My Favorite Book: Nicole

If I were to be anywhere in the world, isolated for any prolonged period of time I would want this book as my companion read. The Glass Palace is a sweeping novel that instantly became one of my all-time favorites.

Indian writer Amitav Ghosh crafts a landscape of Indian and Burmese culture through vivid images of gems and jewels, fat feasts of Burmese and Indian meals, and the overwhelming behaviors of people at war and in love.

Ghosh, a quiet storyteller whose background in anthropology is very prevalent in this novel, begins at the early stages of the British invasion on Burma in 1885. Through 470 pages of elegant tapestry, he weaves the circumstances of several generations of one family through the damage of the British rule and the fall of Burma.

I was completely consumed by this novel because of its language and underlying message of endurance. It’s difficult to love in the midst of war, death, illness, and uncertainty. Yet each character of The Glass Palace is able to sustain a little more as they discover the inner strengths and secrets that mark their family’s history. The reader's guide in the back of the book is great for those who want the story to continue, and offers great questions for discussion.

What historical period, if any, would you most like to read about?

Nic

*In reference to the book(s) that helped me discover my true self, I would say Virginia Hamilton's "Sweet Whispers Brother Rush", Alice Walker's "In Search of Our Mother's Garden", and Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies". "Sweet Whispers" by V. Hamilton was the first chapter book I read and can clearly remember identifying with. I'm a big fan of short stories, and several essays in Alice Walker's "In Search of.."--particularly "Lulls" and "My Father's Country is the Poor"--affirmed many thoughts and expressions I had. Some of her thoughts on the role of artists and not being afraid to be vulnerable, especially in love, were like she plucked them right out of my mind. Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" is another collection of short stories that I enjoyed because it helped me further connect with with a culture I've always had an affinity for, the Indian culture. I was able to see many of my sentiments on identity echoed by some of her characters.