Book Review- Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

I work at a bookstore and during a recent opening shift, I was familiarizing myself with the new merchandise and spotted Mira Jacob’s Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. Memoir is one of my favorite genres, and although I have not read many graphic novels, I was intrigued by the blending of the two. I purchased it and I was so taken by the concept, that I set-aside my overflowing TBR pile and bumped Good Talk to top of my queue.

Jacob’s parents immigrated to the United States before she was born, settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they had Jacob and her older brother. Jacob’s family would frequently return to India for vacations, where she was made aware that her skin color was darker than her immediate family members and felt the concern that this might limit her prospects of future marriage. Jacob shares details of her parent’s relationship and arranged marriage, highlighting the differences between her parent’s upbringing and the American culture in which she was raised. Although there are struggles, there is a lot of love and humor in her family dynamics, and towards the end of the book, very emotional moments as Jacob spends time with her father as he dies from cancer.

Jacob pursues a writing career. Early in her career she struggles with the balance between working for experience and working for money. She encounters situations where her appearance, being both female and a person of color, create cringy dynamics where others label and stereotype her. The micro- aggressions are rampant. This inhibits her ability to let her quality of work speak for itself and diminishes her perceived value to would-be employers and colleagues. I’ve experienced this being female, but Jacob has the additional layer of being a POC. It’s maddening.

Good Talk is told through conversations and the timeline is not linear. It starts with a conversation that Jacob has with her elementary-aged son regarding Michael Jackson and skin color. Jacob’s husband is white and their child is starting to ask questions. These questions become more intense as events surrounding the Trump presidency and the Black Lives Matter movement are in the news. Jacob’s in-laws, whom she loves, are ardent Trump supporters, unable to realize how voting for Trump could impact their daughter-in-law and grandson.

The deep divisions that are currently plaguing the United States will be familiar to most readers. My heart hurt reading about Jacob’s conflict with her in-laws, as they reminded me of my own fractured relationships that have emerged during the Trump presidency and the pandemic. However, I liked the way that Jacob and her husband are handling the situation. They are hurting and angry, yet they are not cutting off communication from their loved ones. They are hoping for a future with more understanding and more conversations. They are not staying silent in their opinions, yet they are trying to be patient with the people they love, hoping for understanding. I wonder if her in-laws read this book and if it changed their relationship.

Good Talk is a heavy read, filled with a dose of humor. I love the concept of a memoir that is also a graphic novel. The visual elements make it feel like more of an experience, similar to attending an art exhibit. I will definitely seek out more graphic novels to broaden my reading.

Book Review: Anna Sale's Let's Talk About Hard Things

Thank you to LibroFM and Simon & Schuster Audio for an audio copy of Anna Sale’s Let’s Talk About Hard Things.

Let’s Talk About Hard Things is an extension of Sale’s popular podcast, Death, Sex, and Money. I’m a huge fan of her podcast and was very excited for this memoir. Sale breaks Let’s Talk About Hard Things into sections: death, sex, money, family and identity. Similar to her podcast, Sale weaves stories from her personal life with interviews and statistics to explore each topic.

The magic of Sale is how she manages to make difficult topics accessible. She reminds her audience that these are unavoidable topics and topics that are made easier when we realize that they affect us all. While it may be difficult to have financial or end of life conversations with our loved ones, Sale opens the door to the way in which we may broach these subjects and gives us examples of other people having these brave discussions. It gives us courage to take the same actions in our own lives and also makes us feel less alone.

Let’s Talk About Hard Things and Death, Sex, and Money are both excellent tools that can help anyone at any stage in life. Last year, I discovered a wonderful TedTalk by author Donna Jo Napoli, where she explains that stories prepare people for events that may occur in their lives and that through experiencing stories, we can imagine scenarios that perhaps could happen to us. I think this is the power of Sale’s work. You might not have had an illness or been a caretaker, yet by reading these sections, you can think about how a similar scenario could impact you in the future, in turn preparing you. You might not identify as LGBTQ, yet reading these sections of Sale’s book and hearing the stories of others, opens the door for listening and empathizing.

I highly recommend Let’s Talk About Hard Things. It’s filled with encouraging true stories on vital topics. The audio book, narrated by Sale, is fantastic, but I also plan to purchase hardcover versions to give as gifts. I can’t imagine a person who wouldn’t benefit from this book.

Book Review- Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising

Primarily set in the 1970’s and 80’s, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, Malibu Rising, is the story of a four siblings living in Malibu. Their father, Mick Riva, is a famous singer, who left his family when his children were young. His ex-wife struggles financially, surviving by running her parent’s fish restaurant. When their mother dies from cancer, Nina, the eldest Riva child and barely an adult, takes over the family restaurant and care of her younger siblings. Nina’s fortune changes when she is discovered surfing and becomes a model. Her financial windfall is further enhanced by her marriage to a tennis star. As they become adults, Nina’s siblings follow her lead : Jay is a surf pro and Hud is a sports photographer, while youngest sibling, Kit, is also an accomplished surfer. The Riva siblings lives change after throwing one wild, unforgettable party in 1983, where secrets are revealed and irrevocable decisions are made.

Malibu Rising is my third Reid novel ( I also read Daisy Jones & The Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo), and this has, by far, been my favorite. The Riva family, especially Nina and Kit, are fabulous characters. I love the Malibu setting and surf culture aesthetic. I was delighted by the overlap of characters from Reid’s previous stories. Mick Riva is a connecting presence and one of Evelyn Hugo’s husbands! The overlap does not mean that you need to read Reid’s novels in order of publication, the books are independent stories. However, the connections are a fun Easter egg for fans.

Reid is excellent at writing historical fiction set in California during the 60’s/70’s/80’s. I mentioned this in a previous review, but it bears mentioning again: I’m from California, but I was born in 1977, so I feel that Reid’s novels transport me to my parent’s time growing up in Los Angeles. I love this time capsule aspect to her writing. She’s a fabulous storyteller, but I’m equally attracted to her themes and settings.

I bought Malibu Rising for my recent vacation to Los Angeles and it couldn’t have been a more perfect pick. I’m looking forward to Reid’s next book, Carrie Soto is Back, which also promises to link characters. In Malibu Rising, Nina Riva’s husband cheats on her with fellow tennis champion, Carrie Soto. I can’t wait for this drama to continue!