UNFORGIVEN BY CRAIG SHERBORNE: Marriage, Infidelity, and Conventionalism

Image source: Wikimedia commons

Paper Type: Book Review
Paper Format: APA
Pages: 4

Question:

 Choose one work from the four listed below and write an analytical essay that discusses the ethics of representation in relation to the work. Points to consider may include the following questions: Is the theme of the work a delicate or taboo topic in our culture? Why? What is the relationship between the writer and the key subject(s) or theme and how can this be said to have influenced the work? What research methods have been used by the writer to produce the text and to what extent are these methods visible, reliable or objective? How does the writer’s use of techniques of representation – for instance tone, point of view, imagery, dialogue, structure – shape the work’s ethical implications?

 How have assumptions about genre impacted the reception of the text by readers? What sort of ethical issues (if any) arose for you in your reading of the work? Your essay will be marked on the quality of the analysis and argument presented, the strength of the writing and the professionalism of the presentation. 

APA 6th edition referencing style is a requirement for this assignment.

1.  Fiction Garner, Helen. Excerpt from The Spare Room. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2008. 1-18. Print.
2. Memoir/Personal Essay Kinsella, John. “Fellow Travellers.” Fast, Loose Beginnings: a Memoir of Intoxication. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne. University Press, 2006. 58-85. Print. Sherbourne, Craig.
3. “Unforgiven.” The Monthly. February 2008. 36-43. Print. 

Answer

Infidelity, Marriage, and Conventionalism in Unforgiven

By bearing, raising, and imparting norms to children, families ensure the continuity of societies. It is, therefore, not surprising that cultures place many rules to enhance the stability of families. Traditions have rules to protect these social institutions and provide readymade solutions whenever they experience impasses. In the West, these conventions not only encourage adult men and women to marry and retain their marriage for as long as possible but also discourage infidelity and divorce, which may destabilize families (Brundage 2009). Western culture also prefers that people keep matters regarding sex private, and those who talk openly about sex acts or organs appear deviant. However, the extent to which these conventions are valid or beneficial is unclear. In Unforgiven, Craig Sherborne explores uncomfortable topics that directly or indirectly challenge the dominant perceptions about male-female relationships and question the validity of the traditional family (Sherborne, 2008). The author represents marriage as an institution that should only exist when couples love one another and end when the love diminishes, portrays true love as a temporary concept, and views modern conventions about female objectification and eroticism as mere inconveniences.

First, the story seems to convey that marriages, just like love, should not necessarily be permanent but should end when a couple loses love. The first meeting between Alex and the narrator is a reflection of what one would call true love. Indeed, Alex does not have any material interest in the narrator, who lives in a “room so small it’s called the box” and does a low-paying job (Sherborne, 2008). Alex herself is expecting a large sum of money from her divorce settlement and does not need to be economically dependent on the narrator. That Alex nevertheless courts the narrator is evidence of her genuine love. Similarly, the narrator’s genuine interest in Alex is evident in the fact that he does not demand anything from the woman upon their divorce. Up to the time when Alex goes for mastectomy, the narrator is satisfied with the relationship. Here, the author shows that marriages that disintegrate are not necessarily those built upon lies or material interests of couples; that even marriages that begin with true love sometimes fail. Eventually, in some marriages, the so-called genuine feelings between couples wither, and partners get “very, very bored” (Sherborne, 2008). This stance is revolutionary, especially in Western societies, where people perceive the truth as a static, verifiable, and one-dimensional concept “that transcends history and culture” (Maffie, 2001). Sherborne’s narrator perceives true romantic feelings as unstable; that people can transfer these feelings from one individual to another without compromising their morals. Therefore, unlike the dominant representations of true love and marriage as long-lasting and static, the author presents these concepts as temporary and manipulatable.

