wrapped up in books

My biggest Pinterest obsession after afro hair styles is the reading nook. Swathes of ideas about where to store your book collection and where to sit comfortable in book heaven. 

Since the beginning of forever I have loved a book. I love books.

Hiding under the blankets using the light on my watch to read Enid Blyton's Famous Five quicly followed by the Secret Seven before hopping across the pond to discover Nancy Drew. This is where my love of crime drama came from. Memories of surreptitious smuggling of Judy Blume books with mates at school were recently revived when I bought the box set of her kids fiction for BigL (omitting Tiger Eyes and Forever - there's plenty of time for that!). And between the compulsory University Shakespeares and English canon readers I discovered the black woman in the works of Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Gloria Naylor, ntozake shange, Zadie Smith and Andrea Levy.

Are you surprised I became an English teacher for nigh on 20 years?

I am the parent who has cherished my own favourite books for my daughters to love. I am the friend who buys books for birthdays having scoured the bookstores for a story that will excite or reflect your child in the narrative. I am the woman with a books-to-be-read tower in the corner of my room but still finds herself shopping for the next can't-do-without novel.

Book-lovers amongst you will recognise the joy a book can give when it lifts you out of your now and tips you into an alternative life, predicament, galaxy.  How a book can grip and drag you into the wee hours when you know the minutes are creeping ever closer to your morning alarm; just one more chapter you promise yourself. 

From the minute they could point to pictures in a baby board book I have been reading to my daughters; post bath-time curled up with superheros and talking food. Their reading journeys alongside clever mice, wizarding buddies, adventurous beasts and mean girls in even meaner school have now segued with mine and we search dystopian worlds together.

My monumental moment in books so far: waiting with a ready hug as BigL read the last page in Private Peaceful. The power of the written word understood.

This post is in response to a Post40Bloggers : Writing Prompt no19 : Books 

BLONDE ROOTS by Bernadine Evaristo

Spurred on by my enjoyment of Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses YA series that switches the socio-political standing of black and white people, I was intrigued by the concept of Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo.

Evaristo turns our knowledge of the British Empire and colonial history on its head as black Ambossans invade the lands of  England and Europa to enslave the white indigenous people. Initially narrated by Doris - now renamed Omorenomwara - the horrors of being captured, ripped from her family and homeland, surviving the barbarous conditions of the slave ship and life as a house servant are told with a quiet strength from the character and vivid descriptions that at times had my toes curling in empathetic disgust. Bringing history to fiction Evaristo details the inspecting of slaves in the market place as though they were cattle; the obtrusive, often violent and extremely degrading body searches before being sold.

Doris' story tops and tales the book and is sandwiched between a second narrator - an Ambossan slave owner. I think because I was so intrigued with the slave's perspective I didn't really enjoy this part although in order to make sense of the relationship between the two it is necessary. And with all history there are two sides. If I add a little couch psychiatry to this as well, maybe as an African-Caribbean woman when looking back at real history my affinity lies with the slave story so even when the colour roles are reversed, this journey still holds my interest. Or maybe because she is a woman - who knows.

Regardless of narrator the imagery is vivid and the pace is maintained with unseen twists and turns throughout. There are tongue-in-cheek references to modern life such as young children hankering after the popular dolls that portray a black woman's physique rather than the blue-eyed blonde haired rag dolls (sound familiar) or the 'whyte' slaves who desperately tried to mimic Ambossan women by changing their own natural straight hair to add afro weaves that could often be found falling off in the street! Any black woman who has had weaves or braid extensions back in the day will know all about that!!

Honestly I couldn't put this book down because it's so intriguing to consider how life might have been different if slavery hadn't happened. I was raised to appreciate how my social ranking can be affected by the role that history played in western history - well I wouldn't have been born in Britain for starters. But there is always an aspect that bothers me with these diametric novels - would the behaviour of black people (had they been the colonialist slave owners) have mirrored the behaviour of the Europeans? Would they have taken slaves in the same way, abused them and created a world with so much hatred and division? This is not to say that one set of peoples are more humane than another purely due to the colour of their skin but it does fill me misery to think that were the roles reversed the same thing would have happened.

Well it didn't, we aren't, history is what it is and so we move on. 

Blonde Roots is a page turner and keeps the reader on edge, engaged and rooting ('scuse that!) for Doris who does not allow the tragedies in her life to break her spirit.

I bought this and read it and wanted to review it. That's all. 

