Betsey Brown Post #2

The exposition of Betsey Brown really caught my attention. Betsey is sitting on a balcony, watching the sun come up over her neighborhood and captures the mood of the late 50's very well. This scene also gives us insight into what kind of person Betsey is. She is a helpless romantic, loves the quiet beauty of nature and the somewhat louder beauty of the spoken word. After Betsey returns from her sunrise watching she goes to take care of her mother, Jane. Jane is an interesting character, loving her family, but also seeming to have a dreamy side. I think Jane's gentle love makes her a great mother, at least so far in the book.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange

Betsey Brown lives with her four younger siblings, mother, father and grandmother, all in one small house. The author, Ntozake Shange takes time in the exposition of the book to describe this house, and Betsey favorite places in it, showing that this setting is very important for the rest of the story. In the first few pages we learn the Betsey is the daughter of a relatively young couple, Jane and Greer, and has some odd quirks. She likes acting, or as she calls it "elocution", likes to hide and describe stairs along with balconies. I like the writing so far, its eloquent and witty, and the characters are interesting.

The Good Thief By Hannah Tinti

When my mom first suggested this book to me I wasn't sure if I would like it, I'm more of a strong female lead kind of girl. My experience with historical fiction has been mostly with the Dear America diaries, almost all of which were weak female leads, and not the best writing I've ever read. So when I started reading I thought that I was in for a dry history lesson, but Tinti proved me wrong. She showed me that historical fiction can have interesting, three demential characters that are not total stereotypes. This book deals with a lot of issues, from orphanages to grave robbing and body snatching. Foremost is the issue of how people with physical deformities were treated in the late 19th century. We have a boy without a hand, a hairlip, a deaf woman, a giant and a dwarf, all of whom are trying to live as normal a life as they can. This book really captured the underbelly of society in the 19th century, complete with corrupt CEO's and double dealing doctors. I would recommend this book for anyone who can stand a little blood.