Second, the author also portrays marital infidelity as an expression of honesty and a potential means to individuals’ happiness. After Alex’s operation, it is evident that the narrator loses interest in the marriage. From the story’s perspective, continuing to stay together is not the best option for the two people who dislike one another. The narrator cites Alex’s nagging as the cause of his disinterest in the marriage, but this is not true. Indeed, it is interesting that the narrator suddenly finds Alex’s expressions of insecurities and the task of continually assuring her that he loves her to be daunting. After this operation, the narrator does not even want to touch his wife: “I begin to dread the touch of her” (Sherborne, 2008). However, Alex has always been insecure since they met, yet the narrator does not complain during the initial stages of the relationship. For instance, during their stay in London, Alex often expressed disgust for her breasts and doubts about the narrator’s love for her. That said, the narrator is not necessarily immoral or cruel for holding these views about love. Indeed, he struggles to revive his waning interest in Alex unsuccessfully; he frequently kisses his wife and indulges her in sex despite having lost interest in these acts. Moreover, he frequently assures Alex that he loves her, and even during arguments, when his wife orders him to leave or throws away his belongings, he always decides against walking away. Through this innocent portrayal of both characters, Sherborne draws the reader’s empathy toward both characters. While portraying Alex’s innocence and justifying her anger, the author also presents the narrator’s predicament with the same empathy, suggesting that some marriages sometimes simply end because there is no benefit in their continuity. Like Alex and the narrator, married couples who refuse to end unfulfilling unions only subject themselves to infidelity and pain. Therefore, infidelity itself is not a problem but an honest indicator of a marriage that is already dysfunctional and that should have ended long ago.

Sherborne also ventures into sensitive topics regarding eroticism, female objectification, and conventionalism. The descriptions of sexual intercourse in the story are quite graphic. The author delves into erotic details of sex organs and activities that some people might find uncomfortable to read, especially in public. Secondly, the narration raises questions and doubts regarding the concept of true love. That the narrator’s attitude towards his wife changes just after the mastectomy indicates that, for a woman to attract the narrator’s true love, she must have two intact breasts and a generally desirable body. In other words, removing breasts from a woman eliminates the narrator’s interest in her, and that is why his love shifts to Janet, who possesses bodily features that Alex lacks; “That curve of hip; that bust, a complete bust without unevenness or sagging. The earth’s deepest browns for her eyes” (Sherborne, 2008). It also seems that the author rejects the concept of the social contract and demonstrates why it is unfair, especially to men. Notably, women get divorce settlements from their rich husbands upon divorce, yet the question of compensation does not arise when men break away from their rich wives. The narrator only carries his clothes when leaving Alex. On the other hand, Alex receives much money from her first husband. Also, marriages only meet women’s desire for children and do not have any meaningful benefit to men, yet society expects males to be faithful and monogamous. Alex’s anger issues partly arise because her susceptibility to cancer does not allow her to have children. Therefore, these divergent perceptions about marriage, women’s bodies, and sex indicate the author’s skepticism about conventionalism.

In conclusion, Unforgiven raises pertinent questions about society’s view of male and female relations, sex, and marriage. Notably, it challenges the notion that couples should remain married even when they are no longer intimate, labeling non-intimate marriages as worse than infidelity. Staying in a loveless marriage only causes more unhappiness and is not worthwhile.  Also, just because the love between two people ends at some point does not discredit mean that their earlier feeling toward one another was not real. Alex and the narrator share genuine love at first, but this romance wanes eventually. The couple’s attempt to remain together, which eventually proves futile, only leads to more hatred and suffering for both. Moreover, while the author points children and wealth as the benefit that women acquire from marriage, it is not apparent how these unions benefit men.

 

Discussing Gender and Identity in William Shakespeare's Writings: MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT, TITUS ANDRONICUS

                                                image source: Wikicommons

Question: 

Discuss how gender and identity are explored in TWO Shakespearean writings. (MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT, TITUS ANDRONICUS.)

