In celebrating Banned Books Week (though I'm not entirely sure one "celebrates" Banned Books Week as much as call attention to crippling censorship), I decided I'd do a mini-book review of one book every day of this week. Since today is technically the 3rd day of Banned Books Week (I was going to use an acronym but realized it may have other...more titillating implications haha) as it started on Saturday the 25th, I will do three books! While books like Huck Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, & Beloved are very well-known examples (that are phenomenal and I am VERY thankful that my public school system actually encouraged us to read these), I thought I'd try to steer these reviews toward very important books (IMO) that may not be as well-known but still resonate in our society.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
I remember reading Bless Me, Ultima the summer after I graduated high school, right before moving to the big bad streets of New York City for college. As a young Hispanic (though not Mexican) living in the United States (although it may be in Miami, it still counts!), the merging of several cultural identities has been something I have faced since I was a small child. In the novel, Antonio struggles between becoming a priest, as his Luna mother wishes, or riding the llano (basically being a cowboy of sorts) like his father does. He struggles between his Spanish heritage and his indigenous culture. He struggles between the mysticism practiced by Ultima and Catholicism. Even more struggles abound at school between the Spanish speakers and the English speakers. While I may not be a 7-year-old boy growing up in 1940s New Mexico, it spoke of the same issues of independence I too was seeking, as evidenced by my high-tailing it out of Miami for NYC.
My entire life, I have seen my friends waver between the two extremes- becoming excessively "Cubanized" or completing forgetting their heritage to become more Anglosized. While we here about the "melting pot" of mixed cultures all day long, it really is bullshit because at the end of the day, you are ALWAYS reminded that you are different. Some praise these differences, some disparage them. Racism is a tale as old as time, as is mixogenation. I'm not trying to be the boo-hoo triple minority woe-is-me girl. Because I AM different. We ALL are. It is a fact of life. And what Antonio comes to realize is that moral independence is found through the artful combination of one's past, one's gender, one's religion, one's race. At 7, Antonio is able to rise above the various stereotypes propounded by his family and the Guadalupe townspeople and be free to choose his own life path, something he discovers with Ultima's unwavering tolerance and understanding.
Bless Me, Ultima is a classic in Chicano literature, showcasing that a novel by a minority does not have to be a derivative of anything, that it can stand alone and not be a glorification of American OR Hispanic stereotypes to be a simple but potent coming of age story.
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Now most that know me (and even if you don't, now you will!), know that I LOVE William S Burroughs and the Beat Poets. I may not agree with a lot of their stances on a lot of things, but I do admire their no-frills attitude about writing and how it should occur organically, not forced. So naturally, I am very excited to see the film Howl, based on the obscenity trial for Allen Ginsberg's poem of the same name, starring the hunky Jon Hamm, James Franco (as Allen Ginsberg), and David Strathairn (who would've been a great, older WSB, but that's ok because that man can do no wrong).
Naked Lunch is the first WSB book I had ever read, and I picked it up (not surprisingly) while living in NYC at a second-hand bookstore. Much like a lot of Burroughs' writing, it is based on his own experiences as a drug user throughout his life. The vignettes can be read in any order (which I think is pretty cool, and I have read them in very random patterns throughout the years). By writing in this way, Burroughs calls to attention the human mind's limitations on how it perceives things- mainly that you perceive what you want to- and reading it in random orders continually turns the relationships on its axis, akin to the drug-addled mind of the protagonist William Lee.
While it may be difficult to see why a book like Bless Me, Ultima is banned (for "pagan content" and "promoting a homosexual agenda"" in its depictions of sexuality), Burroughs intended to use obscene language, frank depictions of drug use and taboo sex. This book goes everywhere and ends up nowhere. It gives you a glimpse of sub-cultures that you would never, ever want to be a part of. It's sick and it's twisted, but much like the title (as discussed by Burroughs in the intro to the novel) "NAKED Lunch - [it is] a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork."
Forever by Judy Blume
If you didn't spend your childhood and burgeoning teenage years reading Judy Blume, you have truly missed out. I started reading Blume books in the 4th grade, and have devoured nearly everything she has written in the ensuing 14 years. While it may seem not as taboo as it was in 1975 for its description of sexual intercourse and Katherine's decision to go on the pill, it is still under attack by sexual abstinence groups and different religious organizations. This is the story of a teenage girl coming to terms with not just her sexual life, but with love. She experiences many "firsts" in the book, including realizing that her relationship with Michael was the beginning (and not the end-all, be-all) of love in her lifetime.
I liked that their relationship seemed real. And it wasn't just some flippy kind of relationship either. They were intense, and serious, and completely head-over-heels for each- like a first love should be. I liked how frankly (and sometimes explicitly) they spoke about their desires, their hopes, their ideas. I liked that Katherine recognizes that in the moment, it seemed like her and Michael would be forever, but just because it was then, doesn't mean it truly is so. That being said, there is A LOT of sex in this book. I first read it when I was 15, when I had my first "real" boyfriend, and I, usually very ok with talking about sex with virtually anyone, blanched at how detailed it was. Now, at 23, it still kind of surprises me a bit, but I get the larger message too.
And in a world where sexting, porn and sex are hitting us from all angles and are very readily available to everyone, it is refreshing to see teens make smart, informed decisions.
Up tomorrow is Rainbow Boys.
In other news, tomorrow is the Career Fair and I am already totally over it. I'm nervous, yet not nervous, and tired and totally pessimistic about it. This job search is sucking, and it seems like there are even FEWER jobs than before. I will still give it my all (since I've got my snazzy new outfit!), but not expecting much. Hopefully I will start my first personal statement tomorrow too.
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