A Rattlingly Good Story

“With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” – Oscar Wilde

 If I didn’t know better, I’d think Dorian Gray’s mastermind got an advanced reader copy of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows over 200 years ago. Surely, Wilde would have been pleased: sexuality, drama, and mysterious deaths?!!?

Set in present-day London, Balli Kaur Jaswal puts a unique spin on the popular East-meets-West novel. Nikki left her parent’s home in the Indian neighborhood of Southall for modern city life. The big city proved rough after Nikki dropped out of law school and lost some of her shifts at the bar. Money was tight. On top of it all, her older sister agreed to participate in the Indian tradition of arranged marriage. Nikki felt wholly devastated. After reluctantly agreeing to post her sister’s profile on the marriage board at a large Sikh church, Nikki comes across a Help Wanted ad to teach creative writing to women from the congregation. Nikki is passionate about storytelling and empowering women, so this job seems to be the perfect fit.

During the first class, Nikki’s shocked to find she’s been duped into teaching English to Sikh widows. The widows received a special surprise on Day One when they stumbled upon a book of erotic stories Nikki purchased (as a joke) for her marriage-seeking sister. Taking their lead from literature (and counter to their Sikh culture), the women begin to record their fantasies—ones they’ve kept close to the chest (so to speak) for too long.  

 As the women grow closer through their stories, more is shared beyond salacious fantasies and vegetable descriptors (I kid you not) of the perceived prudent widows. The class eventually realizes that there’s more than meets the eye to a local woman’s suicide. (Move over Alexander McCall Smith, there’s a new No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency!)  The widows underestimate everything that comes with exposing controversial details to a conservative church community.

If you read Jaswal’s book title and balked a bit, I wouldn’t be surprised.  You might be shocked to learn that my 56-year-old mother recommended the book to me. Rarely have I read a book that has made me consistently laugh and gasp throughout its entirety. It’s good for the gut. Deborah Maggoch, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, had this to say: “I loved this novel—it’s so big-hearted and earthy and funny. Best of all, it turns many preconceptions upside down, and opens up a world that so many of us have only glimpsed. A rattlingly good story.”

P.S. Be warned, there is some sexual content, and some of the descriptions are a bit graphic. But I never felt as though the sexuality took away from the story’s message about stereotypes and suppression. As an added bonus, it may just help you answer the age-old question on everyone’s mind: is it similar to an eggplant or cucumber? #TeamEggplant

Guest Post by Michelle

Bad Boy for Life

Dear Eliane,

Finally, I’m writing back to tell you that you are not going a little nuts. I love that you unearthed important parallels between our mixed-up modern with Bronte’s twisted tale, heavily influenced by the Gothic tradition. It makes me wonder how far have we really come? The Gothic tradition, dating back to the 18th century, featured isolated locations, ruined buildings, and supernatural elements—not to mention other creepy stuff. (Think Frankenstein.) I feel pretty darn isolated these days. As for ruined buildings, there are no 4 for 4’s at the Wendy’s in Atlanta where Rayshard Brooks innocently slept.  And if you’re skeptical about supernatural, creepy comings and goings, here’s a quick read for you.

The Bronte sisters were obviously progressive. They must have anticipated that novels as a form of entertainment were on the rise—no longer was literature reserved for wealthy aristocrats. Members of the middle class were learning to read, especially females. Of course, that doesn’t mean females were empowered. Sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne all wrote under male pseudonyms, as they were well aware that novels written by women were taken less seriously. It was only after Emily and Anne prematurely died that Charlotte fessed up as who the real authors of Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall were. Let’s be honest, they were as much isolated by virtue of their gender as they were by their geography. Do you think you and I would have been considered a witch? (Yes, that’s rhetorical.) Cue Monty Python.

The real question I have for you is would you have turned Heathcliff into a newt?

Let’s recap, from chapters 11-16, why you may answer yay to that. The gypsy turned (supposed) gentleman seduces young Isabella to marry him as payback for Catherine being an above-ener. (That’s a made-up word, but it’s such a good one I’m adding it to my vernacular.) Catherine didn’t love Edgar the way she loved Heathcliff—that becomes pretty darn obvious in Chapter 11 when she calls Edgar a coward; clearly, she loves a manly man. But I digress. I’m re-focused on reasons you may want Heathcliff extricated from the moors for good. He’s a total jerk to his new bride. Oh, and he threatens to keep the somewhat meddling, but loveable Mrs. Dean hostage if she won’t let him see his one true love. I’m not sure he needed to tell an unnerved Catherine that she was responsible for her own demise (and ultimately death) because she denied her true feelings for him. How’s that for sufficient reasoning to not like Heathcliff?  Need I remind he tried to kill the family dog?

