‘Keep your friends close, your enemies closer’……   *****

Racism is alive and well in this country. It may be subtle, or not, but it lies just beneath the surface, ready to rear its ugly head. The term racist has been applied to Atticus Finch in this book and the reversal of how he is portrayed in To Kill A Mockingbird has some people upset. In my opinion, they have misunderstood both books.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus is asked by his maid, Calpurnia, to talk to Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman. After talking to him, Atticus believes he is innocent and agrees to defend him. This decision is based not on being black or white, but seeing a man unjustly accused and who needs a good lawyer. While the town is upset about him defending a black man, for Atticus it is about justice and the law.

In Go Set A Watchman, Atticus is defending a way of life and the intrusion of the federal government. I may not agree with his view of how life should be, but again he sees it as defending justice and his view of the constitution.

To understand both books, we have to realize they are from the point of view of Jean Louise (Scout) and that she has a narrow and naive view of the world. Remember she thought letting a boy slip in his tongue when they kissed caused her to get pregnant. While growing up she was not aware of racial issues, things were just how they were. When she returns to her home as an adult and sees the change in everyone except herself, she cannot grasp what has happened. She does not understand the threat to a way of life the others feel.

This book is a revelation of how a lot of the South reacted to the enforcement of de-segregation when civil rights became the law of the land. The diatribe of Uncle Jack is worth the price of the book alone.  In an age where many would like to rewrite the past, this book is a reminder of how a people can justify the oppression of another.

Harper Lee has written a novel that speaks probably louder today than had it been published when she wrote it. This is a thought provoking, hopefully discussion starting, look into how we perceive each other, how embedded our beliefs can be, and how we need to listen to those with whom we may not agree. A happy ending, feel good novel it is not.

This one gets five full stars

The art of 5-7-5s…   *****

Being a poet

I know how hard it is to

Write a good haiku.

Tara Keogh not only writes them well, but uses them to make amazing statements about the workplace. her love experiences, and life in general. This is a compilation of two hundred and twelve haikus.  Some of wlhich were previously published in the World Haiku Review.

Like any good poetry, each one should be read, then thought about, then reread.  The meaning of each will vary with the reader, as Keogh states in her introduction. Some I can see putting on a stickie on my computer, some are better left to memory.

Well worth pondering over.  This one gets a solid  five stars.

A different approach to telling a fantasy story…..  ***

Normally, I do not read fantasy. After all once you have read all of J. R. Tolkien, what could ever measure up to his standard? However, when I received a request to review this book, I was intrigued.

The fantasy part of the story is straight forward. Thirteen skulls brought to Earth by aliens to be used by us to gain the knowledge they have acquired.  The skulls were brought years ago and as mankind becomes aware of the power they hold, there are some who try to steal them for their own purposes. Eventually the skulls are scattered and hidden in various parts of the Earth as the story reaches modern day.

Here is where the approach is different, at least in my experience.  As Henderson tells the  history of the skulls, she mixes in the modern day story of Gemma Mason who begins having dreams about the skulls. Gemma eventually decides to write a book about her dreams. This switching from the fantasy story to what is happening with Gemma kept me reading.

The writing is above average, and the philosophy that Henderson imparts is not only worth reading, but worth a pause for reflection. The novel suffers from more telling than showing but moves at a good pace.

This was a hard book to rate for me.  I give it three stars as a fantasy novel, but the writing style deserves four.  But since this is for fantasy fans, three it is.