Georges by Alexander Dumas

Georges is the first published novel by Alexander Dumas.I had never heard of this book until I was looking for a book for my Olympic Reading Challenge for the country of Mauritius. I was also unaware, until I started reading about this book that Dumas was actually a mulatto. The central concept in Georges is how mulattoes have been dealt with historically. Many interesting themes in the book...colonialism, prejudice, honor, etc. It has elements of swashbucklers and pirates, romance, heroism. It has been said that Dumas also began the development of some of his more famous characters (the Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo) within this novel. Georges was a very enjoyable read and interesting on so many level. Dumas was clearly a brilliant writer.

Keeper of the Night by Kimberly Willis Holt

Keeper of the Night is the story of the emotional aftermath of suicide and how it affects the members of a family. Highlights the importance of getting psychiatric help to help deal with the emotional crisis that results for family members. Some powerful insights into the emotional struggles along with how different people deal with such a loss in their lives.

Set in Guam, the novel is also a lovely exposure to the people, culture, and traditions of this country.

Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

I seemed to enjoy this book a lot more than the average person on Goodreads! I thought the writing was almost poetic in its descriptions of things. I was fascinated by Mukerji's descriptions of Indian life and culture and more exposure to the Hindi faith. I learned a lot about birds and training of pigeons that was very interesting to me. I also had no idea of the role that pigeon's played as messengers during WWI. More than anything, I appreciated the wisdom the writer shares about how we should treat each other through his story of pigeons. It was a beautiful parable which I appreciated very much!

Santa Evita by Tomas Eloy Martinez

I wish I knew how much of this book is fact and how much it is fictionalized and speculation. Martinez specifically calls it a novel, but he is also so very careful about his sources. The book is the story of Eva Peron, focusing on the handling of her corpse after she passed away from cancer at the age of 33. Extremely interesting and engaging!

The Magic Gourd by Baba Wague' Diakite'

This children's story from Mali is beautifully illustrated by the author. He gives insight into the culture of Mali as he uses symbols from mud cloth patterns to enhance the message of the story. The book becomes not just a tale from Diakite's native Mali, but an insightful and educational piece for children. Excellent!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

This was a difficult book for me because it is a science fiction piece...and I have never been that much of a fan of fantasy and science fiction. Brave New World is Huxley's version of a dystopia. The novel condemns the idea of mass production (Henry Ford) and creating a world where people are bred to be happy without really experiencing true emotions. Huxley clearly brings into his novel many people intended to represent other famous people of his time he means to condemn for what he believes is their role in the decline of society (Ford, Freud, J.P. Morgan, Lenin, Trotsky, etc.). At the same time, through his main character, John Savage, he exalts the "noble savage." I can see this book as being a part of lists of the 100 best books of all time, but it was still a difficult read for me.

Grenada: An Eyewitness Account of the U.S. Invasion and the Caribbean History that Provoked it by Hugh O'Shaughnessy

The historical books on some countries are probably most dangerous for me to read because I end up seeing so much of our dirty underware. It is clear that the U.S. attack on Grenada in 1983 was illegal (we invaded a country we were not at war with), it was unnecessary as far as helping to establish the rule of law in Grenada, and caused a set back in the cause of political democracy and long-term economic development in the region. That is so discouraging to me. Time after time, the U.S. was more concerned about the possibility of a nation becoming communistic than that they had a self-governing nation. We have promoted far-right dictators in these nations because it was in our "best interest" not to have another nation become more socialistic. Too many times, the Land of the Free does not really believe in that concept as a value for other countries.