And yet, I still find myself secretly rooting for the scoundrel. So, tell me Eliane, what is it about Heathcliff that makes him a somewhat redeeming character? Why is he considered a Byronic hero? I’m dying to know what you think. (Your opinion matters as much to me as Lord Byron’s.)

Your friend who usually doesn’t fall for the bad boy,

Tracy 

Wuthering Heights: A Horoscope for the World?

Dear Tracy,

I’m sorry to spam you, but I’ve read chapters 5-10 and my thoughts are overflowing. I need to get them to you so you can tell me if I’m going a little nuts, because right now I feel like Brontë’s masterpiece is starting to feel like it’s a horoscope for the world. We read the first five chapters, which dwelled on themes of isolation, just as we were all locked in, learning how to sew masks and absorbing new concepts like ‘social distancing’. Now, as America explodes with violence and protests in a reckoning of 400 years of racial inequality and oppression, we read chapters about class and race and privilege. Is it like reading the horoscope pages for you, too? Is this just proof that what we’re reading is great literature – poignant and applicable across distance and time?

Let me start by saying I’m thrilled that Mr. Lockwood has basically handed the narration over to the delightful Nelly Dean to tell us the juicy story within his story. While I find him to be a bit of a boring, pretentious whiner, I think she’s direct, down-to-earth, and just the right level of judgy. She’s like that one friend you have who has a crazy story each time you meet and knows exactly how to tell it, so you’re totally absorbed and don’t care that she’s hogging the conversation.

Nelly, the well-read servant, is keenly aware of the impact of class and privilege, and starts this part of her tale by pointing out that when Hindley returns to Wuthering Heights with his tubercular wife, Frances, he wastes no time in throwing Heathcliff out of the house to live and work like a servant. In one fell swoop, Heathcliff is demoted from being the adopted favorite of a wealthy man to being the servant of that man’s children. It’s something that Hindley could never have done if Heathcliff were his blood brother, but as a dark-skinned foundling, Heathcliff had neither power, nor claim to the family assets. For her part, Catherine remains his best friend, that is, until she gets attacked by the Linton’s dog, spends five weeks with them at Thrushcross Grange, and gets tamed by nice clothes.

When she returns, she laughs at Heathcliff and calls him dirty, and suddenly they are friends from two different worlds, divided by class. Heathcliff loves her, and in a final attempt to bridge the growing gap, he begs Nelly to make him “decent”. He wants to be lighter, blonder, well-dressed, well-behaved, and rich. Despite his efforts, Edgar Linton insults him, and at that point, he knows that despite feeling that Catherine is “immeasurably superior…to everybody on earth” she has become unobtainable. After Frances dies and Hindley becomes an abusive, unpredictable alcoholic, Catherine devolves into a spoiled, mean, lying brat, yet still Edgar Linton proposes.

Catherine says yes, but is tormented so Nelly takes her through a love catechism – Why do you love him? How do you love him? It seems that Catherine accepted Edgar’s proposal simply because he’s handsome and rich. Heartbreakingly, as she expands to explain the true worries of her soul, we learn that she loves Heathcliff deeply, but because her brother degraded him too far and he’s no longer a suitable match, she said yes to Edgar to play the long game. As she puts it, “…if Heathcliff and I married, we would be beggars, whereas, if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother’s power”. Catherine’s plan is to use the privilege and power she obtains through marriage to help Heathcliff because she loves him. How sad is that? As rich white dudes, Hindley and Edgar have all the power here. Hindley pushes Heathcliff down to the servant class, making him no longer a viable partner for his sister. Catherine knows Heathcliff is her soulmate but settles for Edgar so that at least she can try and make Heathcliff’s life a little better. It’s awful. And Heathcliff will have none of it. He disappears, leaving them all to their upper-class misery.

Catherine starts her marriage as gunpowder that everyone tiptoes around, but she eventually seems to accept her fate and settles into some form of stable happiness with Edgar. That stability is immediately shattered when Heathcliff comes back after three and a half years away. From the first moment, Catherine tries to close the class gap, telling her husband to set a separate table for her and Heathcliff, since they’re from the “lower order”. But she underestimates Heathcliff. He has come back a changed man. Dignified. Rich. He moves into Wuthering Heights with Hindley in order to be close to Catherine (and maybe get some kind of revenge?), and Nelly leaves us with a nice plot twist when we learn that Edgar’s sister, Isabella, is in love with him. It only took 3.5 years for Heathcliff to turn himself from an unviable partner for Catherine into a suitable love interest for Isabella. What a difference a little money can make!