Part 4. The Final Paper

The Final Paper will have the following parts:

1.    An introduction where you provide relevant background for your presentation. This may be on Shakespeare, his plays, the theme you are considering, or any relevant historical information. The introduction should indicate why this topic is important for your chosen audience. At the end of the introduction, you will state a thesis that makes an assertion about the plays and their common theme.

2.      An examination of the way your chosen theme operates in each of the three texts. Consider such issues as race, gender, justice, and/or other themes from our class readings and discussions.

3.      Well-organized body paragraphs containing a close reading of specific examples from the plays, including brief quotations. (Do not quote extensive passages.)

4.      A conclusion that sums up the value of your research and analysis and shows how understanding Shakespeare is important for your particular audience.

5.      A works cited page (using MLA 8^th edition documentation style)

Documentation Style: The paper is to be formatted and documented in the Modern Language Association (MLA) 8^th edition style. For assistance with MLA style, see the UMGC library MLA guide with MLA Citation Examples: http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/mla_examples.cfm

Deliverable for Part 4: The paper will consist of parts 1-5 above. Please format the transcript in MLA style. The paper should be carefully edited and proofread for standard use of English.

 

Purpose: The purpose of the project is to allow you an opportunity to explore and develop a presentation to demonstrate why Shakespeare’s plays are relevant in the contemporary world. In this project, you will address the importance of Shakespeare’s literary contributions to contemporary culture by creating a presentation that addresses the following situation:

Imagine that you are addressing a group about the importance and relevance of Shakespeare to our own time. Your job is to convince the group of Shakespeare’s ongoing importance by providing a close reading of three plays, with special focus on one theme they all share. MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT, TITUS ANDRONICUS You must choose two of these plays from our syllabus; the third does not have to be. Your job is to examine each play in detail, providing a close reading and interpretation that demonstrates (1) the theme and (2) the importance of the theme to your specific contemporary audience.

Audience: Choose the audience for your presentation from among the following. (You may suggest another group, but it must be approved by the instructor.)

·         A college English department that is considering creating a new themed Shakespeare course

You must use a minimum of five scholarly sources. At least four sources must be from the UMUC databases. Please see the sources below

Length: The paper will be from six to eight pages double-spaced in Times Roman 12 (1,500 to 2,000 words).

Theme: Gender and Identity

You will examine the way this theme operates in each of the three plays you will consider, using specific scenes and incidents to support your view of how the theme operates in each work. Your overarching goal in discussing the theme in these plays is to demonstrate the importance of Shakespeare’s work to your audience. For example, if you are addressing a school board, you will use the plays and their shared theme to show how important Shakespeare's work is for students’ learning. If you are addressing the potential theater donors, you will use the plays and their theme to show why Shakespeare is relevant to contemporary audiences.

Answer

Shakespeare's Female Characters as Models for University Courses

One prime task of university education is to open people's minds and increase their problem-solving abilities. Indeed, most of the problems that humans face today exist due to closed mindsets. For instance, significant environmental damages occur because humans emphasize making profits and ignore conservation. Similarly, radical religion, a facilitator of terrorism, war, and death, is merely a human creation. Another critical area of this blindness manifests in the gender imbalance, which itself threatens social stability. Shakespeare's books provide a means to analyze older societies, real and fictitious, through their characters and create a stage for cultural comparisons between these societies and our own. Shakespearean plays explore the intricate relationship between women and the broader society. In analyzing the female characters of Shakespeare's plays Macbeth, As You Like It, and Titus Andronicus, students will be exposed to concepts of gender that do not conform to traditional societal norms.

Shakespeare Exposes Women's Mistreatment

These plays help institutions to expand the discourse about female mistreatment and identify the baselessness of these norms. It has become normal to treat females as second class humans across the world. For instance,  the number of women holding political posts across the world is conspicuously low. It is time that students critically assessed the sources of these attitudes that normalize discriminating women (Kimbrough 175). Shakespeare's plays provide an excellent foundation for beginning such a discussion because, just like in modern societies, women in these plays are victims of baseless traditional notions.

