With COVID cases rising on Brown’s campus in the past few weeks, more and more students are finding themselves back in the confines of quarantine. With a seemingly endless amount of time on our hands, what better way to entertain ourselves than curling up on the sofa with some tea and a good book? Here are a few great reads that I took on during quarantine that really made me reflect on my personal experiences with family, love, and relationships. Hopefully, they’ll get you thinking, too!
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls is one of the most powerful memoirs out there. The book follows Madden’s journey from childhood to adulthood, covering the intricacies of familial and romantic relationships. As a twenty-year-old woman navigating the strange, daunting, and isolating complexities of growing up, I was deeply moved by the adolescent experiences that Madden recounts in her memoir. To me, the most impressive aspect of the text is Madden’s ability to describe concepts and relationships, such as familial bonds and drug addiction, that seem, in many ways, too complex and emotional for words. The topics that she touches upon are emotionally charged and intricate, yet she is able to give readers a very clear picture of her experiences. Her ability to pinpoint these complicated facets of her life and communicate them to readers through anecdotes and similes demonstrates her talent and command of language.
New People by Danzy Senna
New People covers the story of a New York woman in an interracial relationship who becomes infatuated with another man. My initial reaction to the novel was not positive, but it was very impactful. Usually, when reading a novel, my connection with a character makes me appreciate them more and pulls me deeper into the story. To my surprise, this was not the case with New People. Maria’s storyline made me angry, uncomfortable, and judgmental and pushed me away from immersing myself in the fictional world that Senna created. Maria’s insecurities shine through her behavior throughout the novel, and rather than empathizing with her and rooting for her happiness and success, I was hypercritical and supercilious towards her. I was both startled and ashamed by my reaction, and it took substantial introspection for me to understand why and realize what place these feelings arose from. The novel forced me to confront my own insecurities and spend some time working through them.
We Can’t Breathe by Jabari Asim
We Can’t Breathe is a series of eight personal essays that explore racially charged topics such as having a black father, the beauty of the black body, and the importance of black authors. When I read a book, the parts that stick with me the most are, naturally, the parts that I can personally connect with. In reading Asim’s essays, however, I was struck most by what I could not relate to. As a white girl from New York City, so much of what is discussed in the essays is beyond my comprehensive grasp. I cannot begin to fathom what it is like to to be the victim of centuries of institutional oppression, to walk down the street in fear, based solely on the color of my skin. So, to me, it feels unjust and presumptuous to forge a personal connection with much of what is discussed in We Can’t Breathe. However, I believe that empathy lies at the heart of social action and that we must first try to understand in order to change. In We Can’t Breathe, Asim gives readers the perfect opportunity to try to understand, by inviting us to climb into his shoes and walk around in them.