Inspiring.
A fictionalized memoir depicts an Indonesian child developing consciousness of activism on both local and global scales.
In episodic chapters, the narrator, born in Indonesia to an Indonesian father and a possibly American mother, recounts their upbringing in Indonesia and their growing awareness of activism against a corrupt authoritarian regime. (The narrator, possibly assumed to be the author, is never indicated by gendered pronoun and similarly does not mention any ethnic identity markers of their mother.) Nagara introduces young readers to many political concepts, including corruption, collusion, and nepotism, juxtaposed with dissidence, free speech, and populism. While those in power are mostly represented by the sinister, unnamed “Minister,” readers may infer the time period from the “NO KKN” slogan protesting the New Order of the Suharto period and mentions of the Soweto uprising in South Africa and activist groups such as the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement in the United States. Nagara introduces broader concepts of diversity using the example of multicultural Indonesia, celebrating unity while not shying away from discrimination against the ethnic Chinese or those falling outside traditional gender roles. The extremely ambitious text sometimes feels disjointed, especially within the framework of a story that is not exactly true, though is still a powerful narrative that encourages long-term awareness, work, sacrifice, and patience in order to effect change for all people.
Inspiring. (Fiction/memoir. 9-13)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60980-935-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
In a large, handsome format, Tarnowska offers six tales plus an abbreviated version of the frame story, retold in formal but contemporary language and sandwiched between a note on the Nights’ place in her childhood in Lebanon and a page of glossary and source notes. Rather than preserve the traditional embedded structure and cliffhanger cutoffs, she keeps each story discrete and tones down the sex and violence. This structure begs the question of why Shahriyar lets Shahrazade [sic] live if she tells each evening’s tale complete, but it serves to simplify the reading for those who want just one tale at a time. Only the opener, “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,” is likely to be familiar to young readers; in others a prince learns to control a flying “Ebony Horse” by “twiddling” its ears, contending djinn argue whether “Prince Kamar el Zaman [or] Princess Boudour” is the more beautiful (the prince wins) and in a Cinderella tale a “Diamond Anklet” subs for the glass slipper. Hénaff’s stylized scenes of domed cityscapes and turbaned figures add properly whimsical visual notes to this short but animated gathering. (Folktales. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84686-122-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A prolific reporter of paranormal phenomena strains to bring that same sense of wonder to 12 “transposed”—that is, paraphrased from interviews but related in first person—accounts of extraordinary experiences. Some feats are more memorable than others; compared to Bethany Hamilton’s return to competitive surfing after having her arm bitten off by a shark and Mark Inglis’ climb to the top of Mount Everest on two prosthetic legs, Joe Hurley’s nine-month walk from Cape Cod to Long Beach, Calif., is anticlimactic. Dean Karnazes hardly seems to be exerting himself as he runs 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days, and the comments of an Air Force Thunderbirds pilot and a military Surgeon’s Assistant in Iraq come off as carefully bland. The survivors of a hurricane at sea, a lightning strike and a tornado, on the other hand, tell more compelling stories. Most of the color photos are at least marginally relevant, and each entry closes with a short note on its subject’s subsequent activities. Casual browsers will be drawn to at least some of the reconstructed narratives in this uneven collection. A reading list would have been more useful than the superfluous index, though. Fun, in a scattershot sort of way. (Nonfiction browsing item. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6711-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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