The DCBC met on Sunday, April 30, 2023 to discuss April's book: The Monsters We Defy, by Leslye Penelope (selected by Sarah).
Attendees were: Sarah, Jessy, Miriam, Emily Y, Emily O, Kristyn, and Ashley.
The Monsters We Defy is about Clara Johnson, a young woman living in 1920s Washington, D.C. who can talk to spirits. She uses this gift to help the people who come to her for contacting the right sort of spirit (or Enigma) to intercede on their behalf. Each gift from an Enigma (a Charm) also comes with a price (a Trick) that either sounds benign at first, or the client is so desperate for the Charm that they are willing to pay any price. Clara herself has a Charm and a Trick, bestowed on her by a powerful Enigma known as the Empress.
"'You're just giving her the same deal you got. It's their choice to make it or not. Everyone has a choice.' 'Not always a good one,' Clara grumbled. 'No,' Mama Octavia said sadly. 'Colored folks don't often get good choices, do we?'"
― Leslye Penelope, The Monsters We Defy
Clara's Charm has helped her in the past, in order to get out of jail, but she has vowed to herself that she will never use it again. The Empress speaks to Clara, offering her an opportunity to free herself from her debt, removing both her Charm and her Trick. What the Empress asks in exchange is for Clara to obtain a ring, currently being worn by the wealthiest woman in D.C.'s social scene.
"Enigmas considered their offerings--the Charms and the Tricks--valuable and highly prized and couldn't understand why humans who received them were less than enthused."
― Leslye Penelope, The Monsters We Defy
If this task was as simple as just getting close to the woman and taking it from her, the book would be about four pages long and we would be deprived of the ensuing heist narrative. So of course Clara has to assemble a motley group of characters to pull this off--a jazz musician and his cousin (or brother? I forget), and an aging vaudeville actor who all have spirit debts of their own they want lifted, plus Clara's roommate Zelda, an albino circus runaway, with occasional insights from Mama Octavia, the ghost of Clara's own deceased grandmother.
"'We're not doing that bad,' Zelda replied. 'Haven't been shot, stabbed, or arrested yet. Got out of a pretty righteous scrape down at the garage. Honestly, I ain't had that much fun in years.'"
― Leslye Penelope, The Monsters We Defy
They encounter obstacles at every turn, leading to a final showdown between some of the most powerful spirits in the spirit-realm. There are also cameo appearances from some of the most famous figures of the Harlem Renaissance, including a young Langston Hughes.
“If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! —Claude McKay”
― Leslye Penelope, The Monsters We Defy
Our book club discussion touched on many topics: our favorite characters (Zelda and Mama Octavia were favorites), who we would recommend this book to (young or new adult readers), the Enigmas themselves and the concepts of destinies and souls. We didn't arrive at any sort of consensus on what a Destiny is, but it was fun to speculate about them and ponder the ramifications of such on the idea of free will.
Miriam said (in her Goodreads review): "This was so great! It is both historical fiction and slightly historical alternate fiction. I enjoyed this peek into the cultural past, and loved that it doesn’t shy away from discussing issues of race and class while still being a magical story."
Emily O prompted us during our discussion to consider whether the stakes felt high enough to really be satisfying, which was a good part of the discussion and part of why we largely agreed that this sort of book would be a good fit for a young or new adult audience.
Kristyn (also on GR) said: "Big fan of Harlem Renaissance. Usually not a big fan of magical realism. But this book was delicious. I loved all of it."
“Professor Hansberry taught us about a concept they have in Africa—in Swahili it’s called utu. In Zulu, the word is ubuntu. It translates to ‘humanity,’ but what it really means is ‘community.’ I am because we are. Our humanity is tied together.”― Leslye Penelope, The Monsters We Defy
I was amused to see this reference to the Zulu word 'ubuntu' and wondering if the author has a background in Computers (Ubuntu is the operating system for Linux, which I know are words for Computer things). Sure enough, in the About the Author section at the end, I learned that Leslye Penelope does in fact have a background in Computer Science. I always love a subtle nerd reference.
Personally, I had a great time reading it and I would love to watch a movie of this or even a monster-of-the-week TV series based in this world.
The Verdict
Taken from the average DCBC member ratings on Goodreads who had marked the book as read and rated at the time of this writing:
The Monsters We Defy: 4.7 stars
Next Month: May 2023: The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood (voted on by Committee; i.e. those present at the set-up meeting in December).