In As You like It, society disregards women for no other reason but that they are women. For example, Duke Frederik, while expelling Rosalind away from his court, claims that he is doing so because Rosalind is too "smooth" (Shakespeare, "As You Like It," I.iii.20). This instance implies that considering someone as "too feminine" is enough reason to deny them comfort. Moreover, Touchstone reveals how society applies a reductionist approach to women's personalities. According to the character, having knowledge of poetry and being pretentious are the only metrics for determining the perfect woman. Moreover, Touchstone views women as lairs by default, and for him, to have an honest woman is like "to have honey a sauce to sugar" (Shakespeare, "As You Like It," III.iii.62).

In Titus Andronicus, Tamora experiences an injustice from Titus when the latter kills her eldest son. Being a woman, she cannot do anything but cry. Moreover, the casualness with which Chiron and Demetrius plan to rape Lavinia or "to pluck a dainty doe to ground" (Shakespeare, "Titus Andronicus," II.ii.96), and the ease with which they execute their plan before cutting off the victim's tongue and hands, mirror both the literal and figurative aspects of day-to-day situations that women experience across the world. In the literal aspect, cases of women undergoing rape and gruesome murders are common in news outlets. Figuratively, society silences rape victims through victim shaming, thereby essentially cutting out victims' tongues. Moreover, just like Lavinia's assailants taunt her, many rapists do not face punishment or imprisonment and continue to threaten and taunt their victims. 

As evident in the plays and modern examples, societies mistreat women, and it is time universities spearheaded discussions through Shakespearean plays to expose this mistreatment. Shakespeare demonstrates how people use customs with no logical bases to oppress and despise women; there are no logical foundations for such customs. Only by acknowledging this baselessness of can more students support women's rights and champion equality.

Women as Influencers of Humanism and Reason

Shakespeare provides a platform to demonstrate the influential role that women play in the world and demonstrate their indelibility in society.  The perception of women as unnecessary and an inconvenience is prevalent today (Mehdi & Khoshkham 2), and there is a need to reemphasize the role of women in society; one only has to look at the small number of women getting respectable employments occupying top-level posts in governments and corporates as compared to men. Also, in parts of the world, women have no female-friendly facilities in institutions, and accessing basic things like sanitary pads and birth-control services is difficult in some countries.  This female sidelining is not coincidental; it occurs because people think women are useless; hence, they do not deserve positions, services, items, or laws that specifically address their needs (Sorge 323). Shakespearean plays provide a useful reference point from which universities can explore and challenge these negative notions. Shakespeare provides a platform for female characters from which people can analyze women's role in society. By no means does Shakespeare attempt to over-romanticize the female character (Kimbrough 175). Instead, the author places the female character in the play's familiar environment, and other than giving some women prominence based on their positions as lead characters, neither does he undervalue the female character nor portray her as a superhuman. Therefore, in a way, Shakespeare's plays provide a "natural environment" for understanding women.

In As You Like It, women like Rosalind, Celia, and Audrey provide examples from which students can draw lessons about objectivity, romance, self-esteem, and integrity.  In the society that Shakespeare creates in this play, people tend to gravitate towards the extreme, and women serve as adjustments that return people to reason. For instance, when Jacques, who claims that' tis good to be sad and say nothing" (Shakespeare, "As You Like It," IV.i.73), adopts overly reductionist thinking that makes him see nothing good about life and immerses him in perpetual sadness, Rosalind reminds him that one is not better than a "post" if they can do nothing but be sad (Shakespeare, "As You Like It," Iv.i.73).  Rosalind shows the same objectivity when she tries to prove to Orlando, herself, and other people that predeterminism does not apply to romance. In other words, the character hypothesizes that the universe does not, by default, assign love to particular pairs of people and that someone can develop or lose romantic attraction to another person at any time. The play also uses female characters to explore the meaning of true friendship: Celia, whose connection with Rosalind is "dearer than the natural bond of sisters" (Shakespeare, "As You Like It," I.ii.26), embodies true friendship when she abandons her comfortable court life to follow her cousin, whom Duke Frederick has expelled from his household.

