Review: Kaleidoscope (by Cecily Wong)

My rating: 4 stars


This is a book I had to sit with for awhile to gather my thoughts before figuring out how to get my feelings across on it.  While it may not seem like it on the surface, there was actually a complexity to the story that, on first read, can be difficult to understand. Indeed, for the first third of the novel or so, I honestly wasn't sure where the author, Cecily Wong, was trying to go with the story. There was a lot of back and forth between time periods and snippets of things that happen in the lives of the Brightons — the interracial family at the center of the story.  Hank and Karen are hardworking entrepreneurs who launch a successful company named Kaleidoscope — a "rags to riches" story that catapults them into the upper echelons of society and allows them to realize their American Dream.  Their eldest daughter Morgan, beautiful and talented, is the head designer for the company and, in essence, is also the "star" of the family, beloved by both her parents as well as her younger sister Riley.  Smart and studious but lacking ambition, Riley knows that her place in the family (and in the elite world they've become a part of) will forever be eclipsed by her sister's "larger than life" personality.  Riley is perfectly content with ceding the spotlight to Morgan and retreating to the "support" role she has always played in the family — though the one thing that both she and Morgan both miss is the closeness that they've always shared since they were girls.  When tragedy strikes and the family's world comes crashing down as a result, the aftermath leaves Riley with more questions than answers — about herself, her sister, and most of all, her parents' ambition that has sustained the family's success over the years.

This is a nuanced story with a narrative that shifted around a lot — switching between time periods, between past and present, between character perspectives, between first and third person voices, even touching on second person voice at one point.  The segments of the story mirrored the various fragments of a kaleidoscope, where the pieces eventually come together to form a dizzying but arresting portrait of an ambitious family caught up in the throes of success and its impact on one daughter's personal journey toward meaning and understanding.   As I mentioned earlier, I found it difficult at first to parse the various fragments of the narrative, but when I figured out the direction that the author was trying to go with the story (around the halfway mark), I couldn't help but be awed by the brilliant use of structure and form. Stories that play with structure don't always work for me, but this one did for some reason, and I definitely appreciated the chance to experience something so interesting and different.

This was also a character-driven story where the portrayals of the four members of the Brighton family as well as the various people in their orbit were extremely important.  While none of the characters were particularly likable (which sometimes can be a dealbreaker for me in terms of positive reading experience), all of them were so realistically drawn that I found myself able to resonate with each one in ways that I didn't expect.  In this regard, I felt the author did a good job relating the struggles and inner conflicts that each of the characters went through, especially as it pertained to their relationships and how they interact with each other.

As this is a story that's very hard to describe without experiencing it for yourself, I don't want to give away too much here.  One thing I will say though is that this book is one of the few I've read in recent years that deftly explores the nuances of love and relationships in all its various manifestations and iterations, altogether in one story — i.e.: love that underlies a close bond between sisters;  love between parents and their children that drives certain behaviors and expectations; romantic love both within marriage and outside of it, and how one isn't necessarily dependent on the other; self-love that drives confidence and ambition but also how the lack of it can warp into pain and heartbreak, etc. 

I definitely recommend reading this one, though note that it won't be an easy read for sure (both in terms of subject matter and overall structure of the story).  Also, trigger warnings abound, with a few scenes where some of the descriptions were particularly graphic.  This is Cecily Wong's second novel and while I intend to go back and read her debut, I also look forward to seeing what might be in store from her in the future.

Received ARC from publisher Dutton via Edelweiss.

