The DCBC met on Sunday, February 20, 2022 to discuss both January's and February's books. We consolidated two meetings into one due to the omicron surge in January. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
The two books we discussed were, for January, In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado (selected by Lauren), and for February, She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan (selected by Sarah).
This meeting was cozy, with Miriam, Jessy, Paige, and Sarah attending. (Lauren was feeling under the weather and we hope she is on the mend!)
We had some wonderful discussions of both books. In the Dream House was highly regarded, with many of us agreeing we could barely put it down, even though the subject matter was sometimes challenging. The short, thematic chapters and references to folklore were particularly noteworthy and enjoyable, and the exploration of power dynamics and abusive relationships in an LGBTQ+ context was an important topic to shed light on.
She Who Became the Sun was challenging in other ways. The political intrigue, battle descriptions, and minor characters could be a lot to keep track of, but the force of Zhu's determination and ruthlessness made for a thrilling read (albeit an often gory one)! The contrast between Zhu's and Ouyang's gender identities/dysphoria was a marked one, and Zhu's relationship with Ma was appreciated, as was the explicit description of their physical conjugation. We had hoped for more related to the spirits some characters are described as seeing or surrounding them, and are hoping this is explored more in the next book of the series.
The Verdict:
Taken from the average DCBC member ratings on Goodreads who had marked the books as read and rated at the time of this writing:
In the Dream House 4.9 stars
She Who Became the Sun 4.3 stars
Club Business:
Sarah and Jessy volunteered to step up to help Miriam coordinate our group's activities, as well as keep up this website. We're looking forward to the next phase of our club's existence so we can all keep reading wonderful books together. Until next month...
March 2022: Rage Becomes Her, by Soraya Chemaly (selected by Jessy)
