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- Paul Theroux's Deep South

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing me with an advanced copy of Paul Theroux's Deep South, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT- Having spent his career traveling to far-flung corners of the world, travel writer, Paul Theroux, decides to focus his latest book on the American south. Deep South covers Theroux's years-spanning/multiple-trips to many cities in the south, where he meet residents and immerses himself in southern culture.

LIKE - Paul Theroux does not leave stones unturned, nor does he shy from controversial subjects. As a Californian, reading Deep South from the comfort of my living room, I often felt very uneasy for the situations that Theroux puts himself in, however, had he not, this book wouldn't have packed the same punch. Theroux goes to churches, gun shows, farms, impoverished towns; often crossing the perceptible racial divide, and always aware of his outsider status being a northerner. 

Deep South was an eye-opener. Theroux's research is current, having taken place in the last few years, and he discovered that integration is still a major problem; including towns with school districts that have unofficially kept segregation alive, by sending their children to separate schools to keep with "tradition". As a Los Angeles native, this is crazy to me. 

I was shocked by the level of poverty. Theroux, having experience in third-world countries, thought that many areas of the south, were worse off than what he had experienced in Africa. I like how he highlighted individuals who are working hard to make a difference in their communities, giving their plight a sense of hope. If he hadn't included these people, the problems would have felt insurmountable. There are many communities in dire need. 

On a more fun-fact note, I learned that there are many Indian motel owners in the South, and that seventy percent of all Indian motel owners have the last name Patel. Even crazier, one-third of all independent motel owners in the United States, are named Patel. How's that for a factoid? 

I enjoyed Theroux literary references. Deep South is sprinkled with mention of southern writers, and he includes a whole chapter on Faulkner. These are a reminder of the strong literary tradition in the south. Theroux also strings southern cuisine and music as themes through his book, themes that bind the people of the region.

DISLIKE- Deep South is long. It's repetitive in content. It seems like Theroux attends a billion gun shows, all with the same result. I think he could have been more selective with what was included, yet still have maintained the importance and impact of Deep South. Also, occasionally his tone towards a subject is off-putting and unnecessary. 

RECOMMEND- Yes!!! Deep South was both affecting and rattling. It definitely shook me with regard to poverty and equality in my own country. This isn't to say that Theroux only focuses on the negative aspects of the South, he also writes about the beauty of both the people and the landscape.