, you would get all kinds of stares especially because what you have on ankle upwards doesn't equal what you don't have ankle downwards. Actually you would probably be the talk of the town if you actually just decided not to put shoes on.
To many, you would be plain weird.

So confession time...I once sat next to this guy who stunk from here to Timbuktu... Am not being mean or anything, but it was awful. So I moved. Yap...guilty as charged. But what made me actually feel bad about how I reacted was that no one else moved. If they smelt it, they didn't show. In fact, he had a very nice looking face and the lady seated next to him actually smiled and I think that must have made his day because he showed some teeth. Talk about feeling awful... So I resigned to myself that I would try to be like those people and well, hold my breathe next time... :)

Since coming to Perth, I have observed a very wide array of diverse cultures and well, behavior. Stuff
like dyeing hair green, having a gazillion tattoos on and piercings in places I had never imagined could be was very new to me. In fact, doing this here is no more fashionable than it is culture...acceptable culture. So after a while, I came to realise that these things did not make these people who they were. In fact, I am guilty as charged when it comes to judging appearances and I have learnt what was said in the good book..."God does not look at the outward, rather the heart" (just paraphrased scripture here...the verse is 1st Samuel 16:7. So good on you mates for being better judges of character than me!

So dear readers, I will replace my jaw-dropping gazes with an appreciation of the accepting culture of Perth people and try to smile at the next guy who looks like he just dropped out from outer space!
Still kidding :)

G'day to you.

The Issue With Race

I have been sitting on this post for a while. Two weeks to be exact. And not because I haven't had the time. But because I had no idea how to begin reviewing this next book. To me, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a 'wordsmith' if ever there is such a word. She does not seek to impress you but however manages to awe you instead. Her candid writing style is a breath of fresh air. I have read just one other of her books and even then, I couldn't help but wonder who she was. This woman with her ingenuity really caught me.So you can see dear readers why this has taken a while. Nevertheless, here goes my attempt at capturing in very few words the essence of her novel, 'Americanah'.

'Americanah' is a novel based on the theme of race but with so many other aspects to it...love,
struggles, kinsmanship. I love the sheer honesty of her views on the topic. Having experienced first-hand what it meant to be an African in America, she said not what we wanted to hear but what everyone else is afraid to say. The center of her book speaks of a love-tragedy between a young Nigerian couple; Ifemelu and Obinze. Ifemelu decides to pursue her undergraduate degree in the US and leaves Obinze behind oblivious that he too goes to pursue his in England. I say oblivious because somewhere in between, due to an unfortunate experience, she ends her relationship with Obinze. Now this is the part where my relationship antennae kicks in. Am a hopeless romantic. Yap. I completely hate the part where a love so deep and strong is torn apart. Am always curious to know whether a happily-ever-after eventually happens in the end. With Chimamanda on this wheel, I wasn't too sure. But she kept me glued. I was fascinated as to how quickly Ifemelu became 'Americanised' and it got me thinking if that's how it has to be for migrants...adapt or adopt. Having recovered from a first love gone wrong, she dated first a white then a black American man. These men form the backbone of Ifemelu's story. A story of triumph in a world she grew to know as home. I was utterly impressed to read that she began to write a blog speaking on race in America. And even more impressed when she decided to go back to her real home, Nigeria. This is where the book begins with Ifemelu at a hair dressers musing over her decision to leave a land she had known for 13 years to go back to her home, a place she was not sure was home enough. Interestingly, hair is a relevant part of the race story.

The characters in this book are as real as they can get and this I guess helps to tell this story in a way that doesn't point fingers. I especially liked how Adichie chose to use the cast in her story to explain the issue on race. In this way, we can easily identify. We see for example, Ifemelu's aunt, Aunty Uju who hosts Ifemelu once she arrives in the US. Hers is a depiction of the struggles of a single mother raising a child in a 'harsh' environment with all its influences. Her cousin, Dike who in this book is depicted as your regular African-American child later on attempts suicide. An incident that would probably have been avoided if the race issue wasn't such an issue in America. This opened up to me the reality of race and being different. It doesn't become an issue until one sets out of their own country to a foreign land. And I guess that's why we can never really know the depths of it. And as Chimamanda says in the book, 'we all wish race was not an issue'. But it is, isn't it? Maybe it takes a bold person like Adichie to show it to us. So I think 'Americanah' isn't really about the perks of living as an African in America but generally about being aware that living in a society where race is most evident should make it okay to talk about rather than make it the 'elephant in the room'. I highly recommend you read 'Americanah' mostly because I merely attempted to explain a 477 page book in a few lines and because its probably the most interesting book I've read this year! :)