Review: A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I try to describe this book singular words come to mind. Raw, sad, hopeless. It is written in a choppy sentenced word twisted sequence that took some time to get use to but I did eventually after a little rereading. I fell into its pattern and never looked back.
The lead character goes into a downward spiral during the book without support from family or friends as she tries to come to terms with her brother's brain tumor and eventual death.
More words come to mind such as hopelessness, lovelessness, lack of trust, and of course, guilt. Religious rigidity serves as a cruel paradox in the suffering of the lead nameless character in this sad story. Self inflicted pain serves as a temporary antidote to reality. But, it becomes too much. No one to trust, hope is a deadend, love is a single bond between brother and sister that leaves the sister alone and marooned without the hope of survival.
The story is gripping in its use of language and strong emotional upheaval. This is not for the light hearted. You will not read this and go away uneffected.

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Review: Running to the Fire: An American Missionary Comes of Age in Revolutionary Ethiopia

Running to the Fire: An American Missionary Comes of Age in Revolutionary Ethiopia by Tim Bascom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a well written and honest account of a high school age missionary kid in Ethiopia during its revolution in the 1970s. The author was frank about his moral and philosophical inquiries concerning spiritual, cultural, and political questions raised during that time of his life and even 50 years later. I found the book compelling and unique in that I have not read anything like it before.

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