Purity: Male Entitlement

Reading Purity in the wake of everything that is happening in the media and the news over sexual assault/harassment allegations made me examine certain scenes in more depth than I might have before.  For instance, Pip, the heroine, remarks that the only reason that Igor hasn't fired her yet was because he wanted to sleep …

Americanah: Racism within Cultural Context

At the end of chapter 37, Shan says that the reason why Ifemelu can write on her blog so candidly about her observations about racism on the blog is because she is an outsider, who doesn't have the cultural context or background where she has been subjected to racism the way African-Americans are and that …

A Tale for the Time Being: Time Dreams

Reading the last chapters of A Tale for the Time, I was struck by the conundrum of how Ruth directly affected Nao's father and consequently the events in the diary, despite the difference in timeline for either. I found it fascinating how Ruth is reading the diary long after the events in it have occurred …

A Tale for the Time Being: Narrative Contrasts

As I was reading A Tale for the Time Being, I was struck by how clear and distinct the two narratives of Nao and Ruth were. Nao’s voice is directing her writing to an existing audience (Ruth) and the self-awareness colors her writing, while Ruth’s narrative reads as a typical novel might. It’s intwresting because …

I Hate the Internet: Twitter

While reading chapter nineteen in i hate the internet, I grew curious about whether Jarett Kobek used Twitter and whether the negative comments and opinions translated from the page to the actual author himself. Interestingly enough, his personal Twitter seems almost nonexistent although, despite the inactivity since 2010, his bio was updated with the release of his 2015 …