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Roy's mother Mary both inspired and plagued this amazing writer. The former because Mary hewed her own indominable path of independence, including creating a very successful school for girls at a time when this bucked the highly restrictive culture. The latter because she was so emotionally withholding (when she wasn't exploding with rage) and fiercely critical of her only daughter, Arundhati. After her mother's death, Roy plumbed the depths of her conflicted feelings and lays them out here with extraordinary candor and breathtaking eloquence. The complexities of history also play an essential part in the narrative. If you've enjoyed Roy's previous works as much as I have, you can discover their genesis in this wide-ranging yet intimate book.
Alcatraz houses the last functional zoo on earth, as climate change has decimated animal populations and wreaks havoc on quality of life for humans as well. Camille, the protagonist, gets a coveted job as a keeper there because her father once chauffeured the zoo's very rich founder. Exclusive tours for equally rich folks keep filling the coffers but rile up the animals in the process. A woman named Sailor who worked at a now defunct zoo in Paris is hired as a keeper, and she and Camille get to be good friends. But there's a sinister undercurrent, as well as the irony of how the denizens of the island, human and animal, all feel imprisoned at times. Lots of animal lore, atmosphere, and suspense enliven this dystopian novel.
This novel snuck up on me. I wondered why were there photos of Tokyo scattered throughout the book, and what was so special about this quiet gay man's life in that city which seems to be made up of tutoring (his job), barhopping with friends, and a slippery relationship with a married man? Then his mother shows up uninvited; she's originally from Jamaica but has been living in America where the protagonist grew up. Her appearance brings about considerable tension and opportunities for self-reflection which brought the story into sharp focus for me. The author, who lives in Tokyo, conveys expatriate life with subtle, profound intensity.
May, Kelsey, and Lauren haven't seen each other for some time. The friends plan a get-together in Sag Harbor, Long Island. A brief standoff with a rude guy over a parking space prompts Kelsey to leave a message scrawled on a napkin under his windshield: "he's cheating. He always does". (She’d observed him and his girlfriend squabbling.) It was just meant to be a prank but had tragic consequences. May, Chinese American, is a rule-follower and a lawyer. She ends up defending Kelsey, who wrote the note and is now implicated in a murder. Many surprising threads entangle the characters. Intriguing and suspenseful.
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