I am adding this to my beige books page but must note this is definitely an YA/ Adult book.

beige books update

For Black History Month I'll be updating my BEIGE BOOKS page a little more frequently to share the wonderful books I've read that feature protagonists of colour. There are (and always have been) some amazing writers of colour but their work is not always easy to find. 

I have loved teaching novels with a range of characters in a plethora of nations dealing with a mulititude of predicaments. Whilst I believe it's incredibly important for writers to share experiences and issues through characters of colour, it's also imperative that youngsters read about different peoples in everyday situations too. This is why I love Malorie Blackman (more about her another time) because her lead characters (in the books that I have read) are usually black and that's just it. They fight wars, have arguments with their parents, fall out with friends, need organ transplants, use computers - you know just everyday stuff. 

This week I'm featuring BUFFALO SOLDIER by Tanya Landman which I finished reading last week. I guarantee you won't be able to put this book down.

BUFFALO SOLDIER - Tanya Landman

This novel had me gripped from beginning to end. I have a penchant for browsing the YA sections in bookstores and I'm glad I found this because I discovered the strongest, inspirational female character I have read in a long time.  Set in America at the end (?) of slavery, slave girl Charlotte finds herself living a new life she could not have predicted and certainly would not have wished for. Forced to make life-saving decisions at every turn Charlotte - now Charley - faces the horrors and evil left in the wake of a civil war but is strengthened by the loyalty and love of other freed slaves and Native American Indians striving to survive day to day. As mentioned this is a story for older readers and as the story develops the language and situations are often gruesome to create realism. As Charley wises up to her predicaments the reader feels her ageing so expects the tone of the novel to change. In light of recent tales about characters of colour being erased from book covers I was especially heartened to see the protagonist honestly represented on the front but felt that the blurb did this story a dis-service. Although she does not start off as a child in this novel I would consider it a bildungsroman novel as she is removed from the relative safety of a plantation to the unknown plans of a fractured North America (not yet United). Hidden amongst the depiction of Charley's army life is a question that I was totally unprepared for. This is one of those books that I want everyone I know to read so we can talk about it and will certainly be one to keep for my girls when they're a bit older. Browsing in an independent bookstore in Rye, East Sussex I was captured by the title but on reading the blurb realised it had nothing to do with Bob Marley but was also intrigued by the cover.

brown girl in the ring

I spent a long time considering my blog post today. In case anyone hadn't realised I use song titles to head up my blog posts. Usually it's a bit of a music buff's challenge to find a song that reflects my posts, but today this song sprang to mind; but not with any real joy. This disco chart topper by Boney M reminds me of a time of loneliness, alienation and looking back on it now, complete trauma. 

But before I unload that story onto the psychiatrist's couch I want to draw your attention to an article I read on Lenny Henry calling for more BAME representation in the BBC. This particular comment stood out to me and surely must resonate with so many people of colour, especially from my generation - first generation black British born: "If we don't see BAME people on the TV, or in film, we become invisible". Yes, Lenny, indeed. And in my 1980's life this is exactly what happened. Growing up, I loved watching Why don't you?, all the Saturday morning shows and of course Top of the Pops and I used to think, yeah I'd love to do that. But I do remember thinking that I wouldn't be able to because I was black. Now you have to remember, I was a youngster living in an area and attending a school where no one looked like me; unless they lived in my house and had the same surname. We were a family that jumped hurdles to sit together and tune into the Cosby Show or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the Channel 4 contribution of Desmond's. Great shows - but in a span of over a decade this is all I can remember that was offered in the way of TV shows with positive black protagonists. But look at that - two of those were from the States. So yeah I didn't see much of 'me' out there. I didn't think people wanted to see 'me'. My experience growing up was that my kind were not particularly wanted anywhere, maybe in small doses; I was different and not the 'norm'.

The same was happening in the world of literature. In order to shelter from the difficulties I faced accepting who I was in my childhood world, I escaped into books. I devoured everything from the Chronicles of Narnia to Judy Blume and all her shenanigans. But there were 3 books that simply took my breath away and, I guess, were my literary awakening.

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (the cover didn't survive the 20 odd years I have hung onto this copy!) . A story set in The South during the Depression with Cassie Logan and her family struggling through the events of a turbulent year dealing with racism and family tragedy.

Crick Crack Monkey by Merle Hodge follows Tee, who is forced to live in her Tantie's home after her father emigrates to England.  Tee discovers the discrimination of colour and class during her journey through childhood.

                                        

Philip Hall likes me. I reckon maybe by Bette Greene. Beth's drive and ambition to be the top in her class is hampered by class cutie, Philip Hall. She has some serious decisions to make including what is really important to her.

