100 in ’11: Sittenfeld, Shreve and Kumar

Testimony – Anita Shreve

Summary: A night of drunken debauchery caught on video has devastating consequences for a boarding school, and not just for the students involved.

Enjoyable, well-paced, the storyline unfolds nicely. It’s told from several different characters’ viewpoints, and while the differing timelines were a little jarring, they were not too difficult to follow. It’s a scary reminder of how one small choice can affect so many people, and how the consequences of actions can snowball far beyond any you could initially have imagined for even the smartest and brightest of kids. Much like We Need To Talk About Kevin, it might make you think twice about parenting.

Prep – Curtis Sittenfeld

Summary: Working-class Midwestern girl has to fight to survive four years in a New England prep school where she stands out like dog’s balls.

Another boarding school book, but in an entirely different vein. I have to admit, I’ve forgotten so much about high school life, but Sittenfeld captures the overthinking and the angst perfectly. Yet it also feels somewhat hollow. I understand this was essentially a slice of life – a window into Lee’s world, one which she is ambiguous about – but it’s a little frustrating coming away and seeing that she still hadn’t found happiness despite her journey of self-discovery.

Imported Bride – Ranjula Kumar

Summary: Naive Fijian bride arrives in New Zealand, only to find life taking her in a different direction than she had expected.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, looking forward to getting stuck in and getting an insight into life as a fresh immigrant in an arranged marriage. Threads involving her distant and cold father, her failed first love and various childhood incidents added interesting diversions. Disappointingly, the writing was not particularly sophisticated, was poorly edited and its characters failed to grip (in fact, they were rather one-dimensional. Or two-dimensional, as Bones would correct me.)