I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (review by Andrew R. '17)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maya Angelou, the beloved and decorated author who passed away just under a year ago, is known equally well as a poet and a memoirist, but reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has left no doubt in my mind as to which part of her legacy is more accurate. Dr. Angelou was a poet. Yes, Caged Bird is a prose memoir, one that spans Angelou’s adoption by her grandmother (at age three) to the birth of her first child (at age 17), but the book is written like no autobiography I have ever encountered: the language possesses a lyricism and a flow that very little poetry, much less prose, can lay claim to. In fact, Caged Bird often felt like a long, simple poem, free of the intimidating erudition that so often accompanies book-length verse. Although Angelou writes in the voice of maturity, her narrative convincingly portrays the confusion of a young black child in the Deep South—and the portrait of racism that results is painful and jarring. Caged Bird is more than the sum of its parts: it’s not a poetic memoir or an autobiographical poem, but a beautiful and frightening vision of our country’s past. - Andrew R.'17

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World and Town by Gish Jen (review by Andrew R. '17)

World and Town by Gish Jen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gish Jen is a wittier Amy Tan: her novels and stories, usually told through the perspective of first- or second-generation Chinese immigrants to America, fearlessly tackle religious issues, the mystery of death, and the folly of American culture, all without forsaken the signature lightness and incisiveness of her prose. World and Town is split into five narrative sections. One follows Sophy Chung, the daughter of Cambodian immigrants, who takes refuge in fundamentalist Christianity to escape her past sins; another follows Everett, the scorned and scornful backwoods lover of a born-again evangelist. The majority of the book, though, is from the perspective of Hattie (Hăi dì) Kong, an aging immigrant whose existence in the Southern town of Riverlake is somehow more American than any of its native inhabitants. As Hattie struggles with her religion and heritage (and messes with those of her neighbors—she can’t help herself), Riverlake becomes so vivid and complex that it feels as real as life to the reader, and sometimes realer. While Sophy’s and Everett’s narrative voices were not always convincing, World and Town was as a whole engaging, even addictive. Strongly recommended for readers who enjoy having their beliefs challenged and their prejudices called out. - Andrew R. '17

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The Third Gate by Lincoln Child (review by Mr. Silk, Harker teacher)

The Third Gate by Lincoln Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not quite "page turner" status, The Third Gate is a decent thriller that takes place in the Sudd (a swamp) of Egypt where a vast team of archaeologists are searching for the remains of Narmer, the Pharaoh that unified the country. To help discover this long lost tomb a doctor who specializes in "near death experiences" is enlisted. Unfortunately, when one "crosses over," in the neighborhood of tombs with curses on them, bad things are bound to happen, and they do. While the history is interesting (although not all true), and paced pretty well, there really are not enough surprises here to make the book reach its potential to be either truly scary or truly exciting. But it is fun enough for a day on the beach, and definitely for anyone who is a fan of "The Mummy" or similar stories in this genre. - Mr. Silk, Harker teacher

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