Lori Tharps has already well established herself as a nonfiction writer navigating the politics of Black hair in Hair Story and her witty, observant  memoir, Kinky Gazpacho. Now she's taking her turn at fiction in Substitute Me. Tharps explores the nanny-employer relationship in this head shaking, "uhn" inducing novel. Zora Anderson is the classic underachiever. Lingering between self-discovery and complacency, she transplants to New York and sublets a friends apartment. For income, she falls back into being a nanny and her near perfect job slowly but surely gets into emotionally dangerous territory. Her charge, Ollie, is the infant son of Kate and Brad. Kate is career-oriented and Brad has a career that's just a job to him and other aspirations that his wife doesn't necessarily support. Kate's ad stating that she's looking for someone to "substitute me" gets her more than she bargained for. 

This book is so many things--an entertaining read, a conversation on race, gender, and class, a look at today's working moms, etc. What stands out for me most is what this novel explores regarding what some may view as the modern mammy and crossing boundaries. It's just ripe with debate. A refreshing component is characterization. The people inhabiting Substitute Me are often not depicted in literature that features Black main characters. Zora and her fellow nanny friend are both cultured, worldly women who are merely on a pit stop in life as caretakers. Tharps does a great job of contrasting eccentric and confident painter, Angel and Zora who's afraid to admit she just might like being a nanny because her family wouldn't approve. Kate is the typical career woman coping with fitting in her other roles of wife and mother. Her and Brad's banter on race and class are classic. While the supporting hold their own, this novel is ultimately Zora and Kate's stories. 

Lori Tharps' writing shines here in Zora's observation of Fort Greene and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn: 

And here on being Black and living in Paris v. New York:

I only have one teeny tiny qualm about a minor detail. I find Kate's ignorance of Zora Neale Hurston's existence kinda implausible since she holds a degree in English literature. Even if she is white. But our fabulous author is a college professor and may have more insight on this than I, so I digress.

What's important is that this is a great quirky brown read navigating the lives of Black folks who are well travelled, aspirational, and some even bilingual. Do get book, get friends and family to as well, then engage in some awesome discussions. 

I received this book from the publisher.

Challenges
Quirky Brown
POC Reading

Monice Mitchell Simms is a storyteller. I don't mean that to sound light or insignificant. In this near epic tale of a bright young girl from Jim Crow era Locust Grove, Georgia to her tumultuous teen years in the Motor City, Simms demonstrates such dexterity in her debut novel. Merry's tale opens with her life in the South living with her grandmother and her "selfish" younger brother. After, Merry makes an unthinkable sacrifice to save him, the looming consequences leave her grandmother no choice but to send her "up North" to the mother who abandoned her children. In Detroit, her life seems to be heading towards triumph as she's a successful student and bourgeoning pianist and singer. However, her demons get the best of her and she begins to console her not quite teenaged self with alcohol. Merry quickly finds herself on a downward spiral as a teen mom, dealing with addictions, and a hole in her soul she can't seem to fill. Right up to the bittersweet end, Merry never seems to lose her fight even though she fouls up quite a bit along her journey to self. Don't think that this is a typical, or stereotypical, tale of Black youth gone rogue. There are nuances to this novel not quite expected and while flawed, Merry remains endearing throughout. Every character, from the closeted gay male to the stifled preacher's daughter gone bad to the alluring bad boy, is well thought and fleshed out.

Simms has written such a page turner that it's girth surprisingly never hits any lulls or feels overworked. This debut is also the promising beginning of a trilogy of which I highly anticipate the sequel, The Mailman's Daughter. If you like great, meaty stories, do get your hands on a copy of Address: House of Corrections.


I received this book from the author.

Challenges
POC Reading

...will anyone care? I won't. I was devastated when the Barnes & Noble closed in my neighborhood a year ago. This isn't so much because I like the "big box" stores, but my neighborhood has been on a downward spiral for over a decade and it concerns me not having a bookstore in close proximity. For me, it's like the decline of neighborhood schools in my city. It's just detrimental to the residents.

