Americanah

Adichie, C. N. (2013). Americanah. New York: Knopf.

Hardcover | $26.95 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0307271082 | 496 pages | Adult Fiction 

Adichie has written a chilling masterpiece.  This novel can’t be about just one topic because so much is woven together. Here are some of the questions addressed: What does it mean to be African and live in America?  How does moving from Nigeria to America affect and change someone?  What is the impact this will have on relationships? On love?  What will be realized about communities? White privilege? What will be learned about ethnocentrism and about our own identities? These are all questions that Adichie discusses through her character Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who moves to America in pursuit of a higher education. 

Ifemelu has moved to America to study and to become a wrier. She has her ideas about what America should be like based on TV shows like the Cosby’s, but upon her arrival she realizes its not what she thought. She is there to attend school and starts off fresh and new and is learning a lot about her new homeland called America. Truth is, the experience of coming to America, taught her a lot and taught her about things she did not know existed, including the four letter word: race. The concept of race didn’t exist in Nigeria, but it exists on every street corner, store, and train station in every city in America. She learns what it means and what it feels like to be “black” in America. Ifemelu begins to write a blog about race in America.  She does not have it easy in America – she hits some real lows and struggles to find a job, but through a lot of flashbacks we learn that she does gain an education, a fellowship at Princeton and finds a new love in an African American professor.  Her life was kind of easy in comparison back in Nigeria, or maybe it was just simpler. Ifemula ends the blog and returns to Nigeria after thirteen years of living in cities all around the U.S. But she isn’t returning to what she originally planned. Things have changed.

To make the story more interesting, there are parallel stories intertwined. Her teenage love, Obinze, wanted to also come to America to finish school, but because it is post 9/11 he is not permitted to enter the U.S. Instead he goes to London and faces his own challenges with finding a job. He tries to fake a marriage but is deported. He struggles just as much as Ifemelu, but upon his return to Nigeria he marries again, but the problem is it wasn’t for love and he is not happy. Adichie’s characters are both unhappy and unsatisfied with the position that they found themselves in, although oceans and continents apart. Their love went in opposite directions while their hearts remained in Nigeria, though they didn’t know it. It took a journey of self-realization to appreciate the life they had. However, the experiences taught them and stretched them.

This realistic love story will provide readers with plenty of insight for those who want to have their eyes opened to the issues of race, migration and struggles in America. This book is highly recommended for all readers. Though race has an important role in this book, not only Africans or African Americans need to read this. This is one book that all readers from all races should read because the honesty of the characters and their experiences will teach us all. It belongs in every library’s multicultural collection. This work is highly recommended for all public libraries.

Eminent Outlaws

Bram, C. (2012). Eminent outlaws: The gay writers who changed America. New York: Twelve.

Hardcover | $27.99 USD | ISBN-13:  978-0446563130 | 372 pages | Adult Non-Fiction

Eminent Outlaws is a history lesson on the gay literary authors who wrote in the time period of the 50s through the 90s and after.  While reading Bram’s historical narrative, you can understand the major writers who approached gay literature differently but collectively were able to impact writing and works that were published in general in America and beyond.

Bram explains the different cultural and historical events and their relationship and impact on attitudes and ideas shared by the gay writers of this time. There is a lot of variation in how the writers approached their literary works and it was definitely impacted by the time period in which the authors wrote and lived. Some wrote about openly gay characters and lived an openly gay lifestyle while others wrote plays that only hinted or mentioned the idea of homosexuality and lived their lives behind closed doors.

The way in which homosexuality was explored in literature was impacted by how the gay movement itself developed.  In the 50s “homosexuality was not completely forbidden, but it was in a tight spot” (Bram, 2012, p. 20). Still, it seems that didn’t change because fifty years later, admirers downplay the “Gayness” of poetry and the author Ginsberg (p. 37). Bram shares that during the 50s, many writers were silent on homosexuality, but it was so “despised in some circles” it was seen as a threat (p. 69).  Although this changed in the 60s when readers wanted to see relationships for what they really were (p. 79) and when viewers wanted to watch gay figures shine on late night talk shows (p. 89).  Riots in the late 60s caused a few problems, but this raised publicity of the movement when gay bars were regularly raided and gays were arrested (p. 134-135). Many were not sure which direction to go to best fight for gay rights – this led to many arguments and schisms for how to move forward (p. 136).  Gay liberation would follow in the 70s; but it wasn’t unordinary for gay literature to be published after the authors died to protect their reputations (p. 151). The biggest shift came in the 70s when gays in larger numbers finally gave themselves a name and they told their families about their preferences too (p. 194).

Christopher Bram combines all of the authors from this time period in one book for any readers who are interested in the development of gay authors and its impact on America’s 20^th century.  The book itself is laid out in a readable format and the chronological procession makes it easy to follow along with the development of the time. I would recommend this book for adult readers, gay or straight, and public libraries with diverse populations.  This book would fit well in a library’s collection on social history and gay literature. Any readers who can appreciate a cultural history book interwoven with personal stories about the author’s lives will appreciate this novel. 

Cotton Tenants: Three Families

Agee, J. (2013). Cotton Tenants: Three Families. New York: Melville House.