The lessons that these characters espouse in the examples above are crucial to university students, especially regarding managing their expectations, finding value in living, and being sensitive. Notably, romance-related suicides and homicides are common among university students (Karbeyaz et al. 111). People have hung themselves or murdered their lovers just because they have been "heartbroken." Perhaps by studying Rosalind's hypothesis about love, people can become more realistic in understanding that love sometimes ends. Also, through Celia and Rosalind's relationship, students can learn and extend the debate about true friendship. For instance, during lessons on conflict theories, one can create a lively class debate by telling students to dissect Rosalind and Celia's relationship and find the common interest that sustains this friendship. Therefore, female characters in Shakespearean plays expose a vast cache of potential topics of debate, theories, and lessons and provide new standpoints from which people can analyze, criticize, or support popular theories.

Demonstrating the Dangers of Oppressing the Female

Men and women need to work together to contribute to the world's progress. However, the female's opinion has been sidelined in almost all critical sectors. In STEM professions, for instance, women are conspicuously few, and this means that many research and development facilities lack significant female contributions that could produce more advanced, affordable, and effective processes, services, and goods. For instance, studies hint that females better photographic memory than men (Wang 991), which means that investigative and research facilities might be missing a lot by failing to employ women. However, apart from the loss that the world is experiencing by underutilizing women, another danger in the form of women's destructive power presents itself when society continues to oppress the female, and Shakespeare explores this danger in characters like Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Tamora in Titus Andronicus. Seeing no benefit in a social structure that does not recognize them, these two women decide to facilitate anarchy.

In Macbeth, the Victorian society dictates that women remain unrecognized and that if they need to succeed, they have to do so through their husbands' progress. This situation leaves Lady Macbeth with no other option but to pursue her success through her husband's success (Mehdi & Khoshkham 2). Lady Macbeth dispises the powerlessness, poverty, and mediocre life that society assigns to people based on their social class and gender, as evident in this excerpt:

To be the same in thine own art and valour,

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that

Which thou esteem' st the ornament of life,

And live like a coward in thine own esteem

Letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would,"

Like the poor eat I' th' adage (Shakespeare, 'Macbeth," I.II.26)

Consequently, Lady Macbeth adopts an unorthodox means to extricate herself from this oppression and achieve her power and wealth goals: she convinces her husband to destroy the establishment by killing the king. However, rather than getting the comfort she wanted, Lady Macbeth exposes herself and other people to more instability and suffering, especially when the dead king's ghost starts to haunt her family. Therefore, by sidelining Lady Macbeth, society triggers the woman's appetite for power and destruction (Zohreh 57).

Titus Andronicus's Tamora also starts a deadly mission after society denies her rights as a woman. By forcefully bringing Tamora to a foreign land and killing Tamora's son, Titus leaves the woman hopeless. From then onwards, Tamora has no other interests but to cause further destruction to the already "headless Rome" (Shakespeare, "Titus of Andronicus," I.i.79).  This example indicates how a culture of hatred emerges when society disregards and oppresses women.

Conclusion

If the world is to have any hopes for stability, universities need to acknowledge that society's discrimination of women is a threat to world balance and underutilization of the feminine power. Thus, universities must create courses that specifically target to expose this imbalance and cure people's ignorance. Shakespearean plays provide great examples from fictitious and real societies that can drive the discourse on gender. Female characters in Titus Andronicus, As You Like It, and Macbeth demonstrate women's power; in these plays, women are sources of reason, integrity, and humanism. However, women could also destroy the world if they continue to feel oppressed. Therefore, these plays provide rich material for universities on gender studies.

