Week 2

Assignment 3

I enjoyed the following two books immensely-- the first because of its in-depth look into various African-American perspectives of the 20th century and the second because of its tone and language. I also felt I learned a tremendous amount from both books mainly because they featured subjects unfamiliar to me. Below is my breakdown of each book's appeal factors.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

Pacing: Fast-paced, yet slow development of overall plot. Each fairly short chapter offers the views of a different character and a significant event in their life, and all chapters (or, as the inside dust jacket synopsis calls them, "twelve luminous narrative threads") gradually build up the main plot.

Characterization: 12 distinct characters (third person omniscient point of view). Not much is known about the characters and readers are thrown into various parts of their lives and only receive glimpses of these lives. Therefore, this would be enjoyed more by readers who like distant characters and objectivity instead of immediately defined, relateable characters.

Story line: African-American fiction/family saga genre with themes of love, loss, regret, and family. Subjects of poverty, homosexuality, racism, and adversity.

Language: Skillfully written with close attention paid to dialect. Lots of dialogue.

Setting: 20th century with various settings (the main settings are Philadelphia and Georgia). The settings play an important role in the story, often being the cause of contention between the characters.

Detail: Not extremely detailed. More dialogue than in-depth descriptions.

Tone: Varies depending on the character. Overall, fairly dark, depressing, and hopeless.
Learning/Experiencing: Through multiple character perspectives, readers learn a fair amount about the African-American experience in the 20th century North and South.

Little Bee

Pacing: Medium pace. In-depth descriptions of events and characters' feelings combined with suspense caused by allusions to a terrible event in the past.

Characterization: Two main characters - a middle-aged, middle-class white British woman and a teenage Nigerian girl (alternating first-person perspectives). Gradual character development. The British woman is rather serious while the Nigerian girl is ironic. Both are extremely introspective. Would be enjoyed more by readers who like to sympathize and relate to characters rather than remain detached.

Story line: Literary fiction genre with themes of unlikely friendship, love, hope, death, violence, and language. Subjects of adultery, refugee treatment, suicide, and depression.

Language: Poetic and reflective language.

Setting: Nigeria and England. These two settings are contrasted throughout.

Detail: More detailed from the Nigerian girl's perspective than from the British woman's perspective, so it varies.
Tone: Bittersweet - a blend of humor/irony and horror. Also suspenseful.
Learning/Experiencing: The author skillfully includes many authentic details of the way refugees are treated in the modern day UK immigration detention system. Therefore, much can be learned about the refugee experience.

Assignment 4

I posted two recommendations to Rich Sigwald's blog.