White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

From the book’s title, I expected it to be cheesier than it was. I predicted some main character revelation akin to “OMG Mom was a witch and I am too!” and then it turns to a female-centric self-discovery story. Not that I don’t read those from time to time, but I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to another one. That was not at all what happened in this story. It was about a young woman living in England struggling with mental illness and her mother’s death. Miranda has pica, which is the uncontrollable urge to eat inedible things; in Miranda's case, it's chalk. Her father runs a cute bed and breakfast, but the house is a living entity, and wants Miranda for… well, I can’t tell you.

Eat this? No thanks.

         

It was much darker with random turn of events (why the hell was she a *******?!? ahem, sorry spoiler censoring). There were also POV switches between the house (a living entity), Miranda, and occasionally her brother and friend. The POV switches can be confusing at first, especially on an ebook.
           
Aside from the pica and the house, the rest of the story didn’t really make sense. Part of the plot is some immigrants are being murdered. I think she included the immigrant issue because that was what Oyeyemi was familiar with from experience, but readers don’t get enough insight into the problem.

Her father’s passiveness remained an issue throughout, and her twin’s indecisiveness. In addition, the maid was a source of magical knowledge but we never find out where she gets the knowledge from. I won’t tell you what she does or doesn’t do with that knowledge.

Also, I feel all the characters except Miranda are underdeveloped. That might be a plot device to train the focus on the house and Miranda, but I love characters’ stories from all points of view, and I think just having Miranda’s wasn’t enough for me.

Finally, I don’t think anything ever happened with Miranda’s schoolmate. I don’t know why she was there to begin with- to raise my hopes for positivity? Please don’t get me wrong- it could definitely get more depressing than what it is, but to say it’s anything other than a dark book would be lying to you all. 

I feel like I'm being negative about the book, but believe me when I say I still recommend this book for its haunting ending and unusual supernatural elements. Involving modern English issues like immigration and preserving history shows the writer to be aware of cultural elements. Of course, having a not-completely-trustworthy narrator like Miranda keeps readers looking for clues to whether she is crazy, or the house is haunted. And, at least a month later, I still can’t get over the ending.

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Carrie by Stephen King

This book deserves all the good press it gets. I was apprehensive about it for several reasons: first, he's a dude writing about very female worries; second, the hardcore fundamentalist mother was sure to piss me off; and third, it was his first novel. Though it was a bestseller, I wasn't 100% certain that meant it was truly going to be a good book. Thankfully, I was wrong on all three accounts.

King writes surprisingly well on the subjects of puberty, feminine issues, and especially teenage girl concerns. That he wrote from both Carrie White's (outcast, fat, late to puberty) point of view and Sue Nell's (popular, pretty, sexually active) perspective provides good contrast. In his book On Writing, which I had to read for Creative Writing class (and also recommend), reveals that the inspiration for this novel came when he was a janitor at a high school. One of the girls' bathrooms had a tampon dispenser in it, and King had to ask a coworker what it was. The other janitor told him it was to "plug up" the girls during their period; King couldn't get the idea out of head of how devastating the whole menstruation process must be. He added a touch of telekinesis to the story of a woman’s transformation and BAM! national sensation. There are other books I've read where a male tries to take on female narrators and flops, and I’m glad King wasn't one of those.

Carrie's mom didn't irritate me as much as I thought she would. I understood the source of her fundamentalism from her own past, so I just feel pity for her instead of hate. This was another aspect of King’s genius: instead of making a stereotypical, one-dimensional villain, he gave just enough of her history for readers to sympathize with her fear and subsequent harshness. Another way fundamentalism is portrayed in novels (like Beautiful Creatures) is the hardcore Christian usually gains followers to lead a Jonestown-like assault against the conflicted hero. In Carrie, all the other characters thought her mom was weird too, so there was no uber-religious uprising. So, I guess my personal issue with that recurring theme is how some authors treat their characters like sheep, when I know people are more diverse than that. King avoided that cliché and so I was able to cope with Mrs. White’s fanaticism; it also helped that she punished her daughter in very unusual ways.

King’s framing of the novel, especially switching between POVs and past and present is skilled. The novel builds tension as well as could be done. Usually the switching means readers get lost about who’s speaking and when certain parts are happening in the time line. Part of the reason King is able to pull this off is his mastery of language. When different people are talking (especially in horror novels where crazy people are likely to happen), verbs, adjectives, tones change according to the character who is speaking or thinking. Be aware enough of one’s writing to pick and choose such details speaks to the talent of the author.

Without much ado, it’s sufficient to say I’m a King fan now! I look forward to reading books like The Shining and its new sequel, Doctor Sleep. I haven’t seen any of the Carrie movies (partly because I didn’t want to see Julianne Moore like a fanatic), but reading this persuades me to check them out.

Goodreads link