 

Works Cited

Karbeyaz, Kenan, Mehmet Toygar, and Adnan Çelikel. "Completed suicide among University Students in Eskisehir, Turkey." Journal of forensic and legal medicine 44 (2016): 111-115.

Kimbrough, Robert. "Macbeth: The Prisoner of Gender." Shakespeare Studies (0582-9399), vol. 16, Jan. 1983, p. 175. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=7166190&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Mehdi Amiri, and Sara Khoshkam. "Gender Identity and Gender Performativity in Shakespeare's Selected Plays: Macbeth, Hamlet and Merry Wives of Windsor." Advances in Language and Literary Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, Aug. 2017, pp. 1–7. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.4p.1.

Shakespeare, William. As you Like it, edited by Wilbur Cross, Tucker Brooke, and Willard Durhan. 1919.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth, edited by Richard Grant. Houghton, Mifflin & Company. 1897.

Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus, edited by John Wilson. Cambridge University Press. 1948.

Sorge, Kelly. Masking Femininity: Women and Power in Shakespeare's Macbeth, As You Like It, and Titus Andronicus. 2017, https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1327&context=honors. 

Wang, Bo. "Gender difference in recognition memory for neutral and emotional faces." Memory 21.8 (2013): 991-1003.

Zohreh Ramin. "Shakespeare's Richard III and Macbeth: A Foucauldian Reading." K@ta: A Biannual Publication on the Study of Language and Literature, vol. 15, no. 2, Jan. 2013, pp. 57–66. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.4c7085710f442318f956f3c73e2178d&site=edslive&scope=site.

Complexities of Human Condition in Shakespeare's Hamlet

 

The Complex Human Condition as Portrayed in Hamlet

Many thoughts, actions, and experiences fuse and influence each other, creating various sets of characteristics in a person that make it impossible to understand the individual. Boudry et al. (2015) say that adaptive rationality, that is, the thinking processes directing people's immediate actions, do not always align with personal rationality—the individual's perception of right and wrong. This concept applies to characters in Hamlet (Shakespeare, trans. 2012). Shakespeare employs the themes of societal expectations, mortality, and situational irony, alongside the characterizations of selfishness and craftiness to explore human complexities in Hamlet. 

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah

Publisher:  Spiegel & Grau, November 2016

rating: 4/5

"The tricky thing about the hood is that you are always working, working, working and you feel like something's happening, but really nothing is happening at all"

A Young Trevor lives in South Africa with his single mum. This is during the height of apartheid. Trevor is, in fact, “Born a Crime”, since the existing laws of the land do not permit inter-racial sexual relations. Any man or woman who is caught engaging in sex with a person from a different race risks imprisonment of up to 5 years. So Trevor and his Swiss dad have to stay far away from one another for safety. At one point, Trevor’s mother even hires a colored nanny to pretend to be the boy’s mother when they visit a public place.

Growing up in a ghetto, Trevor experiences or interacts with people who go through the typical challenges of slum life and of a young man: crime, drug abuse, poor sanitation, violence, police brutality, hunger, anger, heartbreaks, interracial mistrusts, name it. A mid these, he learns to hustle and makes small money running errands for the rich kids, selling pirated music, lending out money for interest, and deejaying. But things really go south when Trevor’s mum marries an unpredictable and violent alcoholic who, in the end, points a 9mm handgun at her head and fires! No, nobody dies in this story.

If you have watched and liked Trevor Noah’s comedy shows then you’ll probably love this book. The story is full of light humor as well as serious introspection. Oh, and the first-person account is best read in Trevor’s accent; makes it very humorous. 

Death at the Spring Plant Sale - Anne Ripley

Death at the Spring Plant Sale  by Anne Ripley: Summary and Review. 

