Whatever Wednesday - A Guardian and a Thief

 It's near future Kolkata - flooding and famine. Ma, her two year old daughter, and her elderly father and prepare to leave for Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Her husband is there and she is ready to  start a new life. She has the all important visas in her purse. She is ready for a fresh future. 

They go to sleep, but awaken to find her purse is gone. Dreams evaporated. 

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar covers one week and two intertwined stories. The guardian, Ma, frantically searches for the thief. The  thief, a desperate young man commits escalating crimes to care for his family. Food shortages and heat combine to enhance the battle. 

How far will the guardian and thief go to save their families? The author paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope. It's tough to stave off encroaching catastrophe.  (cover blurb)

This is a stunning book, beautifully written. There is a lot of tension. The author is empathetic to both sides of the tale and draws you in as the reader to an understanding of sorts. 

p. 69  Perhaps it was her mind mixing up a variety of fear, an intruder who  had molested the peace of her house, a crook who had taken what she  most prized. 

p. 177  The husband in Michigan thinking: The pride of having immigrated was also, in  truth, the wound. Didn't they understand that? Didn't they understand that he wanted every opportunity to examine the wound? 

Monday Moments - The Academy

 The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham is a fun romp through the halls of  a private New England high school/ college prep boarding school. Money. Secrets. Rumors. Liaisons. 

Tiffin Academy is a small glitzy school and it just leaped in rankings to number two. How can that be?

Gorgeous campus. Fabulous food. Parties. Lovely students...seriously, physically attractive - all of them.

As they bask in their newfound glory, a new  app Zip Zap posts scandalous items - nobody is safe. Who's cheating on whom? Is there more  to hide than  the liquor bottles?

This is just a fun, no brainer page turner with amusing characters, outrageous situations, entitled youth, and teacher  power struggles. You do not need your thinking cap for this read. Just enjoy.   

Finally Friday - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

 Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson tells a layered tale - it's a story of how inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape  relationships and history. It's an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch. (cover blurb)

Eleanor Bennett has died. Now her grown children, Byron and Benny listen to a taped message she left for them, along with a signature black cake - a Caribbean tradition.  Eleanor's story is surprising. She escaped her island home under suspicion of murder. She's held onto a different identity and tells about herself as a young woman named Covey. 

The siblings have been estranged and now hear about another long lost sister. Will they unite and find her? Or will they stay lost in their own versions of their lives? 

I really enjoyed the journey of the black cake, this history it holds, and how it draws a family together. Wilkerson's debut novel is superb with rich characters and a lot of twists and turns to the family saga. Treat yourself to a slice of good writing. 

Whatever Wednesday - What Will February Bring?

Amanda Gorman, a poet laureate, has a way with words.

 Let's see what February brings.  At least it's a short month.  And yet, even with the joy of Valentine's chocolates (I'll take any excuse for candy), the month tends to drag. 

Stay safe, warm, and avoid ice, ICE, ice...baby

Monday Moments - Groundhog's Day

A PA friend posted this on Friday.  So today's the day - Groundhog Day...

It's not looking good for a lot of the states.
 

And here's another take on it

This was our end to  January.  Ray broke up 2-1/2 chunks of ice and I shoveled it.  The driveway took two hours to do.  Whew!  We were sore.  That's a whole other level of exercise.

We're in  the DFW area.  My sister in DE reported a foot of snow over the course of a few days. Same with my brother in PA.  That's a LOT of shoveling. Plus temps  in the  teens with no real break ahead. 

This week is going up to the 60s by noon  each day for us.  It better get sunnier.  Saturday, February 7th, I'm  going to do our  YMCA polar plunge.  Yowza.  I'll find out if I can walk on  water. 

Take care, where ever you are. Watch for ice glaze.  I recommend indoors, reading, and hot cocoa. 

(oh, and stock  up on Girl Scout cookies). 

Finally Friday - Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme is a sport comedy movie loosely based on  the life of Marty Reisman, a table tennis superstar.  Timothee Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a wily hustler in New York City. Chalamet has won the Golden Globe and a Critic's Choice Award for his performance, and his nominated for an Oscar. He is very, very good. 

The movie is directed by Josh  Safdie who also did Uncut Gems which starred an award winning Adam Sandler.  I found the  two films to  be very alike - the pacing, the  down and dirty living, the lying, the angst. 

Marty is always robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to  speak. He's trying  to get money to  fly to Europe  for the table tennis championships.  He  borrows here, cheats here, always fast talking. He does work for his uncle's shoe  store, but manages  to screw that up. He's got Rachel, a long time girl/ friend who happens  to  be married, and he gets her pregnant. 

At age twenty-three, the kid is wise beyond his years and deep down is sorta good. Chalamet is likeable with that sweet face, and believable as very smart and talented. But almost too much of a wiseacre. 

I'm glad I saw this movie and yet I found it exhausting and way too long (2-1/2 hours) .  I got the gist immediately and then it just  kept going, and going - literally ping ponging around the city.  Whew! 

 

Whatever Wednesday - Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang

 Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang is a ridiculous romp of a read. 

cover blurb - Succession meets Crazy Rich Asians in this chaotic, darkly funny saga about the lengths a wealthy family will go to ensure the birth of a male heir from the gay black sheep of their clan. 

Re-read that sentence. Now, just picture how ridiculous that statement is for life.  The billionaire Sun clan is nuts. Powerful struggling aunties, emasculated uncles,  scheming cousins,  scandalous secrets, and a fortune teller on  retainer. 

This book is hilarious, nutso, probably has a touch of  reality beyond normal peoples comprehension,  and is  a fun read. It's total escapism, written with a wink and a nod. The family characters are hilarious, sad, pathetic, and yet, empathetic. 

Altogether it's about finding and connecting the right love, making it work, and continuing family traditions (albeit with the right grace note). 

Pure mind candy and that's okay.  Enjoy!