Hardcover | $17.46 USD | ISBN-13: 978-1612192123 | 224 pages | Adult Non-Fiction

A family’s struggle for survival can mean a lot of things. Agee tells the story about the lives of people that the world doesn’t seem to care about. These three families of the story belong to Bud Fields, Frank Tingle and Floyd Burroughs. They live in a land called Mills Hill, in Hale County, Alabama – a world where nothing is wasted and what is used may seem to the human eye to even be waste itself. None of us have ever used corn shucks as toilet paper. Our roofs may leak but we have one over each room of our homes. We have never worn clothing until it has fallen off of us. Shoes are not something we buy for our children or ourselves if we make a profit within that year.

The details given about the lives of three families in the story will give you a more somber understanding of poverty in the South during the Great Depression. The poor tenant families in Alabama lived in a social system that neglected them and an economy that used them, despite their efforts. Northern journalism called this tenant system the sharecropping system, but it perhaps deserved another name – a name that would show this flawed system for what it was and help us all see it for its exploitation of those stuck in this system with no other options or choices to earn a livelihood. Families struggled to make a profit – their debts grew and some years their profits were between $12 -15. The families worked incredibly hard on a daily basis but their hard work seemed to be for nothing because they were among those at a disadvantage from the start. 

As Agee writes “a civilization which for any reason puts a human life at a disadvantage; or a civilization which can only exist only by putting human life at a disadvantage; is worthy neither of the name nor of the continuance. And a human being whose life is nurtured at an advantage which has accrued from the disadvantage of other human beings, and who prefers that this should remain as is, is a human being by definition only, having much more in common with the bedbug, the tapeworm, the cancer, and the scavengers of the deep sea” (p. 19). The landowners though believed that the tenants who worked for them had everything they needed and in fact their service to these tenants was indispensable. However, the readers can decide. The information presented here in this non-fiction work alongside 30 historic photos by Walker Evans tells a truly painful history of three families living in poverty and struggling to provide basic needs for their families. All three were cotton tenants, but all three were human and deserve our sympathies. And while reading allow your mind to fathom that these three families were not poor enough to receive support from the government or work from the WPA…

James Agee wrote for Fortune and originally published a story on this topic in 1941 called Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. This report Cotton Tenants was thought to have been lost. Agee wrote this after a visit to Alabama in 1936 in which he explored the poverty there and it was not found until after his death (“Melville House,” 2013). By doing so Agee takes us back to a time where we can learn and appreciate the struggles of those before us. Reading about the struggles of those in poverty will help all readers appreciate their own circumstances a little more. This is highly recommended for all public libraries and any reader who appreciates historical reports, or one who wants to take a walk through history and experience a truly remarkable depiction of poverty and its impact on the ordinary man.  

The World's Strongest Librarian

Hanagarne, J. (2013). The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family. Los Angeles: Gotham.

Hardcover | $18.09 USD | ISBN-13: 978-1592407873 | 288 pages | Adult Memoir

 

Imagine growing up with a tic. This tic started when you were on stage dressed as a tree and participating in a school play in first grade. You didn’t seem to mind at the time. You didn’t really notice and you were a busy kid with all of your book reading and library visits (plus other important kid stuff). Your parents and siblings understood the tics, and you can be who you are at home, so it was not an issue. But then, the tics get worse and were compounded with verbal outbursts that you can’t seem to control. This happened in middle school. You were tall so you joined the basketball team. This would both help you fit in and stay under the radar. Still, kids can be cruel and you become a target in the classroom. You start to wonder what if something was wrong with you? This is what happened to Josh Hanagarne. He found out in 9^th grade that he has Tourette Syndrome. What he does next will not only inform you about this unknown disease but inspire you to see what a man can accomplish with it.  

The World’s Strongest Librarian is a memoir of Josh Hanagarne’s life from childhood to adulthood and how he dealt and deals with Tourette’s. Sometimes as Josh explains he would just like to be invisible.  Readers can all agree that sometimes we all find ourselves in situations where we would prefer to be invisible. But when you grow to be 6’7” tall that is just impossible.  It is even more impossible when you have Tourette’s. His tics and his outbursts became very difficult that he was endangering himself. He tried many things to make them stop from drugs to injections. Nothing seemed to work for Josh until he got involved in strength training. And even then that took a few tries, modifications, encouragement and patience in figuring out the regimen that would work best for him.

Josh is more than a 6’7” muscle man extraordinaire. Through weight lifting and training he learns to manage himself. Readers will appreciate his humor; this memoir has plenty of funny stories about his job at the Salt Lake City’s public library (A beautiful place to work he explains). His own memories on the events of his life are light hearted and enjoyable to read. He certainly meets some very interesting characters along his journey– some who challenge him, some who just yell at him, but despite those he encounters, Josh is able to find his place, his comfort, and use his skills within the library’s walls. Josh may have had more difficulties than we ever can personally know – he explains how he was able to get through much of this. It was because of his faith and because he has the greatest family ever. This was his foundation – he now is married and has a young son named Max (“Josh Hanagarne” n.d.). Watch Josh Hanagarne’s book trailer for The World’s Strongest Librarian or connect with Josh Hanagarne on his personal website.  This memoir is highly recommended for every library – readers can learn more about the struggles in living with Tourette’s, appreciate those who have it, and read a powerful story about one who has learned to fight it on a daily basis. Hanagarne’s journey can serve as a life lesson for all readers who have their own struggles, no matter what they are.