So tell me Tracy, are race, class and privilege on your mind? I find it interesting that as a woman of at least some means, Catherine is still more limited in her choices than a man who is a servant. After all, she doesn’t have the option to disappear for three years and make (steal? con her way to? find? sleep her way to?) her fortune. She’s as trapped as Nelly, who is forced to abandon a child she loves and has raised to move to another house when Catherine gets married. Combined with everything that’s going on in real life around us, all of this is another slap-in-the-face reminder of how privileged I am. In so many ways.

 Your friend for more than just the present,

 Eliane

She was a Voice

“Bless the largeness inside me, no matter how I fear it . . . . When I am dust, sing these words over my bones: she was a voice.” 

 When I discovered Sue Monk Kidd had a book on the press, I couldn’t wait to download it. The release day drew near, and I drew in my breath. Then I realized The Book of Longings was about the secret life of Jesus’s (fictional) wife. I deflated. I don’t love trying to distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to Him. My sister, Sharee, did not shrink from the task. Here’s what she had to say about last month’s big release:

 I have to admit I was skeptical when I started Sue Monk Kidd’s latest novel, The Book of Longings. As a firm believer in the sacred and divine mission of Jesus Christ, I struggled with the idea of someone writing a “what if” scenario about his life before ministering. But the more I read, the more I realized that this is Ana’s story.  Ana, the young wife of Jesus, was such a well-developed character that I found myself captivated by her determination to follow the longings she carried within. Ana is an intelligent, educated, and strong female character. She is willing to risk her own life to help others. Ana spends years trying to find and share her voice at a time in history when women were expected to be utterly silent. While it was difficult for me to embrace the author’s portrayal of Jesus, Ana’s amazing story (which could stand on its own in my opinion) definitely left me longing for more. 

Posted by Tracy

Family Gossip

Tracy,

Wow, I can’t imagine a beginning more suited to these strange pandemic times than chapter one of Wuthering Heights. Isolated in a house full of grumpy people? Check! Happy for any kind of social visit, even with rude company? Check! Animals acting up due to lack of socialization? Check! Mentally rehashing old relationships and feeling bad about exes? Check! All I’m missing is the servants.

Our introverted narrator, Mr. Lockwood, makes a big deal about what a loner he is while continuously seeking out the company of others. What gives? He repeatedly invites himself over to Wuthering Heights and then complains about how poorly he’s treated. And boy howdy, what a gossip! He really knows how to milk Mrs. Dean for the backstory on the whole irritable gang. About that gang…did anyone else have trouble wrapping their heads around all the people? I sure did. I ended up drawing myself a little family tree:

Notice that Heathcliff is on there twice. It took me ages to figure out, but I finally came to the conclusion that to make this work, you should imagine bending it into a circle, so that the two Heathcliffs are on top of each other, because nothing is healthier in a family tree than a circle! No, I recognize that this is actually two families and that Heathcliff is what ties them together, first through adoption (or at least being found on the street and taken home, like a stray dog), and then through marriage, but I’m still worried about how intertwined these families are. Mrs. Dean summed it up nicely when she points out that Catherine Linton is Hareton Earnshaw’s cousin on her mother’s side and her husband, Heathcliff Jr.’s, cousin on her father’s side. What a tangled mess! No wonder there’s good gossip.

 And you’re right, Tracy, these first chapters queue up so many questions about Heathcliff, our suspicious, black-eyed, morose hero. Foremost in my mind: What is wrong with him?! So rude and ill-tempered. How did he get this way (I mean, other than being abandoned on the streets as a young child)? What’s the deal with that haunted room? Why does he dislike his daughter-in-law so much? Considering how irritable and rude he is, how did he manage to win the affection of Mr. Earnshaw to such an extent that he ended up with Wuthering Heights instead of Hareton? So many questions.

 Finally, many of us are currently dealing with the stress of being temporarily trapped in our homes with family members because of a pandemic. Can you imagine being permanently trapped in an isolated home with people you don’t like because you live in a time with essentially no mobility, social or otherwise? These people – especially Catherine – have literally nowhere else to go. I’ve got it comparatively easy with my toddler-interrupted Zoom meetings and home deliveries. In any case, I do feel confident that if you and I were in the same place now, we’d also be “a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us”.

 Yours in gloom and gossip,

Eliane

Havana-ooh-nah-nah

 "Half of my heart is in Havana"  —Ariana Grande

Havana-ooo-nah-nah is right after reading Chanel Cleeton's novel. Next Year in Havana has everything you can think of…drama, romance, beach vibes...communism? What starts as Marisol Ferrera's journey to spread her recently deceased grandmother's ashes in Cuba (and learn more about her roots), turns into a history lesson on the powers of communism and the secrets that come with it.