Review: Lessons in Chemistry (by Bonnie Garmus)

My Rating: 5 stars

This was such a unique story and an absolutely delightful read!! Elizabeth Zott is a character I will remember for a long time, but she wasn't the only one that made this story work so well…the rest of the characters — Calvin, Frask, Madeline, Harriet, Walter, Wakely, and the character I adored the most, Six Thirty (Elizabeth's dog), were all essential in creating a special kind of chemistry that made this book such a fabulous read! From the very first page, I was hooked and found it tremendously difficult to put the book down. To be honest, when I first read the premise for Bonnie Garmus's debut novel, I was a little apprehensive given the story's "science" theme (I usually don't do too well with overly "science-y" books) — but I actually didn't need to worry, as this ended up not being a book about "science" per se, but rather, a story about two scientists and the chemistry that ensues when they meet and fall in love. Yes, this is a love story, but not in the traditional sense (it's definitely not a romance); this can also be considered historical fiction, as it is set in California in the 1960s and comments on the social conventions of the time, but even here, the timeline blurs a little — with its exploration of male- dominated workplaces, sexist attitudes towards women, the inclination in a patriarchal society to suppress women's achievements and relegate them to the household without the ability to ever stray outside those lines, the idea that women are not allowed to be their own individual selves and must get "permission" from the men in their lives for every little thing, etc. — the story is both timely and resonant to modern times as well (especially in light of our country's recent encroachments on women's rights). The debate over religion in the story, while a bit more subtle, was also reflective of the debate in society at large.

The other unique aspect in this book was the humor, which I felt was rendered brilliantly throughout the entire story — this, admittedly, was one of the things I loved most about the story (aside from the characters of course). I love books that are funny without deliberately meaning to be, but at the same time, are also poignant and emotionally resonant without veering into melodramatic. This one combined both wonderfully, and to great effect.

And the characters, I can't say enough about them! Mad and Six Thirty stole my heart from the start (in fact, I adored Six Thirty to the point that, immediately after finishing the book, I felt a great urge to get a dog of my own and teach it to understand 900+ words, lol!). Elizabeth is a character I greatly admired — whip-smart, capable, confident…the type of woman who is not afraid to stand up for her rights, even if it means being cast out and shunned. I loved Elizabeth's straightforward personality and how oblivious she was to what others thought of her: some of my favorite scenes were the ones where the men who were trying to "put her in her place" found themselves going absolutely apoplectic when she didn't react the way they expected (for me, these scenes alone were "worth the price of admission", lol)! I also loved Harriet and wish I had a neighbor like her (and yes, her "curiosity" notwithstanding). I could go on but I will let you read the book and get to know these characters for yourself.

And with that, yes, I wholeheartedly recommend this one, no doubt about it! This was a book I didn't know I needed right now and while the writing wasn't always perfect, the endearing characters and engaging story more than made up for it. I sincerely hope that Bonnie Garmus writes another novel and if she does, I will definitely be there for it!

Review: It All Comes Down to This (by Therese Anne Fowler)

My Rating:  2 stars

Therese Anne Fowler is a "new to me" author whose books I've heard good things about but never got a chance to read.  When I heard she had a new book out and I happened to get approved for an ARC, I figured now would be as good a time as any to acquaint myself with Fowler's works. Now having finished this book, I'm thinking I probably should've started with a different book of hers, as this one turned out to be a huge disappointment.

While the premise had sounded interesting, I quickly discovered, a few chapters in, that this book would be different from what I originally expected.  To me, the basic gist of this book could be summed up this way:  a bunch of privileged, self-centered people endlessly try to justify the foolish (and at times downright stupid) life choices / decisions / actions that they may (or may not) regret making.   None of the characters were likable (and that's putting it mildly) — nearly every character was whiny to the point of grating on my nerves and the more they complained about their messy lives (and even messier relationships), the less sympathy I had for any of them.  The only character I was able to tolerate (and probably the only character I didn't find annoying) was 10-year-old Arlo— unfortunately, his scenes were too few and far between.

In terms of the writing — well, let's just say that it left much to be desired.  There were way too many instances where scenes and dialogue were drawn out unnecessarily in what I would call "stating the obvious" type of writing ("he picked up the newspaper, opened it, read it, folded it back up, put it back down" — not a direct quote, but it conveys the general idea) — which, of course, is the type of writing I absolutely cannot stand.  