I have no memory of who bought these books for me, and I cannot tell you how different they were from anything else I had read up until that moment.  But at last, the star of the story was a young, black girl. Like me. I still have my well-loved and well-worn copies of all of these marvellous books to pass onto the 3G when the time comes. Yet it wasn't until my University Days that I started to appreciate why I needed to read the black, female experience on the page.  

These books were just the start of a new chapter in my fictional life...

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker which is still today, my favourite book ever. Celie's horrific life betrayed at the hands of those she wanted to trust pours off every page into my heart. Her discovery of the strength and love in womanhood taught me the importance of my searching for my own sisterhood.

The Unbelonging by Joan Riley telling the story of eleven year old Hyacinth who was summoned to England from Jamaica.  The racism and hostility that she endures forces her to quickly redefine who she is. I read this as I started my new solo life in London where I was referred to as 'light-skinned' and 'not really black enough' which threw my own self-perception into complete disarray.

Daughters of Africa - an international anthology of poetry and prose by women of African descent. I immersed myself in the works of women from the UK, the Caribbean, the Americas, Africa and is a book I regularly revisit. All life is here.

As my own London life moved on , I found:

Small Island by Andrea Levy; White Teeth by Zadie Smith; for coloured girls by Ntozake Shange

                                                                           

and the glorious series starting with Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - I don't think a single student has passed through my classroom without hearing about these books.

I simply couldn't get enough, through these pages I found myself awash with learning, and laughter, and sorrow, and pain. But so much time had passed, I was now a working woman heading on the path to motherhood. Now I could see black, brown, mixed race faces on mainstream TV, on hit radio stations, presenting. That life and career path had gone, it was too late for me, I had already been so invisible and had lost confidence in what I could achieve and routes available to me.

Admittedly the situation is slightly different for my daughters' and nieces' generation; they are can find books where someone like them is leading the way. But to be honest, it's still a trudging search, and the representation of who they are in the public domain is still limited. 

I'll give you an example. Looking for books in my local, massive, superstore. 

This is what I see...

And this is what I found...

I didn't have time to count the books and work out if the ratio mirrored the ethnic population percentage. But you get my point.

Also last Saturday I was supposed to take BigL to see Malorie Blackman doing a talk at the Reading Zone Festival in Leatherhead. This is absolutely not casting blame on Ms Blackman but I received a call the day before to say the event had been cancelled due to low numbers. This is Malorie Blackman people!! The Children's Laureate for goodness sake!! How on earth did her publishers or Waterstones (sponsors of the Children's Laureate) for that matter allow that to happen. If I had told my team at my previous school of employment or the Head of English at my current one or most of the parents and teachers I know that Malorie Blackman was in my local area, she'd have been able to fill Twickenham Stadium. What's up with that, I ask you? 

So now I search for books with protagonists of colour, with brown faces to have in our home. There are all the other usual books too - the chronicles of Narnia are still here, Harry Potter and his buddies have joined them, Shakespeare for kids, and some bloody fairy stuff too. That's fine - I love it that they read so we'll take it all. But I have to make a concerted effort to get some colour on our bookshelves too. And it is out there - if you search hard enough. Letterbox Library and MixedRaceFamilies blog are usually my first port of call and I pop in every now and then to see what they have added. Then I discovered that Malorie Blackman's branches leap from YA to teen to early readers. MiddleS and LittleE have just discovered her beautiful characters Betsey Biggalow and Girl Wonder and we are always on the hunt for more.

Lately I have realised that there is a plethora of books out there for the child I once was, for the children who, today, need to see themselves on book covers solving mysteries, fighting crime, having adventures, being brave, falling out with friends, falling in love with friends. I just wish I didn't have to crawl on my hands and knees in book shops or hassle librarians to order them for me. As much as I am pro local bookstores, sometimes it is thank goodness for Amazon. So I made a list of the wonderful, exciting books - see my beige books page -  featuring diverse lead characters that I bring home to TwickersTowers, and I'll keep updating it in case you need some too. Feel free to let me know of any that you know of - for any age children and adults too.

Understand that I am not talking about every single book that I read, or my 3G reads has to have an ethnic protagonist - that is not the real world. But it's imperative that children and young people of colour read themselves in a book, see themselves surviving, making choices and succeeding. It is imperative that they are not invisible before they even step out into the world they live in.

 

Oh and Boney M. In short. Kids party. Brown Girl in the Ring is playing on the tape deck. Children form a circle around me singing and pointing. Wanted to go home. Still hurts. Sigh.