The Thing Around Your Neck

#875
Title: The Thing Around Your Neck
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Knopf
Year: 2009
224 pages

I enjoyed this collection of 12 short stories by the author of Half of a Yellow Sun. The audiobook was well-narrated by Adjoa Andoh. Some stories stood out for their content, notably the daily details showing the effects of intra-Nigerian conflicts. Others ably unfolded internal dialogues and emotions that show the strain of balancing different aspects of identity and experience, such as US vs. Nigerian ways of understanding or enacting relationships. What I found most effective, though, was the effect Adichie creates by layering the 12 stories, whose related topics and themes accrue across the collection.

I'd have ended about half the stories earlier to increase tension or uncertainty. Since many already include substantial tension and uncertainty, I'd have wished for a stronger emphasis on language and rhythm at the end of at least several pieces. The endings often seemed deflated, which I do not think was Adichie's intention.

Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3)

#874
Title: Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3)
Author: E. L. James
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Year: 2012
551 pages

A big part of my problem here is that I don't like either protagonist. They weary me with their constant conflict, boring emails, and lack of introspection. I don't know why anybody would stay in a relationship with either of them. Throw on top of this the self-consciously "kinky" sex scenes that made me fall asleep, and my general dislike of the romance genre, and there was little to hold my interest. If your idea of hot is calling each other "Mrs." and "Mr." Surname, sniping about birth control, and talking post-coitally about how your fetus will like sex, enjoy.

Matilda

#873
Title: Matilda
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 1988/1998
240 pages

It's a revenge fantasy. At least there's one non-horrible adult, always a pleasure. I'm calling this "young adult," or perhaps "middle reader," because like much of Dahl's work it's got a lot of moral ambiguity. I'm all for it, and find it refreshing. I probably wouldn't give it to a kid under 10 or so, at least without discussing some of Matilda's actions (in the same way I'd want to discuss Harry Potter's use of an unforgivable curse).

The Sagan Diary (Old Man's War #2.5)

#872
Title: The Sagan Diary (Old Man's War #2.5)
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Year: 2007
100 pages

	As a short story, the language is more literary than the series it derives from and the character is much more philosophical. It was pleasant to read, but doesn't fit well with the series for both of these reasons. It can't stand alone, but will be fun for those already familiar with the Old Man's War series.

Boy: Tales of Childhood

#871
[Title: Boy: Tales of Childhood]
Author: Roald Dahl
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 1984/2001
176 pages

Reread in 2012 (review posted in 2008) as a prelude to reading Matilda. Previous review:

 Roald Dahl's memoir of his childhood is deceptively simple and pastoral. As is also often the case in Dahl's fiction, a darker substrate is present as well. These include almost losing his nose in a motoring accident, stuffing his sister's fiance's pipe with goat droppings, and an incident with a dead mouse. Dahl tells his story with understatement and affection. For those unfamiliar with the English boarding school experience or narrative, this would be an informative book to read along with the first Harry Potter books. It captures the horrible and ridiculous aspects of that experience without being overly graphic (as some boarding school memoirs are), providing a social and institutional context for understanding the Harry Potter books as well as another example of the English school boy genre.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

#870
Title: Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Author: Tim Weiner
Publisher: Doubleday
Year: 2007
702 pages

	I don't really know how to evaluate the veracity of this history. On the one hand, it appears to be very well researched and referenced; on the other, the CIA has made arguments to refute it in its book review. To the extent that I've read about the CIA, this appears to coordinate generally with other accounts.

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

#869
Title: Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
Author: Blaine Harden
Publisher: Viking
Year: 2012
221 pages

I started by listening on BBC 4, but quickly discovered that it was a highly truncated version and switched to the book.

Written in a style that will please readers who like a personal story told journalistically, with sections providing information, collateral reports, and related news stories. If you liked Demick's Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea but wanted a more extended story from one of her participants, you may like Escape from Camp 14. If you want to lose yourself in a memoir, without external intrusions, try The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. I appreciated the blend, especially because Shin Dong-hyuk is, depending on your perspective, either an unreliable narrator or a person with a great deal of shame and good reasons to mistrust authorities. Compare to many of Elie Wiesel's Holocaust narratives, where disclosures about one's behavior depend on many factors, or any account of a conflict (such as the war in Vietnam) where people did things that shame them and are shocking or disgusting outside that context.