#book thought

Inlé helps El-Ahrairiah out of his own kindness, and annoyance. The text says that Inlé was annoyed with El-Ahrairiah, and just did it to get rid of him, but that's not how I read it. I read it as Inlé taking pity directly on El-Ahrairiah, from all the suffering he put himself through. Inlé says beforehand that he doesn't want to cause El-Ahrairiah any suffering, that El-Ahrairiah can leave whenever he wants, but El-Ahrairiah doesn't. He stays, makes bad bets, and suffers, because he's trying in vain to help his people.

So in the end when Inlé helps, I read it as him doing it out of pity, because of El-Ahrairiah's devotion to helping his people and willingness to sacrifice his own life with the White Blindness to do so.

I don't know how I came upon this book, but I do remember that the sequel cover caught my eye:

The sequel is Deathless Divide and I decided to borrow it. So after that, I decided to read the first book.

The premise is that towards the end (or was it right after? I do know it was after the Gettysburg Address and abolition), America had a zombie uprising. The main character is Jane McKeane, a black girl who is training to be an Attendant - a servant/companion/bodyguard for well-to-do families, who are white.

Along with her is Katherine Deveraux, a fellow student who's also a Not Friend, Jackson would be suitor who's looking for his sister Lily and Mr Gideon, an inventor who has so many regrets.

This was an interesting read because it does go into "What if an unspeakable horror came into American History?" And the answer is: Bigots will do anything and blind themselves to suit their beliefs, and this will end badly because zombies don't care.

I do wonder if they will adapt another book by this author. This one wouldn't be too bad.

It's about Diana Boyle, a widow whose late husband was a jerk and has to deal with her disapproving sister-in-law, who's old enough to be her mom. She got married at like 18 and was widowed around 24.

Then she gets called on by two gentlemen who are complete strangers and it turns out that they visited her because she is on a registry. The list is of wealthy widows and spinsters whose bank accounts would attract younger sons and men who are otherwise not financially secured.

This pisses off Diana and after she confronts the author of the registry, Maxwell Dean, she informs all the other ladies listed on it. And here is when she joins forces with Lady Regina, a spinster with a "scandalous past," with an idea: since these gentlemen want to court, why not take advantage of it and make these boys work for it? Let's have fun for once.

I enjoy this book, but it does feel like it meanders. Then again, it's really about some ladies joining together, finally having fun and the guys also having fun and realizing what jackasses they've been.

Not only that, but it does bring out how a little kindness, understanding and forgiveness can go a long way.