BOOK REVIEW | Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

5/5 stars

Islands of Decolonial Love is a unique collection of stories and songs from Anishinaabe author, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. These stories are told in the Indigenous tradition, so please read this with an open mind, and leave behind your ideas about colonial literature.

For me, these stories felt like wisdom. They’re the sort of stories that can be read again and again, each time gleaning new lessons. I was blown away by the beauty of the language, and the openness with which Simpson writes. It feels like she has invited you into her personal space, sharing intimacy and tradition with her readers. Some of the most beautiful passages I’ve ever read were in her stories about land and nature.

The book is accompanied by performances that you can download and listen to while moving through it. I found that these added a richness to the experience that was so valuable. In my second photo, you’ll see a little cassette tape graphic – this indicates that there is an audio piece to accompany that story / song. I absolutely loved how immersive this made the reading experience.

BOOK REVIEW | Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

4/5 stars

Sabrina & Corina is a collection of short stories focusing on Chicanas living in Colorado. The stories are rich and the characters are alive, each of these vignettes played out like a short movie in my mind while I was reading them. They’re sad stories, but beautiful and moving too. I wanted more from the stories because each of them was just so good, but I also felt satisfied with their tender conclusions. Fajardo-Anstine created something truly special with this collection.

While all of the stories make a strong emotional impact, Galapago had me shed a tear reading the last line – that doesn’t come easily in a short story. In this story, a widow is forced to move into a retirement community after a break-in at her house that leaves a young man dead. Touching on the economic disparity that would leave an elderly woman living alone in a bad part of town, as well as a young man addicted to drugs and committing a crime to survive, this story hit hard. Tomi sticks out for me as well – avwoman is released from prison, returning to live with her brother and young nephew. They both have trauma to work through and ultimately create a bond that suggests a more hopeful future for each. Ghost Sickness is a perfect conclusion to the collection, and a reminder of the significance of Navajo ancestry.

The collection examines gentrification, sexuality, violence, addiction, tradition, inter-generational trauma, love, death, motherhood, broken families, and the families you create. The stories feel deeply intimate, leaving one to wonder how much of herself Fajardo-Anstine has laid bare on the page. A profound, and wholly unique read.

BOOK REVIEW | Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

5/5 stars

She leaned forward and peered at the rosebush – why, there was another bud coming right behind that bloom!

Oh, Olive, where to begin? I adored this book from the first page to the last. The quote above is the simplest and most meaningful way of summing up this book – life just goes on. You live, have experiences, create human connections, and you die. And then another bud follows your bloom. This is a book about reflection – the messiness of life, the stuff in the middle.

Olive is back in this follow up to its predecessor, Olive Kitteridge. Please note that you do not have to have read the first installment to enjoy this book, but it’s a fantastic return to this character if you have. Told in Strout’s signature style, this is a series of short stories about the people and places of the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Each story is about or ultimately connects with Olive – even the stories that she doesn’t appear in reveal connections by the end.

Olive is as cynical as ever, speaking her mind in the most hilarious and inappropriate ways. She says what everyone thinks, but would never dare to say out loud. Time passes as the stories roll on, reflections on life and human connections being the bond that ties them all together. This was a particularly poignant time in my life to read Olive – I have 3 young kids, one of them being a baby. Olive’s reflections on motherhood and her marriage reminded me that the the chaos, busyness, and work that comes with raising 3 boys and maintaining a partnership is, in fact, the stuff of life.

I loved Olive, especially as she became elderly. I loved how she processed her age, her losses, her loneliness, her relationships with her son and late husbands – all with her cantankerous flair. I don’t think we’ll be hearing from Olive again, but this was the perfect way to say goodbye.

BOOK REVIEW | Stay Awake by Dan Chaon

3.5 / 5 stars

My thoughts:
This is a solid collection of short stories from an incredibly talented writer. Reading Chaon’s work, you can’t help but feel as though he is either consciously or subconsciously revealing parts of himself. His flaws, his fears, thoughts on family, love, and death. He is a man who has loved and lost, and you feel the depth of his experience between the pages of his books.

This collection has a few brilliant, eerie stories. The first story, The Bees is so, so good, and so, so creepy. This collection started off with a bang! There’s some imagery there that I can’t get out of my mind. This story felt complete, it gave me everything I needed.

I struggle a little with short stories because I almost always want more, and this collection is no different. Many of the stories felt incomplete – I wanted Chaon to save therm to flesh out full novels! That said, they were all great to read and that is certainly the mark of a great writer – give me more! All of the stories are dark and twisted in one way or another.

Chaon is my kind of writer, and I am excited to continue working through his catalog. If you’ve read Chaon, tell me what I should pick up next!