jiujensu's reviews
454 reviews

Love Story by Erich Segal

sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Not my typical fare! I read this because of the TV show (and book) Good Girls Revolt, which I give five stars, by the way. I like owning the book and getting into the show by reading a book the characters are reading. I absolutely love that. It was popular at the time I guess. Allegedly an epic love story. Kill off the woman to help the man learn grand life lessons because he can't possibly see through the misogyny ~without~ the universe taking away his most prized possession. The lesson? It's okay to cry. Once. If your possession/fiance dies. 

I think it was supposed to be witty and edgy at the time - the two that fall in love throw insults around to express affection. Maybe it was progressive that Jenny went to Radcliffe and was going to study music in Paris or that she grew up working class and married money. Generally, it was a wildly patriarchal story in every way, especially when Oliver was given the authority/ability whether or not to tell Jenny she had a terminal illness, like she was a child.

I'd give it five stars for helping set the scene for the events of Good Girls Revolt, but I can't footnote the rating. That book is the world those women who fought for equal pay lived in. But story-wise, not good, lol. Less than one star.

War in Ukraine by Nicolas J.S. Davies, Medea Benjamin

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Finally an honest look at the Russia Ukraine conflict from an anti-war perspective. It's short and to the point and tackles the history and main causes as well as all propaganda, both US and Russian. Read and test your knowledge - did you believe all the propaganda or did you sort it out?

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria by Wendy Pearlman

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is a collection of personal accounts and memories from the Syrain revolution. The only commentary comes in the introduction. I love this approach - collectively, you get a good picture of the politics and aspirations of the people where US media reports may have obscured and muddled the facts. There are stories as in Gaza of children as young as five losing all hope and wishing to die. There are truths about refugees - that they are here to work with you not against you and if you don't want refugees in your county, work for peace in Syria. More than one person details how they had hope other nations would support them in the beginning, but the US just bombed ISIS and made things worse. Sometimes they recount life in America and how they had to learn about debit cards and credit scores and every store asks for your email and then you "get a thousands of emails from Home Depot, my God."

I think this is one you'd enjoy even if you aren't into politics or foreign affairs - very human and engaging. But I hope it makes everyone consider the lives we destroy with our US "defense budget" every year and think about what else we could do with all that money. 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

5.0

Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden by Branko Marcetic

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

The rise of Biden mirrors the rightward shift or downfall of the Democratic Party. In this book you'll watch as a not terrible but still pretty centrist guy shift ever rightward, till he serves corporate interests, hates being called liberal, doesn't believe abortion is a right, values a McConnell photo op over stemming the tide of maga fascism, helped Kennedy and Alito to SCOTUS, supported Iraq invasion, 94 crime bill and a host of things he could've fought against then so we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now. But he chose his career over fighting for the people. He wanted to be known as your buddy (if you are a Republican or corporate donor) rather than someone fighting for our rights. He values bipartisanship, but usually only when it benefited Republicans. 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

At first I was kind of annoyed because the author puts you inside the head of the exact character whose head you don't want to be in. The story got more complex and engaging, though, so the annoying main character was easier to handle. It was weird having a feeling like you have to root for the main character because the perspective is narrated that way but also rooting for her failure because of what she did. 

It's set in publishing and writing, so you get some inside baseball there. And more universally, it covered competition, cancel culture, racism, and Twitter fights. Social media isn't supposed to be real life but it does sometimes have real life consequences.

My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story by Ramzy Baroud

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Excellent generational record and also a quicker look at the history of Palestine than say Khalidi's The Hundred Years War. USians would do well do read this one to combat the mostly pro-Israel position that dominates the government, media, and everything else. It emphasizes the essential point missing from the conversation - no peace agreement has ever addressed right of return, end to occupation, settlement removal, etc and instead focuses solely on Israeli security and hands Palestinians a list of demands it must comply with - OR ELSE. Other myths are also addressed, but that one was well- stated and much needed now. 

You'll also get a much better look at what Hamas is and isn't, what the elections meant, and how it resulted in the complete imprisonment of thre population. 

I hope one can see how these genocide efforts happen every few years. It isn't a cycle of violence or two sides, but a colonial power trying to displace the indigenous population. 

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh

emotional informative fast-paced

5.0

Shehadeh is brilliant. You should read anything he's written. This one is about his and his father's relationship,obviously. Compelling enough in its own, but the historical context in there is especially needed now. There's are lots of details of legal cases you may not have known about to get Palestinian money unfrozen, which Israel stole from Palestinian accounts in banks in 1948 (along with everything else). It also tells a bit about why the Arab governments didn't help Palestinians - some wanted to expand their own territory and some wanted to appease the retreating British who still held power on the new countries carved after world wars. All at Palestinians' expense.

Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones by Carole Boyce Davies

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I highly recommend Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones, especially if you have left leaning feminist anti-racist, anti-capitalist anti-imperialist politics. If the black power, civil rights and labor movements, anti-war protests, and women's rights advocates inspire you, this is a perfect fit. It also gives insight into the red scare, which it seems, is much needed - the discourse isn't much different now as in her time. 

As a black communist woman, she was a symbol for much of what the US tried/tries to erase. Since the US Communist Party was criminalized, an 807 page FBI file was compiled, and she was imprisoned and deported for her beliefs and writings. She wrote about peace and equal rights and so was an enemy of the state.

My favorite quote summing up the case against her:
The publication of her ideas was what constituted her criminal offense. Now that the material is all available to us, we can see that in its use of "literary evidence," the state's case rested on literary misinterpretation, flawed and biased analyses, and deliberately superficial critical reading. 

The Woman from Tantoura by Radwa Ashour

emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

All the cities and villages as well as massacres are real places and events. The characters are fictional but fascinating. Even Handala/Hanzala and the assassinated artist fit into the story. You'll trace the histories of several permanent refugees and get a look at the variety of thought. Some still believe they will return and have become lawyers and architects, engineers and poets to further that aim. Some soured on return when UNRWA was formed in 1949 and came to terms with limited rights in other counties or becoming a provider for extended family in a gulf country. 
This is a pretty good one for both picking up a feel for the disaster in 1948 and Palestinian culture. A solid story with compelling characters.