Season of Migration to the North

#495
Title: Season of Migration to the North
Author: Tayeb Salih
Translator:
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 1966/2003
159 pages

A little gem of a novel, perhaps overladen with symbolism and parallelism, but not significantly worse for that. This lovely story stands the typical post-colonial narrative on its head and is biting and disturbing while also deeply engaging, complex while still a fast and enjoyable read.

Is it Still Cheating if I Don't Get Caught?

#493
Title: Is it Still Cheating if I Don't Get Caught?
Author: Bruce Weinstein
Publisher: Flash Point
Year: 2009
160 pages

This is a life ethics book for teens. The principles are those articulated in his Life Principles: Feeling Good by Doing Good, with some simplified language and examples more relevant to young readers. This book could serve as the basis for a psychoeducational group or be incorporated into lesson planning for youth who have had poor adult role models or been in disciplinary or legal trouble. This would require more discussion about why a person would choose to act morally rather than amorally or immorally, which would be an interesting extension of the text and ensure that it was not used in a "Just Say No" parroting sort of way.

The Prisoner of Zenda

#492
Title: The Prisoner of Zenda
Author: Anthony Hope
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 1894/1994
208 pages

Via Daily Lit.

It is resolved that a certain proportion of the books I've read ultimately derive their plots from The Prisoner of Zenda, and from there obliquely from Shakespeare and other comedies of mistaken identity. Hope's writing is clear, the story moves quickly, and it was refreshing to read a classic with a contemporary feel.

Extras

#491
Title: Extras
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Year: 2009
417 pages

Other than its reliance on the reader's knowledge of who Tally Youngblood is, plus a few incidentals of culture and action, this 4th volume in the Uglies series would stand alone pretty well. Though many of the themes are similar to those of the previous books, Extras is the best of them--best plotted, best written, best resolved. Unfortunately, as the last in the series, it is repetitive and many elements are stale. It might be best to read it as a more-or-less comprehensible stand-alone if you want to read only one.

The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community

#490
Title: The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community
Author: Edna Fernandes

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing

Year: 2008
248 pages

Unfortunately, Fernandes takes an interesting topic, the long-term Jews of India, and muddies it considerably with factual errors and a thesis that her book does not support. I leave aside the complaint that she discomfited members of the community by publishing her book, which is between her and the people she interviewed. I also leave aside the book's repetitiveness and meandering, which are annoying but not critical. The factual errors include some about Judaism, which decreases her credibility as a reporter-historian. The thesis problem, however, is more serious because it is the rationale for writing her book rather sticking with previous books on the Jewish communities of Kerala. Fernandes's contention is that racism on the part of the "white" Jews, and their failure to intermarry with the "black" Jews, has caused the death of the community. However, by both the communities' and Fernandes's report, it was the establishment of the state of Israel that caused a return from diaspora. Given these concerns, I recommend the interested reader to the books Fernandes cites rather than to hers.

The Land without Shadows

#489
Title: The Land without Shadows
Author: Abdourahman A. Waberi
Translator: Jeanne Garane
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Year: 2005
Country: Djibouti
118 pages

Waberi's short story collection is less episodic and more descriptive--that is, the focus often is not on events or action but on creating a portrait of Djibouti. The effect is of a poetic mosaic and creates an emotional impression rather than a plot or story arc. The tone seemed to be affectionate or indulgent, even when Waberi was sarcastically describing horrible circumstances and acts.

The Suburb Beyond the Stars

#488
Title: The Suburb Beyond the Stars
Author: M. T. Anderson
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 2010
227 pages

Received as an ARC via Goodreads.

I think it's reasonable to give the spoiler that while this second volume in the series that began with The Game of Sunken Places stands alone in terms of resolving the immediate plot points that it introduces, it ends on a cliffhanger betokening a third novel. Brian and Gregory, having won the game of sunken places, are now in charge of designing the next game--that is, Brian won, and Gregory is somewhat testy about this. However, it seems that someone isn't playing fair, and the boys find themselves in a Vermont suburb, built with surprising rapidity on the ground where the previous game was played. While this volume has some of the horror elements present in the first book, it is better read as a parody of the genre, with many of Anderson's typically clever comments and asides leavening the mood. While Gregory's surliness is somewhat inexplicable, it does not detract from the action, which is, though somewhat more superficial than the first book, far more hilarious.