Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is a story about 15 year old Kambili and her life in Nigeria.  It is a story that envelops you into the her world of Nigeria.  It is a world that is both beautiful as well as ugly.  I was pulled into the inner world of a shy girl as she ties to make sense of the brutal patriarchal world that she lives in.  In contract to to her brutal world her father's sister is the bright light of a strong determined woman.  This book shows the deep scars of colonial England upon the people of Nigeria as the culture class of Christianity collides with the old traditional culture.  It was the first African author I have read and I was very glad I took the time to read this book.


 

The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year by Sue Townsend

Eva is a woman who becomes exhausted with life and climbs into bed and stays there.  This becomes the backdrop to show the absurdity of life.  It is a hilarious commentary on our modern world and the craziness of its "sanity".  The narrative goes from crazy to saint and back to crazy and then to the possibility of freedom for Eva.  This book brought lots of laughter and a few moments of contemplation.  It was an enjoyable read.

  

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

This is the fictional story of Balram Halwai (aslo known as the white tiger) set into the backdrop of modern day India.  In the first few pages of the story you are haunted with the description of the cremation of his mother at the edge of the Ganga river, "A oozing mound of black mud".  "Soon she would become part of the black mound and the pale-skinned dog would start to lick her..this was the real god of Benaras - this black mud of the Ganga into which everything dies, and discomposes, and was reborn form, and died into again.  The same would happen to me when I died and they brought me here.  Nothing would get liberated here."  This black ooze of the mother of India is also the black ooze of India.  This is a story of Balaram's liberation.  It is a compelling narrative.

Constantine and the Conversion of Europe by A.H.M Jones

Reading this book I learned that I had a lot of misconceptions about Constantine.  One of the main misconceptions was that he used the Christians as a way to gain political control.  I am not sure where this notion came from.  After reading this book I now have a much clearer picture of Constantine and his relationship to Christianity.  Mr. Jones interpretation of Constantine is not the only one out there.  Mr. Jones presents a Constantine that really did have a conversion to Christianity, though did not have the mind set or view of a conversion as we might understand a conversion but he did so from the mindset of a Roman Emperor.  Constantine also had the title of Pontifex Maximus which gave the emperor rights over the the control and supervision of religion.  He felt it was his obligation to be involved with the Christian Church of the Roman Empire.  He referred to himself as the Bishop of those outside of the Church.  The Christian Bishops of the Roman Empire were more than happy to turn to him to mediate some of their disputes.  He was a man prone to a temper.  He would change his mind often.  He had his father-in-law, wife and oldest son killed. He was baptized a few days before his death.  He is considered a saint in the Orthodox churches. It was a fascinating and enlightening reading about a man who has had a profound influence on almost two millennium of history.        

 

The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown

This was an easy to read book about the history of the Roman empire from about 200 C.E. to about 700 C.E.  It deals with the period that leads up to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ends with the end of the Persian Empire and the rise of Islam.  It is a point in history that had a big effect upon Western Culture to this day.  It was the time of the neo-Platonist who would preserve the writings of the Greek philosophers that would eventually have a big impact upon the Renaissance.  It was also at this time in 312 that Constantine joined in the cause of Christianity which turned this small despised religion into the religion of over half the Roman Empire by the time of his death and would become the religion of the western world.  To me it is a fascinating time in world history, one that I did not know much about.  this book has given me a good overall picture of the time and place.

         

Gaty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland

This is a story of Gary who is chosen to travel with Lady Gwyneth de Ewloe on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  The author put a lot of research into the time and place that they story took place.  I most enjoyed reading about all the details of the middle ages, a place and time that is so different from the one I live in.  It is a tale of female heroism in a world dominated by men.  Though in the end it does not deviate from the familiar happily ever after fairly tale that we are so familiar with.

   

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

This is the first book in the Dark is Rising series.  This story is part of a long line of King Author myths. Simon, Jane, and Barney discover an ancient map that leads to the holy grail.  This is a story of their adventures.  I enjoyed the story but found the character actions formulaic.  Most of the time that the children ended up in danger it you could see it coming because of some stupid action on their part.  It lacked the element of surprise that I enjoy in a story.  I have not decided if I will continue the books in the series or not.