Basically, I could not get into this one at all — many of the scenes (in fact, the plot in general) felt contrived, the characters were frustratingly whiny, the writing felt stilted and rudimentary — so much so that each time I put the book down, I dreaded picking it back up again.  I did end up finishing this one (I'm the type of reader who finds it extremely hard to DNF a book once I start it), but not without A LOT of skimming through nearly 50% of the book.  While I don't intend to write Fowler off based on this one experience, I'm not necessarily in a rush to read another book of hers yet either, as I need some time to get the bad taste from this one out of my system.  

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (by Gabrielle Zevin)

My Rating:  4 stars

I'm not a video game fanatic by any means, but I have definitely played my fair share of video games growing up. Even though nowadays, I don't play video games as much as I used to, I still play enough to keep myself informed about the various gaming trends out there, mostly due to my nephew being an avid gamer.  Overall, I would consider my interest in gaming-related stuff to be moderate, so the fact that Gabrielle Zevin's newest book is about gaming, by itself, wouldn't necessarily make this a "must-read" for me.  Rather, what attracted me to this book were the following (in no particular order):  1) the timespan, which covered most of the 1990s through contemporary times, some of which mirrors the time period of my youth (though admittedly, the 1980s was a huge part of that as well);  2) the setting, with a large part of the story taking place in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up (and where I still live);  3) the intricately complex premise as described in the plot summary, which essentially promised that this story would be about much more than just gaming (which was indeed true!) and that it would be different from anything I've read before (also true!); 4) I'm a sucker for nostalgia and it was pretty obvious, even before reading this book, that there would be plenty if that throughout the story;  5) this is by the same author who wrote The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which is one of my favorite books of all time.  In the end, what ultimately drew me in and kept me reading were all of the above, yes, but also, the characters, who were all so realistically rendered — it was hard not to empathize with Sam and Sadie and, given all they go through, root for them even during those times when they made frustratingly horrible decisions.  Oh and of course, there's Marx, who plays such a critical role in both Sam's and Sadie's lives — these three characters, their trials and tribulations, form the heart of the story, though if I were to choose a favorite character, it would probably be Sam's grandfather Dong Hyun, whom I adored despite his brief appearances throughout the story.

In addition to the brilliant writing as well as the wonderfully drawn characters, another aspect that makes this book stand out is its unique structure — there are segments that switch between different points of views and perspective, as well as scenes that take place in the gaming world and also in the real world.  While it was a bit difficult to keep up with at times, the journey to the end was well worth he effort, in my opinion. This is one of those books that needs to be experienced to be effective, which is why I'm keeping my review deliberately short as well as vague.  This is also a book that's very hard to categorize, as there is a little bit of everything in here — there are aspects of multiple genres in here, from historical to contemporary to romance (though as the premise suggests, this is not a typical love story), with subtle hints of science fiction and nonfiction elements sprinkled in throughout.  There is humor and warmth in the story, but there is also tragedy and heartbreak — though most impressive for me in terms of the structure is Zevin's ability to incorporate such a wide range of current affairs and social issues into the story, but in a way that didn't feel contrived or overwhelming.  I felt that the story overall was way more complex than her previous works, plus the emotional elements were also well done, though for me, this one was a bit less poignant and resonant than The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, in my opinion at least (that book made me cry multiple times as I was reading it!).

While you don't need to be a gamer to enjoy this one, I do feel that having some familiarity with the gaming world does make a difference in that it enhances the reading experience (at least that's what it did for me).  I loved the bit about the trick for getting Mario on top of the flag, (where was this tip 30 years ago when I was obsessed with playing Super Mario Bros?  LOL!) as well as the various other references to games that I was familiar with (whether through playing those games myself at some point or hearing my nephew and his cousins / friends talk about them).  Given everything that has gone on the past couple years, I was definitely happy getting the chance to relive those fun, nostalgic moments of childhood, even if only for a short while!  Even if you're not into gaming, I still highly recommend reading this one, as the story on its own goes deep — though some parts do take a little bit of patience to get through, but to me, the journey was worth it in the end.

Received ARC from Knopf Publishing via NetGalley.