Author v. Author: Celeste Ng & Yaa Gyasi

It's a head to head matchup! WSIR #27

In which we look at of Celeste Ng’s novels, and two of Yaa Gyasi’s novels, and then we merrily chat about all of them and how great they are!

… Oh you thought … I see, you were thinking …

… what, like a cage match? Heavens no, I don’t pit authors AGAINST each other, how would we even? Every author is a miracle and generally, I believe books are collaborative and not competitive. Each book we read builds on our internal empathy, joy, and understanding, our own internal library of life. (Probably business books are competitive with each other. Yet another reason why I DON’T READ ‘EM.)

But with gifted authors, I think it’s an interesting exercise comparing earlier works to later ones, and of course, in a world of limited reading bandwidth, to determine which amongst their good works you might prefer. So on that note, let’s get ready to RUMBLE! And by that I mean, let’s get ready to steal away to read, quietly, preferably under a weighted blanket, maybe with a sleepy cat and a nice cup of tea.

---

Author vs Author: Celeste Ng

It’s hard for any book to compete with the sensation that is Little Fires Everywhere, which was deeply popular for good reason. This novel follows two families in Shaker Heights, OH - one well-off, “great on paper” and one comprised of a money-strapped single mother and her daughter - and as their lives intertwine, we address the stark issues of motherhood, of striving for perfection, of adolescence and of keeping secrets. It’s compulsively readable as you barrel towards what feels like an inevitable yet still surprising, conclusion. Really excellent.

But her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, is a worthy entry as well. If a novel starts with this line - “Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet.” - well, you know you’re in for something. In some ways, this book covers much of the same universal ground as Little Fires - families, secrets, the painful young-old, push-pull of teenage years - and also similarly reads a bit like a mystery: what happened to Lydia? But I found it much more grounded in the jagged edges of grief and loss, sadder and more moving, where Little Fires Everywhere had more varied emotional layers and vectors of class, of race, of conflicting moral views. It’s also sharper and wittier in places.

If you can only read one: Little Fires Everywhere.

---

Author vs Author: Yaa Gyasi

If there’s a very clear relationship between Celeste Ng’s novels, what’s all the more remarkable about Yaa Gyasi’s debut and second novel is that in many ways they are complete opposites of each other, and yet they’re both terrific. Like, who gave her permission to be such an incredible, varied author? Leave a little talent for the rest of us, Yaa!

Homegoing is an incredibly ambitious tale of half sisters born in Ghana in the 18th century. One marries into Ghanian royalty and the other is sold into slavery, and the rest of the book follows their descendants until present day, across the world. It is sweeping, it vividly creates dozens of moments and places in time. It’s almost like a book full of compelling short stories, but still leaving us to grapple with overarching message about the violent legacy and generational trauma of slavery. It’s brilliant.

And then she goes and writes her second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, which is about a Stanford PhD student, Gifty, conducting research into depression and addiction in mice, with the backdrop of a depressed mother and brother lost to addiction. This book is intimate, raw, quiet, internal, spiritual, modern - the story of an immigrant family working through suffering, isolation, discrimination, and loss. The aperture is much more narrow onto this one woman, offering an entirely different perspective on how we make sense of terrible things. It’s also lovely in an entirely different fashion - if Homegoing is fireworks, Transcendent Kingdom is a watercolor.

If you can only read one: I think Homegoing. By a hair.

---

A truncated newsletter this week:

This publishing tool decided to act up, making everything buggier than normal. Passion projects - they’re so glamorous!

So you’ll just have to imagine glorious images that tell you how much Shakespeare I’ve read (not much) and what I’m reading now (Ninth House by Leah Bardugo but about to start Shuggie Bain, please send tissues).

If YOU have read any Celeste Ng or Yaa Gyasi - please let me know in the comments whether you would make the same recommendations!