My Book Rating: 3.8/5

Living in Bethesda is slow and mundane. Bethesda is also 

expensive and so, naturally, it attracts high profile government workers like Walter Freeman. The only things that seem to ruffle life once in a while here are the events organized by Old Georgetown Garden Club- an association of rich wives, spinsters, and divorcees brought together by their common interest in gardening, some for pleasure and others for survival.

When Louise, a moderately famous television hostess, travels to Bethesda to cover a plant sale event organized by the club, she witnesses the murder of a woman with whom she had made acquaintances only a couple of hours ago. Catherine Freeman has been shot twice in the skull while coming from a night out with her husband, Walter.

But who would want to kill the very kind and soft-spoken Catherine? No, the shooter must have been targeting Walter. Only Walter has made many enemies with the harsh policies he proposed recently as the country’s fiscal board member. Adopting this view, the police offer more protection to Walter as the search for the shooter intensifies.

There are, however, some inconsistencies with this narrative that Louise and her friend, Emily, find unsettling.  Both friends had been nearby during the shooting, though they didn’t get to see the assailant.

Why were the Freemans riding with the car windows down at night? And why was the AC on? Did Walter hire someone to kill his wife? But why would he?

Detectives view this new perspective with a pinch of salt, not only 

because it sounds preposterous, but also because they don’t want a woman telling them how to handle their business. What Louise doesn’t know is that Walter has already passed a polygraph test.

Noting that they are hitting a dead-end, and with hesitant advice from Louise’s husband, the two women decide to widen their suspects list. Only then do they realize that many people might have wanted to kill Catherine, either working together, or solo.

There’s Sophie Chalois and Reece Janning who have been separately sleeping with Walter, but one does not know about the other.  There’s Meg Durrance and Phyllis Ohmalcher who hate Catherine, for she always takes the first place in gardening competitions and gets the most cash out of plant sales.

Word about Louise and Emily’s snooping soon spreads around the neighborhood, and everyone is suddenly uncomfortable. It doesn’t help that the woman holds a small but significant reputation for crime busting in her own hometown in Virginia. And while they may have nothing to do with Catherine’s murder, everyone has a skeleton in their closet that might be uncovered by Louise’s intense curiosity - skeletons that can cause unnecessary disturbances in the hitherto peaceful neighborhood.

   

Continuing with her search against all this opposition, Louise puts her life and that of Emily’s family in jeopardy. But she presses on and eventually meets face to face with Catherine’s shooter- except that it’s the person she least suspected.

My take

Ann Ripley writes in an easy-flow language, while adding bloom to banalities of life. I, for one, never thought gardening was such an interesting endeavor.

The author paints her characters fully, and the plot is solid, without excessive coincidences and the vagueness associated with most crime thrillers. While tackling a serious situation, the story is full of light moments, and this eliminates tension, allowing the reader to appreciate the close bonds between some characters, the Bethesdan climate, flowers (yes, flowers!), buildings and streets, and food.

I definitely look forward to reading more Ann Ripley books.

My Life in Prison- John Kiriamiti

My rating: 4/5

A former Kenyan criminal's encounters during the post-colonial era

After various unsuccessful attempts to escape prison; faking insanity, attacking warders, and even trying to commit suicide, Jack Zollo decides that enough is enough. Though full of hatred, pain and and regrets, adopts a positive attitude towards his life and also tries to change the lives of his counterparts. 


Now, during the process of "rehabilitation", things go haywire. Tribalism and hatred thrives among the inmates and the warders because of poor prison administration under Sergeant Kagi. The institution turns into a massacre zone where death is nothing new. The existence of a cannibal within makes it even worse. 

Zollo is ready to handle whatever cometh his way- as long as his best inmate friend and comforter, GG, is by 
his side. 


Through this true story, the author explores the influence of Kenya’s political tensions in the 1970s on prison environments. Readers are taken directly to the shoes of prisoners. More importantly, one gets to learn that the socio-dynamics surrounding prisoners are not very far from things that exist in the outside world; except for the fact that prison situation is more condensed and intense. 

