February 25, 2008 at 6:06 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Fiction and Literature, World Literature, Young Adult Literature
21. Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai (YA) 274 p.
Amrith is a kind, sheltered fourteen-year-old living in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Raised by his mother’s childhood friend, Auntie Bundle, and her husband, Uncle Lucky, after his parents’ deaths, he has no blood relations of his own, and no close friends. That changes when his Canadian cousin Niresh arrives for a visit, and the two boys become close.
As usual, Shyam Selvadurai draws a wonderful portrait of Sri Lanka, this time of Colombo in August, 1980. Amrith is a very charming character, polite and intelligent.
I bought an ARC of this book without realizing it. It’s the first time I’ve ever read one, so I was pleased to discover only a few errors, mostly missing words and a few mistaken words (like “whetted” for “vetted”.)
I’ve always enjoyed Shyam Selvadurai’s writing, so I wasn’t surprised to find myself absorbed in Swimming in the Monsoon Sea. It was Selvadurai’s first young adult novel, though, and it’s nice to see that he made the transition from adult to YA fiction without any signs of difficulty.
Pages read: 6,472
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Shyam Selvadurai, What's in a Name?, World Lit Challenge II
February 21, 2008 at 3:26 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Favourite Books, Historical Fiction
19. Trade Wind by M.M. Kaye (Historical Fiction) 551 p.
I think, if I had to choose the one word that would best describe this book, it would be “fraught”. Or “harrowing”, perhaps. Imagine a Gothic romance, set in mid-19th century Zanzibar, with an American heroine who happens to be a passionate do-gooder and a committed abolitionist. And a hero who is a smuggler and occasional slave-trader.
If you think you can see where this is going, you may have read too many historical romances. Although the book’s own blurb leaves no doubt that Hero Hollis and Emory Frost will end up together, how they get there is more than a little surprising. At least, it surprised me.
The best thing about M.M. Kaye’s writing is how genuine it is. Even when composing a novel that would have been trashy in most other authors’ hands, she keeps her characters both human and psychologically believable, and she is meticulous in her historical research. (She does take a few liberties with the history of the period, but the changes are scrupulously noted in a postscript.)
The only drawback about this book is its attitude toward rape, which I found a little disturbing, but not surprising, given the time and social milieu in which it’s set.
I always enjoy a book by M.M. Kaye, and Trade Wind is no exception. Raiders, slave traders, witch doctors, sultans, gold, jewels, shipwrecks, picnics, kidnapping, disease, gun running…seriously, this book has something for everyone!
Pages read: 5,944
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Chunkster Challenge 2008, M.M. Kaye, What's in a Name?, World Lit Challenge II
