Sing to It by Amy Hempel

 Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021--San Antonio

Sing to It by Amy Hempel is a collection of short stories.  Several are very short--between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 pages long.  Hempel seems to have a knack for thinking thoughts and her idea of their meanings or her impressions related to them.  That's what the shortest stories are.  But even the longest story in the book has many of these short thoughts inserted among the ongoing information that creates the broader story.  It's easy to read her writing, and her expressions are delightful in relation to her thoughts.  I spent more time on this book than most because I have had more things going on in my life while reading it and because I had become a bit tired of reading one book after another every 4-7 days.  My rating for the book is 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han

 Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021--San Antonio

Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han was a TIME Must-Read 100 for 2020 and is about a family of Chinese immigrants to Texas (Houston and eventually Plano).  It's a story that will be relatable to quite a few immigrant families--initially a happy marriage between a man and a woman from two different classes who soon have a young son, a parent (in this case, the wife) who leaves their homeland to go to the U.S. for advanced studies and a chance to make a better life for them all, a husband who, after only 6 months, breaks the plan for him and the son to stay in China for 5 years until the wife has finished her studies and has an income, a husband who has a hobby that he hopes to turn into a career (although a career that has little success), the conflict that develops as the husband takes the main role caring for the children because his job is more flexible and hers is more important for supporting them all, a second child, a female, who is born after the 5 hard years of getting established in the US, discipline and behavioral problems that develop both at home and at school that relate back to the way the father was raised in China, etc.  Tied in with all of this are the mythical stories that are brought from China and shared with the children, the misconceptions about what is actually true that can develop due to love of one's family, etc.  For me, it was an up and down story that bored me at times and became exciting and interesting at other times.  Plus, there was a bit too much detail about Texas and, especially Plano; I think the author is too Texan and has bought into the boasting habit of Texans, especially the Dallas area where one constantly hears statements of citizens trying to confirm and to convince others of what a World Class City it is.  I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

 Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021--San Antonio

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara is a story about children who start disappearing in a poor slum on the far outreaches of a major Indian city.  Although not written specifically for adolescents, it would appeal to them.  The author, after putting her writing project aside because she wasn't pleased how it was going, took it back up later when she realized that telling the story from the perspective of three 9-year-old friends (schoolmates--2 boys and a girl) would make the story work better.  The result is a serious story with lots of humor and charm based upon the naive perspectives and thoughts of the children plus a good use of English as it is often spoken by Indians--maybe because literal translations from the way words or organized in Hindi are then stated in the same format in English:  "We are upgoing to the top floor."  As children start missing in their slum, the main characters become amateur investigators based on their experiences of watching police shows on TV.  It's a good book (listed by TIME as one of the 100 must reads of 2020) and fun to read.  I gave it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.