Bouncing back and forth between 1958 and 2017, we learn more about the story of Marisol's wealthy grandmother, Elisa Perez, and her exile from her home as communism came into power. Elisa and her family were kicked out of the country after pledging loyalty to President Batista before being overthrown by Fidel Castro. Along the way, Elisa must make choices to help protect her family and those she loves most.

Set in the stages of before, during, and after communism, our eyes are opened to the hardships, struggles, and depression that comes with dictatorship and political unrest. As Marisol's family secrets are slowly revealed, you'll be hard-pressed to put this book down as you discover the answers to the book's biggest questions—what happened to her grandmother's best friend? Where should Marisol spread her ashes? Is Ana's hot grandson TRULY married?

In true Goodreads fashion, I give this book a 4.3 out of 5 stars. A great, light book club option for readers of all ages, but I felt like the parallels at the end of the book were a bit too neatly tied. It did motivate me to read the sequel about Marisol's aunt. (More on that later.)

Guest Post by Michelle, Tracy’s Niece

Who Doesn’t Love a Byronic Hero?

Dear Eliane,

How I wish I knew you in high school! And what I wouldn’t give to get my hands on your emotional, raw, potentially punk poetry splayed on the pages of your 5-subject college-ruled notebook—all prior to prefrontal cortex development. I’m not at all surprised that you read Emily Bronte’s cult classic and can drudge up memories of moors and moodiness. Despite latent pride in New Canaan High School’s “advanced” English classes that had me delving into Dante’s Inferno and Richard Wright’s Black Boy, I was never assigned to read Wuthering Heights.

Honestly, as one with a master’s degree in English (with an emphasis in British Lit no less), I’m deeply embarrassed that I haven’t read Bronte’s one-hit wonder—an irrefutable masterpiece. It’s even more deplorable that I studied in England, with Rachel by my side, and didn’t right this literary wrong when I enjoyed a wuthering day on the moors. I will have you to thank for nudging me towards the mysterious Heathcliff.  

In just 5 chapters, I am intrigued. Already I want to know what makes Heathcliff tick. I want to understand a man who leaves his tenant (from an isolated manor nearby) alone, near the hearth, with a brood of snarling dogs; who has a forbidden room in his own home that appears to be haunted; who was plucked out of orphandom and supplanted Mr. Earnshaw’s biological children in many ways. Who is this strange denizen of Wuthering Heights? Surely your inner emo can satiate my need to understand this fascinating Byronic hero. Don’t hold back On, I’m counting on you. Feel free to enlist 2@27 readers for sulky insights.

Inquisitively yours,

 Tracy

For the Love of Books and Mom

At Two at Twenty-Seven, we love a pinch hitter. My sister Sharee’s been on a reading tear as of late; naturally, I’ve chatted with her about her good, better, best reads. She was kind enough to share her expert opinion with the whole lot of us. So if you’re wondering what to give your book-lovin’ mom in honor of her big day, look no further.

Good

(4 stars at best) I always love a good debut novel. When Tracy suggested Such a Fun Age, I was all in. This story covers the gamut: race, girl power, privilege, family, and more. I found myself cheering on Emira Tucker, the likeable main character who ends up on a collision course with her new employer. Reid’s story (with film/tv rights already acquired) will be a good beach read when we can finally hit the shores again.

Better

(4 stars) As a big fan of The Only Woman in the Room and an even bigger fan of Winston Churchill, I couldn’t wait to read Marie Benedict’s latest. Lady Churchill was intelligent, ambitious, and definitely ahead of her time. I was interested to learn about her many personal accomplishments (including saving Winston’s life when an angry woman tried to push him into an oncoming train), in addition to the unwavering support she always gave The Bulldog. Benedict’s account is historically accurate. But in my opinion, she may have given Clementine a little too much voice when it came to her husband’s successful leadership.

Best

(4.5 stars) “The hardest question we have to ask ourselves in this life is, ‘Who am I?’ Ideally, we answer it for ourselves, but be warned that others will strive to do it for you—so don’t let them.”

Alice Hale, a former New York City publicist, is trying to navigate her new life in suburbia. While struggling to fill her days alone in the old “fixer upper” her husband purchased, she comes across the previous homeowner’s cookbook—1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. Alice discovers remarkable parallels between Nellie and herself that cause her to question her marriage and who she really is. As Alice cooks her way through Nellie’s recipes, she uncovers clues to a dark and sinister side to Nellie’s marriage. While I haven’t tried any of the recipes included in the book, if they’re anywhere near as impressive as the “good wife quotes” at the beginning of Nellie’s chapters, they’ll be delicious!

Posted by Tracy