memoir – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha

Today Caramel is reviewing a beautiful book by Mark Shasha: Night of the Moonjellies, originally published in 1992. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, for your last review before we take some time off for the summer, you chose to talk about this book.

Caramel: Well, you told me that summer officially starts on June 21 this year and told me we should talk about a summer book. I thought this would work well.

S: Yeah, this is a very nice picture book about the summer season.

C: Apparently, it is not even fully fiction! This book is about the author’s life. He is telling us things that have or might have happened when he was a kid.

S: Yeah, it might be a bit nostalgic then. Do you know what nostalgic means?

C: Yeah, it means a thing that evokes a sense of remembering a good thing?

S: Yeah, there is a feeling of sadness, about missing the past. The book is about a time that the author experienced as a child. So it is something he remembers fondly, from his past.

C: That makes sense. The book is about his family when he was growing up in Connecticut. His grandma, his uncle, his aunt, all his family are running a hot dog stand together, and he finds a moon jellyfish on the beach, and his grandma tells him to put it in a bag with water, so it doesn’t die. And then he tells us about his day. They make food for customers, and it is really busy.

S: And the boy is always helping out and kind of cheerful, right?

C: Yeah, he seems like a nice kid. And he seems like he really enjoys working together with his family and helping them out. All of them know what they need to do and they do it.

Caramel is reading Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha. — Caramel is reading *Night of the Moonjellies* by Mark Shasha.

S: Cool! But the book is titled “Night of the Moonjellies” so eventually we should get to the night, right?

C: Yeah, at night his grandma takes him on a kind fisherman’s boat, and they release the moon jellyfish, and they see the ocean glow from the jellies; they make the night sea sparkle and look so pretty.

S: Yes! I think that how the jellies came together to make the ocean so pretty is kind of like how the boy and his family worked all day together in harmony to make something good happen.

C: Yeah. I didn’t think of that, but it makes sense.

S: Kind of like, my family and I, together we make something neat, and the jellies, they make something neat with their families, too.

C: Yeah, I can see that. But I think even without making a connection like that, I am sure the sea must have looked awesome!

S: Yeah, one would probably not forget such a sight.

C: Yeah, if I saw such a thing, it would be so cool! I’d definitely remember it forever, too.

S: Do you remember something like that? Have you ever seen something in nature that awed you? That moved you so deeply?

C: No, I don’t think so, but it would have been cool.

S: Actually I remember you seeing something and being that awed. Some years ago, we were in Japan. We were so lucky to be there during the cherry blossom season. And you were a tiny little bunny, but your awe, your thrill, your joy were all so visible.

C: Oh, wait, I do remember that, how did I not remember that?

S: Well, maybe you were trying to think of experiences on the ocean. Or anything during the summer. The cherry blossoms were very much in the spring. And they were so beautiful! You definitely remember them now, right?

C: Yep. That’s why I think I didn’t come up with it immediately. But yeah, the cherry blossoms were so beautiful..

S: We don’t get to have too many such experiences. Sometimes beautiful things just happen and we don’t see them. We are too busy, too distracted. But when they do happen and you witness them, it is important to take note. I hope you will always remember the cherry blossoms.

C: Yeah, I will try. I’ll try to never forget.

S: Okay, Caramel, so do you think this is a good time to wrap up our review?

C: Sure.

S: So what do you want to say to our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha and is totally ready for the summer! — Caramel enjoyed reading *Night of the Moonjellies* by Mark Shasha and is totally ready for the summer!

Marshmallow reviews The Color of Water by James McBride

Today Marshmallow is writing about The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, written by James McBride and first published in 1995.

Marshmallow reviews The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. — Marshmallow reviews *The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother* by James McBride.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like biographies that reveal nuanced stories about race, family, identity, and love, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): James McBride is a Black man with a White mother. Today, this would likely not be considered much of a big deal. After all, mixed race marriages are something relatively commonplace in the United States today and are the simple result of the fact that love generally does not see color. However, back in the 1960s, such relationships were demonized and the pair separated by all means possible; Loving v. Virginia, the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on interracial marriage was only passed in 1967.

For James’ mother Ruth, this was yet another struggle in a long, seemingly endless line of strife. She was born in America to two Polish Jews and, due to the fact that her father was a “lousy rabbi,” her family had to keep moving to find new places of work for him. Eventually, they settled down in Suffolk, Virginia. There, Ruth felt discrimination firsthand constantly, with classmates calling her “Jew baby” or worse. But she also witnessed the overt racism directed towards Black people around her. Her first boyfriend, Peter, was a Black man and the young couple kept their relationship a secret out of fear of the KKK. Ruth also faced consistent abuse at home from a father that emotionally, physically, and sexually tormented her; yet, despite all of this, she persevered quietly and eventually built a family. She then kept rebuilding every time she was torn down.

