Customer Comments

vsilliman has commented on (2) products.

Ash by Malinda Lo

vsilliman, January 3, 2011

The author's retelling of Cinderella is a powerful story of a young girl's strength and autonomy in the face of hardship as she gains knowledge,grows in her relationship with the woods and the learns traditions of magic and fairy tales.

The lesbian love theme of the story is well written, and refreshing for lgbtq literature, especially young adult lesbian litereature, this is not a coming out story. The love themes could have gone a little deeper, but what is given to the reader invites imagination and thought about the power of love.

Whether or not you liked the Disney story, this book will enchant you.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

report this comment

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

vsilliman, September 11, 2009

The sensation I had as a reader of Half the Sky was of gravity becoming stronger, while also being endowed with the super powers to jump over the ocean.

Over-the-top? Yes, I'm sorry, let me dial it back.

Kristof and Wudunn have written a terrific book. I finished it several days ago and have been slowly telling everyone I know about it. I ordered the book because of my faith in Kristof, and yet I was anxious because I worried the book would not engage me even if I wanted to be engaged, or would shatter me with its information.

Kristof and Wudunn are master writers, and their ability to weave stories with the facts of situations in an entire village, country, generation, gender is incredible. They are overt in their desire to shape your thoughts and actions, which frees them up to simply write well and clearly, without any sense they are skewing facts.

The subititle :Women Turning Oppression into Opportunity is truly what this book is about. The stories of how some women overcome (from organizing a violent mass murder in the court room hearing of a victimizer to the young woman who was trafficked and now runs a school, or the women who have their own hospitals after once being near death themselves) are inspiring. Women are empowered in these stories, and so while this book is an invitation to join in the movement the authors see women who have faced oppression as primary directors in making a world-wide change.

The authors are insightful on the attempts and successes of foreign aid groups in working for the aid of women. They are very fair in supporting the work of religious groups, and giving credit where credit is due. They are aware of how some issues become controversial due to faith preferences, and do a very good job of suggesting various ways of supporting lower birth rates--such as providing young girls with new uniforms. Girls are shown to stay in school longer if they are provided with the appropriate clothing, and when they stay in school longer they don't have children at such a young age, reducing numbers, as well as fatalities. Because of their awareness, and respect this is a book that could easily shared with your conservative parents or friends.

The book is shattering, even with a peripheral knowledge and understanding of the worldwide oppression of women these stories drew me in to the sometimes revolting realities of oppression that are beyond what I had imagined. I was astounded at the numbers and the statistics, but not uselessly. The stories that are told in this book are some of the greatest triumphs of our time, these women are heroes who can lead us closer to peace. The stories of these women made me listen. The authors reformatted how I think about the priorities of our world and day.

Read the book, read it now. And then do something.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(12 of 18 readers found this comment helpful)

report this comment