Apart from warning criminals and prospective criminals against their ways, the writer expresses his 
dissatisfaction in the way correction facilities are run Kenya. The harsh mistreatment at Naivasha Maximum 
Security Prison, he says, only makes a criminal tougher and more dangerous. He also educates us, the public, on how we can contribute towards helping those who 
have dipped themselves into the crime pit: "I know what they need: Love and forgiveness from their 
fellow men." 

This book is definitely worth a read.

I’ll Be Home Late Tonight – Susan Thames

Book Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

"Time comes when you get to choose between what you create and what you are given"

Susan Thames explores the unique relationship between a teenage girl and her mother, as the latter drags her young one into a journey that threatens to tear two apart but, in a way, also brings them even closer. Set in the 1960s, the book delves widely on the topics of motherhood, growth, and later on racism.

After June’s husband abandons her for a rich woman, she too decides to vacate her mother’s house and travel to anywhere that she and her daughter will find it comfortable enough to stay in. Years earlier, her tiny family had moved in to her mother’s with the hope that her salesman hubby would soon find a better job and get a better home for the family- a hope that continued to dash away with time.

Lily, from whose point of view the story is told, seems to be the only one who admires both  parents and her grandmother, despite their many flaws: The grandma, though full of love and warmth, daydreams about angels once in a while, and has attempted many times to jump from the attic and the high-rise windows of her house.

And June is an excessively nagging wife who complains about everything bad and downplays every good her husband does.  We also realize later that she is a whore who would go the mile to sell her 14-year-old daughter to prostitution. To be fair, however, poverty - and Lily’s obsession with men- were still going to lead her into the sex trade anyway, with or without her mother’s intervention.

In their journey, Lily and June run into relatives who are ready to accommodate them, but June always messes up in one way or the other and the two are sent parking. Far away from “home” and  money running out, the two turn into wooing men not only for money, but also for a place to take shower and sleep.

Despite acting snobby at times and thinking rather too maturely, Lily is still a child inside: She wants to go to school, make friends, play, and date her age mates.  When they manage to stay long enough in a place, Lily does make a few friendships- friends who are tough enough to ignore the girl’s outward meanness and look at the vulnerable personality inside her. But soon, all friendships are abandoned as she and June make another journey.

Lily finally realizes that her life is doomed as long as she continues to follow her mother’s aimless travel. She plans to escape from June, never to see her again. But where would she go? To a father who she still loves but who has rejected her? To her deranged grandmother who has refused to pick her calls ever since she and mummy left her shouting stark naked at the parking lot? To the relatives who kicked them out after June slept with one’s husband and introduced the other’s son to drug abuse?

Fortunately, one part of Lily’s personality comes to play at the right time and puts a short break to their suffering: Lily has a surprisingly warm heart for colored people - in fact too warm for her mother’s comfort. Unlike June, Lily refuses to perceive racism as a “normal” thing, and so tries to fight it in her own way.

While on one of their bus trips to nowhere in particular, a row ensues between the bus driver and a black woman. Lily stands in to defend the woman, leading to both ladies being ordered to leave the bus. Fearing that she will lose her daughter again, June follows suit, but with lots of bitterness, for her daughter has just wasted their expensive bus tickets.

It turns out that the black woman is looking for an assistant in her small restaurant business. Ignoring  June’s racist attitude, she welcomes mother and child into her house. At last, Lily is proud that, for once, she created her own choice rather than dragging along in June’s.

Even though troubles and disagreements between mother and daughter continue arising once in a while, Lily and June seem to have resigned to the fact that one is nothing without the other. And  for now, at least, they have a roof to sleep under. And June has a constant job with an employer who neither cares about what color she believes in, nor whom she has sex with.

I’ll Be Home Late tonight  reminds parent that LOVE and RESPONSIBILITY only work best when they go hand in hand.