courts thoughts

I review fiction books because I lack the creative prowess to write them myself

[courtz-thoughtz]

Pachinko (2017) Min Jin Lee 📚 4/5 📚

A beautiful generational tale about a humble Korean family and its struggles and triumphs throughout the 1900’s Japanese colonisation. This story begins with the birth of Hoonie, a steady and hardworking Korean man with a gentle nature, a cleft palate, and a twisted foot, and follows the evolution of his family and its internal and external environments over several generations. 

I personally enjoyed the way the Min Jin Lee takes the reader on a progressive journey from traditional to modern settings over time, starting with the humble fishing village of Yeongdo in 1910 and ending with bustling Osaka and Tokyo in 1989. I also loved the parallel exploration of the way culture and family values change (or remain the same) over long periods of time. 

Even though the political overlay is a huge driver for the plot’s progression, it didn’t feel so overpowering that I couldn’t connect with the emotional inner workings of the story. This book has a little something for everyone - love, war, hardship, gambling and several tear-jerking moments. What’s not to love? I’m giving this a solid 4 out of 5 and encourage any historical fiction buff to give it a read. 

Thanks for tuning into Court’s thoughts on this one.

Cheers

[courtz-thoughtz]

The Humans (2013) Matt Haig

📚 3.5/5 📚

In Matt Haig's The Humans, an alien is sent to Earth from the technologically advanced planet of Vonnadoria to murder an obnoxious mathematician and his family (and anyone else necessary) after he solves an equation that could advance the human race too far. To do this, the alien must morph into the mathematician and assimilate into human life to figure out who else knows the equation has been solved...and who else must die. The alien quickly loses sight of his mission after he falls in love with the mathematician's wife and experiences the joy, wonder, and pain that comes with the territory of being human. He then endeavours to protect the family as another alien is sent to complete his original mission.

As somewhat of an alien myself, I really resonated with the observations made about Earth's nonsensical social etiquette during the alien's assimilation into human life. That shit was very funny to me and I loved a lot of the quotes:

"He stuffed some crisps into his mouth and made no attempt to conceal their fate."

"She was standing on top of one form of primitive technology (step-ladder) changing another one (incandescent light bulb)."

"The 'pub' was an invention of humans living in England, designed as compensation for the fact that they were humans living in England. I rather liked the place."

Personally I enjoyed the first half of the book the most because I found it delightfully cynical, charming, and funny, but I was put off by the sappy messaging and instagrammable quotes about life and love in the second half.

To me, a lot of this book is the introspective monologue of someone exploring the philosophical questions of life - and while some may find this quite moving, and some of it was necessary for the plot, I personally thought it would've been a more entertaining story without most of the contemplative analysis. Notwithstanding, in Part 3, there is an argument between our alien (who no longer wants to kill the humans) and his replacement (who absolutely does) that I think gives a spectacular insight into the internal wrestle some of us have between love and hate for our species, and the stark contrast in viewpoints prompted me to think about how the beauty of life really does lie in the eye of the beholder.

Only a person who has suffered a severe and crippling existential crisis could have written this book, and kudos to Matt Haig for his work as I sense it was a very personal journey. Overall I thought this was a very interesting way to explore the darkness and beauty of humanity through an 'outsider's' perspective.

I rated this one a 3.5, with 0.5 of that awarded because I loved how much airtime and appreciation there was for the family dog, Newton.

Thanks for tuning in for Court's thoughts on this one.

Cheers

[courtz-thoughtz]

Demon Copperhead (2022) Barbara Kingsolver

📚 5/5 📚

Demon Copperhead is a modern-day adaptation of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, a mid-1800’s novel that follows the mostly unfortunate journey from birth to adulthood of a young English boy named (you guessed it) David Copperfield, exploring themes of class and gender along the way. In similar fashion, Demon Copperhead takes the reader on the tumultuous travels of Damon Fields (nicknamed Demon Copperhead), born and grown in rural Lee County, Virginia.

I won’t sugar coat it; this kid was dealt a shitty hand from the get-go. Born in a trailer park to a single teen mother who abuses drugs, lumped with an abusive and arrogant stepfather, and then thrown into foster care, all the while navigating his own trials with addiction, poverty, love, loss, heartache, and friendship.

Despite the somewhat depressing narrative, Kingsolver litters this book with a stunning array of clever similes via an endless stream of adolescent consciousness that had me stifling obnoxious laughter on the bus more than once.

The thing I loved the most about this book was undoubtedly Mr Copperhead himself – being so privy to his boyish inner monologue made me feel like a close friend. I found myself hopeful every time he was on the verge of a win, then utterly heartbroken each time that hope was inevitably thwarted.

Another high point for me is the exceptionally entertaining turns of phrase and character descriptions. My personal favourite is this one about young Emmy Peggott from Chapter 4:

“She was a skinny sixth grader with long brown hair and this look to her, cold-blooded. Carrying around at all times a Hello Kitty backpack that she looked ready to bludgeon you with, then tote around your head inside.”

This revamped coming-of-age story also provides a thought-provoking exploration into the opioid crisis, classism, and the theory that your environment, particularly in the formative years of life, shapes your thoughts, your beliefs, and in many cases, your future. As a regional Australian citizen who has seen one too many failed futures due to a lack of geographical opportunity, this book touched my heart and I’m sure will touch the hearts of many who understand the plights of children who are forced to grow up too fast through no fault of their own.

I award this book with five out of five, my highest honour (not that my honour means anything because who even am I) and I’d like to send a personal thanks to whatever planets aligned to enable my accidental stumble across what I’d now call one of my all-time favourite books (and my all-time favourite protagonist).

Thanks for signing on to read Courts Thoughts on this one.

Cheers