2019, Book 44: The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Book 40: Blues People by Leroi Jones. The pattern of white people commercializing black music and claiming it for themselves goes back a long while.

Book 41: Giving by Bill Clinton. Certain presidents stop when they're out of office.  Bill Clinton never has.

Book 42: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Conclusions aren't always academically rigorous, but some very interesting facts and patterns to be had here.

Book 43: Meaty by Samantha Irby.  Still laughing.  Still funny.  Samantha Irby is the funniest.

Book 44: The Leavers by Lisa Ko

I'd always thought that hearing yourself in a story making it more meaningful was kind of a garbage way to look at things.  I mean, as a reader, shouldn't you be meeting the author half-way and doing your best to step into the heads of the characters created?  On a purely philosophical level, perhaps that's true.  However, I've discovered through John Okada, Naomi Hirahara and now Lisa Ko that it simply isn't.  There is something about the Asian American experience (east Asian specifically) that really is unique.  Hearing that very familiar voice definitely draws me in.

That voice really permeates every word of this book.  It's impossible to read a paragraph without becoming more familiar with that Asian American experience.  That alone makes this book a worthwhile read.  However, what really gets me about this one is the ending.  So often, strands are tied up so nicely and neatly and things either go perfectly or fall completely apart.  I hate that.  So many books where I relish how realistic and believable it is end with this completely unrealistic and only barely believable binary result.  Even Octavia Butler, whose work I do highly recommend, concludes the Parables series this way.

It's pretty rare life works out so cleanly and neatly with such tidy moral lessons.  I like that Ko leaves a bit of a mess at the end.  There are definitely lessons in The Leavers and those are not so messy for anyone wanting to do more than a cursory reading.  At their broadest, they address breaking apart families, how to deal with the kids once the families are broken apart and what it's like to get all the physical and mental nurturing one could ask for while none of the emotional and cultural nurturing.  When mother and child are forcibly separated, there are wounds that need special attention.  This book is enjoyable at this level, at the level of story, at the level of characters and, as noted, at the level of voice.  I found this book just plain enjoyable, through the sadness and yearning and discovery.