Lately the book/publishing industry has been abuzz regarding the financial woes of Borders. Borders has never been my favorite, it's just convenient...sort of. I mean on that rare occasion I can find something other than the latest and greatest in hoodrat fiction on their shelves it's pretty neat. This is more rare than a solar eclipse these days. I recently encountered a very helpful employee who expressed a fleeting bit of concern when I shared with her how difficult it is to find the books that suit my tastes in Borders. She was eased when I told her I usually get them from one of the two online stores from which I purchase books. since I didn't name one of the few remaining indie bookstores in Memphis, she was done with that conversation. 

Locally, Borders isn't the only chain potentially on the chopping block. Bookstar and Waldenbooks have closed here recently as well. Ad I'm not at all surprised to see them go. These smaller scale chain stores were most likely doomed with the shift towards online retail. Nonetheless, it's a bit sad to see any bookstore close. Except Borders. I understand that bookstores feel that they can't possibly carry "every" title in publication, but Borders and most of the brick and mortar stores have to understand that everyone cannot pay $25 for every book they purchase. I know this is an old song, but they don't seem to get it until it's too late. Price or selection has to improve in the eye of the consumer or business will be taken elsewhere. 


So, will you be disappointed if Borders goes under? How much will it impact your book buying if it does? 

Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoir is masterfully written and illustrated. She reveals harsh yet sometimes comical realities of war and religious fanaticism through childhood memories. She exudes all the angst and precocity of youth mixed with the rebellion of a bourgeoning political activist. The setting is the late 1970s and early 1980s in Iran. The Islamic Revolution has begun. The veil has become a permanent part of women's wardrobes as their hair has been deemed "stimulating".  Satrapi struggles with the frustration of being a child who wants to stand for something but is not always sure what that something is. She feels she can't stand idly by while her parents go into the streets to protest the Shah regime, so she stirs things up in her school and often to the chagrin of her teachers. After taking the reader on a journey through this time in Iran's history and seeing the lives of those Satrapi knew personally affected by it, she brings us to a heartbreaking conclusion.

While I'm no expert on graphic novels, I found Satrapi's illustrations so effective in moving the story along. There's a slight whimsy to them-mainly the characters' eyes- that serves as reminder that these are a child's experiences. 

Persepolis 2 picks up just where the first volume ended. Marjane is trying to adjust to her new life as a teen student in Austria in the early 80s. Her political activism/ rebellions become more of a way to procure friends and slowly turn themselves into vices to her detriment. Satrapi explores her struggles with losing her sense of being temporarily and the general demise many young people engender. Later in this volume, we see her enter a questionable marriage and she delves more into the issues and place of women in Iran, or lack thereof, though it's a running theme in both books. Again, women seem to suffer the sharpest blow of the regime with the need to cover themselves as to not present men with temptations. The ending this time is definitely hopeful but still bittersweet.

I love Satrapi's voice and style in both books. She has a delicately acerbic tongue. She really captured the angst of youth and political activism as well as the jaded side of both. I'm now anxious to read her other works: Embroideries and Chicken with Plums. 

Challenges:
POC Reading

Alice Walker's 2010 collection of poems is like a perfect stroll through the park. Her words are approachable and cloaked in a sagacious womanhood. They are simple yet no to be rushed through. Like any poetry, they deserve a reading, a meditation, and a re-read. Several of the pieces have an anecdotal quality as in "You confide in Me" where Walker's subject lacks a sofa which hints at a lack or inability of intimacy.

Walker doesn't shy away from any topic. She speaks on the unwieldiness of hatred, acceptance of and beauty in the imperfect, and reminds us of our responsibility to protect the Earth.  She also devotes two very personal pieces--one to her estranged daughter on love and freedom and the other to her unknown grandchild.

This may be the first time I've encountered a collection of poems that I wanted to keep next to my bed. Each poem is like a breath or wisp of wind. The illustrations throughout add a beautiful, ethereal feeling to these words that celebrate every aspect of life.

Challenges:
Fearless Poetry
POC Reading

I will keep
broken things.
I will keep
you:

pilgrim
of
sorrow.

Here's where those participating in the Quirky Brown Reading Challenge can link to their reviews. You can still sign up and you do not have to have a book blog to participate. If you use any of the online cataloging sites such as LibraryThing or Goodreads, you can post reviews/thoughts there and grab the permalink to post here. 

I'm really looking forward to our summer discussion of Big Machine by Victor LaValle. Currently, I have it slated for Wednesday, June 15, 2011. So, be sure to purchase or check it out from your local library for the live June discussion here at BGBS. 

Let's get quirky!