In The Color of Water, the author James McBride tells the story of Ruth’s life intertwined with segments of his own autobiography in between. McBride describes his chaotic environment growing up as the eighth child out of twelve total. While he knew he was loved, there was unending pressure from Ruth to be academically successful, and within such a large family, there was not enough attention to go around. As James grew older, he started recognizing that his mother’s race was different from his own and that race was a construct that society unfortunately valued in countless ways. In seeking to uncover the details of his mother’s life, James simultaneously searches for his own identity and the role that race has in America. This likely won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the answer is nuanced and riddled with mystery—much like Ruth herself.

Marshmallow is reading The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. — Marshmallow is reading *The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother* by James McBride.

Marshmallow’s Review: I found The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother to be a very interesting book. As a mixed race bunny growing up in a quite mixed neighborhood and school district, I have never really felt any need to ‘discover myself’ because I already knew what I was. However, James’ identity quest is understandable, especially because race was even more central to society in those times. Today, of course, race is still an issue, but seeing the way our nation was back then gives you a better sense of the role of race over time.

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother examines race on a national scale by specifically analyzing its role within a family setting. James’ story is rather unique, but the themes throughout the book (abuse, race, search for security, selflessness, grief, etc) are representative of the general human experience in certain ways. I think the fact that his life is sort of a more extreme version of general experiences helps highlight how remarkable the people in his life—and most people in general—are.

The book is relatively easy to read and I think the author wrote it for a broad audience. There are mentions of sexual abuse, drug use, and violence, so some parts might make this better for older readers (maybe twelve and older?) But overall, The Color of Water is a very important book that reveals simple truths about love, humanity, and America—such as the obvious fact that race should never dictate anything, especially love.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother* by James McBride 100%.

Marshmallow reviews An Unexpected Light by José Saramago

Earlier this summer, Caramel reviewed a neat picture book by the distinguished Portuguese author José Saramago. Today Marshmallow picks up where Caramel had left off, and reviews An Unexpected Light, another excerpt from Saramago’s book on his childhood memories. Illustrated by Armando Fonseca and translated by Margaret Jull Costa, An Unexpected Light was first published in English in August 2024. Readers can learn more about the book here.

Marshmallow reviews An Unexpected Light, written by José Saramago, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, and illustrated by Armando Fonseca.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books that are calming, thought-provoking, and subtly wonderful, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): José Saramago was born in Portugal, somewhere I have never been; yet, through this book, I feel like I know what it is like to be there. When he was twelve years old, Saramago went along with his youngest uncle to help him sell his grandparents’ pigs at a market in Santarém. They embarked on a journey that is beautifully understated. The author describes in quite simple terms what he and his uncle did, what happened, and where they were.

The story overall is quite simple. Yet, there is something profoundly special about it. You can tell when you open the book that there is something different in this book–-something that most other books cannot convey in more than Saramago’s meager twenty or so pages. The plot is not particularly convoluted as a result. But the experience is unique.

Marshmallow is reading An Unexpected Light, written by José Saramago, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, and illustrated by Armando Fonseca.

Marshmallow’s Review: If reading this book has taught me one thing, it is that Saramago didn’t win a Nobel Prize for nothing. This is definitely a lot different from the picture books I’ve read. It is still short, has drawings, and relatively little text per page. But it nonetheless feels different. I don’t exactly know how to describe it, but I felt as though I had been transported to Portugal when I first read this book. The drawings are not complex but they convey shapes and people that your mind transforms into a living, breathing environment around you. I think maybe the illustrator chose a more minimalistic style to allow the eyes to spark the imagination which then builds a more detailed, immersive world on its own. This might in turn be inspired by Saramago’s style, which achieves the same effect.

I am still not exactly sure what the last couple of sentences in the book mean. Caramel reviewed another book by this author and used the term “quiet conviction.” I feel like the theme is different in this book, but the word “quiet” is still quite applicable. Saramago doesn’t use elaborate descriptions or fancy words. In fact, I did notice: he doesn’t seem to use quotation marks either. This is clearly a stylistic choice, which I found interesting. But the author and the book as a whole have a very understated feel throughout. I really liked that.

I think authors generally don’t try to push their works to have a singular, trite meaning; leaving the interpretation up to the reader makes the work really what the reader wants it to be. In my opinion, this book is about slowing down, thinking, feeling, and admiring the world. Saramago watches everything with not much judgement in this book which makes the reader kind of slow down and calm down. I think this book shows me that the world and nature are awe-inspiring in a quiet way, a way that I think Saramago strove to emulate.

I had read this book earlier in the summer when Caramel was looking over the two books. Today, I had an experience that really made me think of this book again, in so subtle a way I didn’t really even notice it. I woke up early and was in a car for a while, groggy at the beginning. But I looked out the window and saw a sky that was indescribably beautiful. The sun was rising, making its daily ascent, but I was watching as if for the first time; perhaps it was the first time I really looked. It was truly awe-inspiring and wonderful. It made me realize how beautiful nature is, but in a way that is so encompassing that we don’t and maybe can’t recognize always. This book really gives you the time to slow down and recognize that there is beauty and the extraordinary in so many places that we consider ordinary.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 10/10.

