Human Nature

Spring by Ali Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Testament, indictment, plea? It's amazing how a British author writing about European refugee camps depicts the situation in America's detention centers described today. It's either a plot of the left or right or a description of human nature. The book opens with horrid Twitter ranting, an irrepressible muddy stream of consciousness description of media influence in the modern world; once you get past that, if you can, there's the story of Richard, a filmmaker who's grieving the loss of a friend, a muse; he's also grieving his youth and lost chances. There's Brit, who works in that place, that "detention center", a person just trying to get by. There's the story of how their stories intersect, an adventure. There's a mysterious young girl who seems to achieve miracles by speaking truth to power. There's mystery, hope, despair, resolution. There's a lot of buttons pushed in your internal psyche, as the author intends. Smith forces you to deal with the fact that the conditions that created World War II are even more active in the current world. And the unavoidable realization that if you look at history with open eyes and heart, the majority of us are the descendants of victims, persecutors, survivors, and collaborators. What choices will we make in our lives, whose descendants will judge us? Who are we, in our choices, in our souls? Just ordinary people, trying to get by.
(*I received an advance copy from Norton for review; much gratitude and consternation followed, as you've just read.)


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New books

Today I recommend & celebrate a truly springtime Easter, which we don't get often since global warming began. We had wonderful storms on Saturday, complete with rain, and leaves with their still-new green were glowing. The mountains were snow-capped and beautifully purple below. People were smiling and it was a wonderful day.

Last week I read the new Ilona Andrews, Magic Strikes. Still fresh. The most original take on vampires yet, I think; but vampires are peripheral--just where I like them to be. The new Tamora Pierce is on its way, after a two-year wait--that's what I'm most excited about. Beka Cooper, Bloodhound. Whereas Mercedes Lackey has a wide range of series (and a wide range of editors, because the quality of writing, spelling, and editing goes up & down depending) Tamora stays right in tune. I'll be re-reading the older books when I get them unpacked & correct this post if I'm wrong.

Speaking of hounds, I also read Spiral Hunt, by Margaret Ronald, and she's now on my list of must-read. It's not so much the paranormal aspects of the books I've been reading, but the strong women characters. I read fewer mysteries, they're either too grim or too cozy. In these fantasy books, there's also too grim, too much sex and/or romance, too cute, too dark, too violent. There are so many ways to go wrong, aren't there? The authors I like (whether fiction or non-) walk the edges, balanced between one thing and another, never too much but just right. 

I unwrapped a package from Britain last week with glee--a used Maeve Binchy, short stories--but I had read it before. My memory is too good...

I continue unpacking & will have houseguests in a week, but in may hope to be posting regularly. Until then--unless I become incredibly enthused about something.