Erin's Picks
I loved this clever and heartfelt book about adventure, architecture, and how much we really understand about our own family. Fifteen-year-old Bee requests a trip to Antarctica as a reward for her perfect grades, and her neurotic and agoraphobic mother, Bernadette, disappears without warning while planning the trip. Bee is left to uncover her mother's past life an as architect in Seattle in an attempt to find her mother before disaster strikes. This book was so inventive--most of it is told through interviews, letters, and emails between characters. Maria Semple used to write for one of my favorite TV shows, Arrested Development, so the wit and roundabout humor in this book shines throughout.
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This was one of the most gripping and powerful memoirs I've read in quite some time. MacLean tells the story of his trip to India where he "wakes up" suddenly on a train platform with no memory of who he is or why he is there. His amnesia is the result of an uncommon reaction to malarial medication, and as he makes his way back to the U.S. he begins to piece his life together. MacLean struggles to remember his family, his fiance, his childhood, and his friends. Notably, along the way to rediscovering his old life, MacLean's personality changes in subtle, yet life-changing ways. A captivating read.
Cultures clash in this collection of short stories--some of them thoughtfully emotional, some of them somber--and of them beautifully told through the narratives of Filipino-American characters. I think about their stories all the time, wondering how these characters are doing long after their stories have ended. "Monstress" is haunting in all the best ways.