Marshmallow rates An Unexpected Light, written by José Saramago, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, and illustrated by Armando Fonseca 10/10.

Caramel reviews The Silence of Water by José Saramago

José Saramago was a Portuguese writer who received the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his “parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony [with which he] continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.” Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about The Silence of Water by Saramago, a picture book published in English in 2023. (The original Portuguese version was published in 2011). The book was translated into English by Margaret Jull Costa and was illustrated by Yolanda Mosquera.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a picture book.

Caramel: Yes, it is called The Silence of Water.

S: Can you tell us what it is about?

C: Sure. It is about this kid, the author, who goes fishing, and catches this big fish, a barbel, and he tries to pull it out, but the fish is too strong and escapes. It just pulls his fishing rod and everything with it too.

S: Ouch!

C: Yes, so the boy is annoyed, and he runs back to his home and gets another fishing rod and stuff and gets back to the pond and tries to catch the barbel again. He waits and waits, until the night falls. But he fails to catch it ever again.

S: Hmm, that is the whole story, right?

C: Yes, it is short.

S: So what do you think about it?

C: I think it is good, but I kind of wished it was a little bit longer. There are many pages with just pictures in them. So there is a lot more room for more words. But they chose not to put more words.

S: Do you think that could be intentional? Maybe they wanted to make you feel the “silence”, without too many words.

C: I guess that makes sense, yeah, I can see the thinking that the writer may have had. The many wordless pages are really quiet, and you do sort of feel, or even hear, the silence.

S: I’d say many of the scenes have a serenity to them. Except the times the boy is running of course!

C: I guess so. It’s kind of cool.

S: The illustrations made me remember a couple books you reviewed before. Albert’s Quiet Quest and Colette’s Lost Pet, both by Isabelle Arsenault, and Captain Rosalie by Timothee De Fombelle. All three of those books had somewhat sparse illustrations, and quite limited color palettes, kind of like this book.

C: Yeah, I can see that. There is definitely a fixed and limited color scheme, and it looks kind of like a jungle, which may have been the idea.

S: Overgrown nature all around the boy, right? But it is not the wet green of the jungle; it is a lot more subdued. Though there are some reds and blacks too.

C: Yep, the contrast was pretty good.

Caramel is reading The Silence of Water by José Saramago. — Caramel is reading *The Silence of Water* by José Saramago.

S: Okay, so why do you think the book is titled The Silence of Water? Which water is it?

C: The pond, I think.

S: And in the pond, the barbel. The barbel is silent, too, right? The boy never gets to see or hear from it again?

C: Maybe, that could explain it.

S: Why do you think the author wrote this book, Caramel? What do we get out of it as readers?

C: it was the fact that he never stopped trying to catch the fish, so the theme is to never give up.

S: I can see that Caramel. A great analysis! Did you know that the text is actually an excerpt from the author’s memoir Small Memories, originally published in Portuguese in 2006? At the back cover it says that it is taken from a story of his childhood, “a tale of quiet conviction”.

C: Huh, I think “conviction” is a big word for a lot of young bunnies.

S: You are right it is a big word. But you know what it means, right? It means more or less what you said. It means determination. It means having a belief or opinion but very firmly held. So the boy was determined to catch the fish. And it was impossible, and he more or less knew it was impossible, but he still gave it his all. And in the end, in most such stories, we often see the main character succeeding. So the moral becomes if you persist, you will eventually win. But this boy does not win. He does not get the fish. What do you say to that?

C: Well, that makes sense. The boy does not get the fish, but he knows he tried. And he also says in the end that he still left his mark on the fish. The fish is still his in some way. Though it is a bit morbid to say that. Because the mark he left on the fish is probably a big wound. The fish is probably wounded by the fishing hook and stuff. So he did leave a mark. But I am not sure I like the mark. Poor fish.

S: You have a good point Caramel. The fish is hurt most likely. But then again maybe, since it is such a big and powerful fish, maybe it will be alright. And there will only be a little scar left.

C: Huh, that’s a good way to see that. I hope so. And then it would be kind of like a memory. And the boy could feel that he made an impression. And it would not be so morbid. Okay, I will take it like that.

S: Yes, let us do that. Then the boy’s story of determination, or of “conviction” like the book tells us, is still inspiring. The boy did not give up. And it was impossible, and he did fail, in the most straightforward meaning of the word, but he did leave his mark. And he did not give up. So he does end the book in an upbeat tone.

C: Yes, he does, I guess. I was trying to understand why. This helped.

S: Talking things out with you always helps me, too, Caramel. So overall, did you find this book worthwhile?

C: Yeah, it is a quick read, and the pictures are lovely, and when you dig into the determination thingy, it has a deeper message, too. Yes, overall, I like it! And I think other little bunnies could enjoy it, too!

S: That is great, thank you Caramel. So let us wrap this up, because it is getting really late.

C: Yes. I should sleep soon.

S: What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Silence of Water by José Saramago and recommends it to other young bunnies looking for a quiet book. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Silence of Water* by José Saramago and recommends it to other young bunnies looking for a quiet book.