INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH

There were eight of us on Thursday March 26th at Libby's house for the discussion of this multifaceted book:  Margie, Saran, Marylib, Paige, Annie, Joan, and Sheri.  On the surface it was an adventurous odyssey, yet came off as a funny, light book which confused some readers because essentially it was a book about lives torn apart by the border between the US and Mexico.  The small Sinaloan coastal village of Tres Camerones had experienced what many small Mexican villages do: all the men of working age left for the "north", Los Yunaitas.  The young women left behind were determined to travel across the border and bring back at least seven men to their village, to defend it from banditos.  The traveling characters were at once cartoonish and substantive, young women, the leader Nayeli, and her good dependable friend Tacho who was gay, and two other young girls from the village.  They headed north leaving behind Aunt Irma the mayor of the village and the older men.

We all agreed that the author Urrea was certainly an atmospheric writer, but some felt the tone was confusing and who really was it about or was it just a slice of life?  Some felt that it was a fun book and never took it seriously but others felt that the seriousness of the issue of the border and what we know lately about wanting a wall gave the book some tension.  Behind the fun there was an awareness of the desperation of the people who want to better their lives.  There were a couple in the group who enjoyed the cross USA drive, going by town after town and state after state, for Nayeli to find her father in Kankakee Illinois, a town that actually one of us knew welcomes immigrants.  The fact that Nayeli does not actually make contact with her father makes her quest seem to be a quest of fantasy and dreams that is shared by so many immigrants, of expectations of life in the US which may not happen or be realistic.  And in the end the characters are dreaming of what they left at home, the taco shop, the village, even Atomico, the Tijuana ruffian who is a super hero that comes to help the little group from Tres Camerones, has nostalgia for his abode near the garbage in Tijuana.

Libby had just gotten back from DC and had sat next to a man on the plane who was going to give a speech to the Inter American Development Bank on the fact that in about 2005 to 2008 there was a housing boom in the US and many villages in Mexico emptied of their men going north to work construction.  Then when the crash came in 2008 to 2009, there was an exodus back to the villages with various positive and negative outcomes.  What a coincidence! I did so want to talk with him more but the plane was landing and off he went.  Getting back late from the airport, I stopped at una tienda Mexicana and got these treats for the group!

It was a good discussion about a book that had both realistic and fantastic parts to it.

 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi

Libby, Linda, Paige, Maddy, Margie, and Joan met at Mary Lib’s house on February 26 to share opinions, perspectives, and new insights about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Americanah. 

True confession here: I simply forgot to take notes, which means I’ll be unable to clearly convey thoughts expressed by specific individuals that day. Instead, I’ll summarize based on my unreliable memory. 

Adichie said in an interview that this book was about love. She called it an old-fashioned love story. She also said it was about race and how we reinvent ourselves. While I’m not sure we would have primarily identified the book as an old fashioned love story, it was fun to explore her perspective.

Exploring the theme of love, yes, we watched Ifemelu learn about love as she moved into and through young adulthood. We felt overall that her relationship with Obinze set a high bar for what she expected from a long-term relationship.  Her understanding of relationships and her own needs mature during her time with Curt, her time alone, and her time with Blaine. But ultimately, the draw of the deep, emotional bond she shared with Obinze draws her back to him. 

The discussion about relationships, though, led us to talk about Aunty Uju and Obinze, who chose relationships based more on survival than on love. No one really cast judgment on these decisions; instead, we recognized that circumstances lead people to make decisions that none of us would choose to have to make.

Adichie’s exploration of racism in America from the perspective of a non-American black person was perhaps the most stimulating concept found in this book. As she identified actions and language by whites towards blacks that she considered to somewhat clueless and shallow, many of us realized we could have said some of the same things that resembled her examples. No one really criticized her for being overly sensitive; instead, we all felt she brought some important perspectives to our understanding of this complicated issue.

The theme of reinventing herself was a fascinating one.  We talked about lessons learned when we leave the comfort of our own homes. When that departure is amplified by leaving not only one’s home but also one’s country and culture, the lessons of course intensify. Ifemelu gained a deep-seated appreciation of Nigeria from her time away. She returned with eyes wide open about strengths and weaknesses within her country, appreciating the comfort of the deep-seated familiarity of people, places, and norms.

Yes, we talked about hair! This fascinating and complicated topic is currently in the news, so the relevance of hair was heightened.  We felt dismay when confronted with the realities of hair straightening. The pain, the damage to skin and health…

Most of us agreed that we were glad we had read this well-written book because it was thought-provoking and enlightening.

Mary Lib