Two More Book Reports

Beth M's Pick:
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
This was really good and just okay at the same time. I loved reading and learning about another culture - the Hmong. The Hmong originally lived in the mountains in Laos but due to allying themselves with the USA and working for us during the Vietnam War, they were shunned by their neighbors and were forced to immigrate from their homeland. This book is primarily about a family that deals with their daughter "contracting" epilepsy and how the American culture (who sees epilepsy as an affliction and the physical body in need of healing) and the Hmong culture (who sees epilepsy as a gift and the body's spirits more important than the pysical body) clash in their treatment of this little girl. Secondarily, it talks about the history of the Hmong and how they ended up in America and about their cutlure. It is an amazing, eye-opening book. The part that makes it "just okay" is that it drones on at times making it hard to read but in the end does a good job of presenting all the information. A VERY thought-provoking book! Are you interested in knowing more about the Hmong?

Beth P's Pick:
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
This was a really good time of me to read this book. The last several books we've read have been pretty heavy in nature but this book was fictional (with an infomative theme about Iranian life, especially Iranian women) and a lighter read. I enjoyed it very much. It is about a Iranian woman that was given the chance to get a tourist visa to America and was now on a quest to find a husband so that she could get her green card. Along with displaying the fundamental differences in life there in Iran (pronounced "EE-rahn") and America, it did a great job in uncovering some of the differences between cultures' expectations of marriage too. A very good read....

Next is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd