So…I’m always a bit afraid at the beginning of a semester when I see an assigned novel on the syllabus. It’s not that I do not like to read. I love to read. In fact, I used to get in trouble all through school for reading in class (my stuff, not what the teacher assigned), I love the smell of bookstores and wish I could bottle it, and I get very anxious if I’m getting to the end of a book and there is no back-up literature at hand. Sorry, going off on a tangent – my point is that in one of my other classes I saw a *yikes!* novel on the syllabus and let out a sigh of resignation. But surprisingly, I really like the book…and I’m having trouble putting it down.
It’s Harbor by Lorraine Adams. The complex story is about an illegal immigrant from Algeria who stows away on a ship to get into the United States via Boston. The author’s imagery is superb in that I get a full sense of where the characters are from the mood, smells, sounds and physical descriptions. Harbor is also told from the point of view of the main character and the style is such that the reader is experiencing simultaneously what the character is experiencing; the reader only knows what the character knows at that moment. Adams captures that fear, anxiousness, and excitement of someone coming to a new land with hopes of a better life. There is a thread of mystery through out the story as I am trying to figure out what is the main character’s purpose here in the U.S. Is he looking for refuge, or is he a terrorist? Was he initially here for a terrorist plan but is having second thoughts? In the meantime, there are plenty of other things going on and the relationships are complex between the various characters: illegal and legal immigrants, relatives, security and government officials, criminals, husbands, wives, and lovers. Adams also seems to have very good insight on the isolation of a foreigner, as well as the assimilation process.
So, I cannot believe I’m actually saying this, but I’m recommending a book that was actually assigned in a class!
Solastalgia on Refuse: A Journal of Iconoclasms
2 years ago
1 comment:
So sad and so true--It's hard to love an assigned book. Unless it's poetry--I've almost always enjoyed assigned poetry, and especially discussing it later. As for fiction, that's so much tougher. I'm straining to recall any book....hmmm. Here are a few:
Ulysses (this one you have to read with a class--it's too hard otherwise.)
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X--this one doesn't count because I didn't read it until 12 years after the class was over.
Hmmmm. A good post, and thanks for the recommendation.
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