Book Review- Cecilia Rabess' Everything's Fine

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a physical arc of Cecilia Rabbis’ debut novel, Everything’s Fine.

Jess is a recent graduate working as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. Although brilliant, Jess is a new employee and the only black woman in her department. She is struggling to be taken seriously. She reconnects with Josh, a college acquaintance and semi-nemesis, who is also working on her floor. Josh is brash, conservative, and argumentative, also white. Although the two seem to have little in common, their debates shift in tone to an unlikely attraction. They discover that the other person is more nuanced and caring than the labels that they had assigned to them. However, this is 2016 and a historic election is about to impact their fragile relationship.

Everything’s Fine is a whirlwind of a book. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a female character working as an analyst and inhabiting this world. Rabess comes from his background and undoubtedly this influenced her writing and choosing this particular setting, but as a reader, I was fascinated. It’s not my world and I won’t pretend to understand all of the technical aspects, but Rabess’ writing is accessible and I understood enough of Jess’ career to not only follow the story, but to be intrigued. As a woman, I connected with Jess’s struggles in a male dominated profession. As a white woman, I listened to her struggles as a black woman in her work, but also dating Josh and life in general. The story was very eye-opening.

One aspect of Jess that will likely resonate with many readers is that she is young and struggling to define herself. This is her first major job and first adult relationship. She’s at that point in life, where she is transitioning from college to being an adult on her own, yet she does not have everything figured out. She struggles with people labeling her, even when she does not quite know where her life is headed. It is a time of figuring things out and lots of uncertainty. I’m in my mid-forties now, but Rabess took me right back to my twenties and all of the emotions associated with that time in my life.

I rooted for Jess and Josh. Their relationship is passionate and complicated, but also between two people who are essentially good, even if they have fundamental differences. There are also some steamy sex scenes!

At the heart of Everything’s Fine is the message that labels are destructive and that people can, and often do, change throughout their lives. Individuals are so much more complicated and diverse than society allows us to believe. I loved this book and can’t wait to read Rabess’ next novel. She’s a fabulous storyteller!

Book Review- Frieda Hughes' George: A Magpie Memoir

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a physical arc of Frieda Hughes’ George: A Magpie Memoir.

When poet and artist Frieda Hughes found an injured magpie chick in her garden, she had no idea that he would change her life. She took him into her home and named him George, documenting his antics and recovery in her journal. She was quickly captivated by this little bird, who was full of curiosity, intelligence, and mischief.

I enjoy nature writing and anything with animals, but I was quite unprepared for the amount of delight that I would feel from George. Hughes’ writing is beautiful and compelling, as are her illustrations that are sprinkled through the book.

Inevitably, George and Hughes’ must part ways, as George is a wild animal who must be set free. This was incredibly emotionally, as Hughes’ has a dueling conflict of wanting him to stay, but knowing that he must go. She developed a deep bond with George. Her time with George also coincided with the decline of her marriage, adding to the tension.

The way Hughes interacts with George, and subsequently other animals in her care, including birds of prey, causes her to lose some friendships. Admittedly, I was quite surprised with how she casually lets the animals roam around her kitchen, especially since birds do not have the function of bladder control. It got messy! In a sense, she became the stereotype of the “crazy cat lady,” but with birds and many friends did not understand. On the flip side, as fellow animal lover, I can completely understand her devotion to those in her care and I can understand her ways of interacting with them.

George: A Magpie Memoir is lovely and a book that is sure to delight many animal lovers, especially those fond of birds. I highly recommend it! Also, in case you are wondering, Hughes’s is the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, but she makes it clear that she doesn't want her lineage to dominate the conversation. She is a very accomplished writer and artist in her own right.

Book Review-Heather Gay's Bad Mormon

Thank you to Libro FM for an audio arc of Heather Gay’s memoir, Bad Mormon.

Prior to starting this book, I had heard of the Real Housewives franchise ( I don’t live under a rock), but I had not watched any episodes and I did not know about Heather Gay or that she is a cast member on the Salt Lake City series. I chose the book due to its shocking title.

I am not Mormon, but my paternal grandparents were, and I spent school holidays attending services and events at their church. I made friends from their ward and although they are not close friends, I am still in touch via social media and would want to see them if we were traveling to their parts of the country. I have many fond childhood memories of my time with them. This said, I also have a fraught relationship with the Church of the Latter Day Saints and some of its teachings, specifically its interference during some family trauma. I’m not going into detail here, but suffice it to say, as an outsider, I’m curious about some of the more mysterious aspects of the religion.

Gay does not hold back. Raised in the church and faithful for much of her life, she is no longer a practicing Mormon and in Bad Mormon, she shares details about temple life and ceremonies that are otherwise not shared with those outside of the faith. She explains the underwear! I’m sure she faced backlash, as this information is sacred to many, but I was fascinated. It actually served to better help me understand my grandparents and some of the ways they treated me as their only grandchild. Specifically, Gay speaks to the need to always be perfect and good, this was a huge part of how I was raised, mostly with how my grandparents expected me to act. It was extreme and as a child, I had a hard time understanding it, especially in balance with the rest of my family, who are not Mormon.

This idea of what it means to be good is at the center of Bad Mormon. Gay had always pushed back against the way she was raised, but in small ways, ways that most people would not really consider to be “bad”, but ways that were against her upbringing, such as her inappropriate humor or being a bit loud. As an adult, she tried to hold together a dysfunctional marriage and tried to be good in the ways of her faith, but the dam finally broke. On the show, Gay was herself, not feeling that it was bad to dress a little more revealing and have a cocktail. When she was cast on Real Housewives, Gay decided to let her personality shine. Her charisma makes her a popular cast member and outside of the show, she is a successful business woman and single mom.

I still haven’t watched an episode of the Real Housewives, but I enjoyed meeting Gay through her memoir. Her writing style is punchy and funny; she is someone that I’d like to meet at a party. She’s refreshing. I also appreciated the religious insight that brought clarity to my own family dynamics.