Tag: Women Empowerment

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Book Review: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

First of all, let’s all agree on how absolutely, drop dead, breathtakingly gorgeous the cover is to this book. Well done to the illustrator, where ever and who ever you are, you have brought joy into my life by your art!!! There were some mixed reviews about The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, some of my friends really liked it while others not too much. This made me adjust my expectations to the book, but I bought it because I thought hey at least, it’s gonna make my bookshelf look very pretty.

Plot

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a retelling of Shim Cheong, the classical Korean story about a girl name Shim Cheong who threw herself into the Indang Sea so that her blind father can see again. As a result of this dutiful act, Shim Cheong is resurrected, becomes an Empress, and her father’s eyesight is restored.

As wonderful as that plotline sounds, I must admit I did cringe when I read the original story. And so I was very glad to be reading this retelling by Axie Oh in which Mina, another girl, decided to jump into the sea so that Shim Cheong could live and be happy with Joon (Mina’s brother).

Under the sea, Mina comes across various adventures which lead her to love and undoing a century long curse upon the Sea God and her country.

Characters

For some reason, I couldn’t fully connect with Mina. However, I did quite like Shin, the main male character. I found the story to be a bit slow at first, but it definitely picked up at halfway point to an exciting ending.

I read this book after I binged on Under the Queen’s Umbrella (a highly recommended period Korean drama), and this book did kind of soothe the dark hole in my soul after having finished an unforgettable series. Plus, like I said, how can I say no to that cover.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is the second book I’ve read by Axie Oh (the first was XOXO), and I’d definitely read more books by her in the future.

PS: Am I in my Kpop era? You bet.

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A Quick Thought on Antiheroines

Recently, the books I’ve read have had major antiheroines as the main character, as opposed to heroines. Alin from Alasan Alin by Krisandryka, Delilah Bard from Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab, Evelyn Hugo from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Nova Artino from Renegades by Marissa Meyer, Eleanor from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, and several others.

It is the same in movies. Take villain retellings like Cruella or just straight up “bad girls” like Number Seven of Umbrella Academy, or Amy in Gone Girl. To me, these are wonderful signs that popular culture is starting to shift from “girls have to be good”. It used to be that “when a girl is unlikeable, a girl is a problem” writes Roxane Gay in Bad Feminist.

It used to be that “when a girl is unlikeable, a girl is a problem” writes Roxane Gay in Bad Feminist.

Can a Girl be Seen as a Neutral Character?

Diana Wynne Jones, legendary author of Howl’s Moving Castle (and also my favorite author) admits in Reflections on the Magic of Writing that if she wanted to use a neutral character, she would have to use a boy. A girl character could not be seen as neutral. Especially not at the time when she was still alive and writing. Honestly, I wonder of this even now.

Rebellious Girls

My own Nisha from Nishaverse, although not quite an antiheroine (I think she is still considered a heroine), also has a rebellious streak in her. It’s not as obvious as the current main character for the science fiction romance draft I am working on, but it is there for observant readers to pick up. As I am working on the translation of Nisha to Indonesian (hopefully set to release before the end of the year!), one of the beta readers, a bright Indonesian preteen girl, actually commented that she was surprised with how Nisha behaved as a girl.

Aha, I say silently. This preteen girl is precisely the age target of the Nishaverse series. It is precisely my aim to show that girls do not always have to be good, obedient, nice, etc etc etc. Girl characters do not even have to be likeable. They can be bad. Rebellious antiheroines. Despicable. Wicked! Tear up the centuries of unrealistic male fantasy.

We are finally claiming back our messy, complicated images instead of plastic Barbie doll figures.

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Book Review: Circe (with Spoilers)

Last month I read the classic science fiction book Dune by Frank Herbert. Every amazing world and religion building aside, I still can’t reconcile myself with what the author did to the characters of Chani and Princess Irulan in the end. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. I needed to balance myself with a strong dose of feminist voice. Thank goodness Madeline Miller’s Circe came to the rescue.

Circe’s plot pretty much follows the Greek myths of a minor nymph goddess named Circe. You can check out the myth here. In this post, I want to talk about how Madeline Miller hit so many aspects of womanhood through Circe’s story. Okay, it does span centuries so that’s a hint that Circe goes through a lot. ALERT : SPOILERS!

Womanhood Through Circe

You name it, Circe has it. Daddy issues? Circe was a daddy’s girl through and through. She starts out worshipping Helios (her Titan father the Sun). She ends up asking (demanding, threatening…) Helios to disown her as a daughter to go off and do her own thing. That’s the full circle alright.

First love problems? Say hi to Glaucos whom Circe loved so much she made him a god. And voila, he became not a god but an ass (figuratively speaking). Friends with benefits? She’s tasted it too. Hey there, Hermes, what’s up. A momentary warmth of love, and as always with the Greeks, tragedy? Enter Daedalus, the father of Icarus.

Sibling rivalries are abundant with Pasiphae (the Minotaur’s mummy), Perses, and Aetes. When Circe “grows up” into a more matured goddess, she finds herself playing as Auntie to monsters and menaces. In her exile she learns to finally accept herself and her vulnerabilities. Her powers as a witch grows and thrives on the island of Aeaea.

Climax

The climax of the story is in the last third , when Odysseus (yes, from The Song of Achilles!) comes and Circe has an amorous relationship with the married man, leading to her son Telegonus. Circe’s motherhood experience is handled with such a realistic tone that I applaud the author. When time comes for Circe to let her son go out into the world, she is heartbroken like every mom, but she does not prevent him.

By the time we get to Telemachus (son of Odysseus and Penelope), I can’t say how happy I am for Circe. Telemachus is THAT guy “society” says she should avoid in her later years – I mean, she slept with his daddy yo. But love conquers social norms, as the Greeks have said it from ages past. I’ll attest to that.

And here is the author’s most driving point: that Circe chose a different life than the life she was born with. She made a different world for herself, and in that she made her own happiness.

Friends, please read Circe. You won’t regret it.

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Series Review: The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time was recommended to me by an Instagram buddy (probably because my IG story is so often about fantasy) and I was quite happy with it! Amazon Prime’s take on the books by Robert Jordan is epic, eye-licious, and matriarchal – yes! In addition to that, Rosamund Pike one of my favorite faces of all time plays a powerful sorcerer named Moraine.

Plot

I found the TV adaptation did pretty well in balancing the intricate plots (and subplots) while revealing the cool cultures of the societies and communities in the world of the Wheel of Time. Funeral rites are a big deal here, which I like. Politics especially in the second half of the series, once we are in the Ice Tower, also gets a lot of screen time. Indeed Amazon is aiming for Wheel of Time to be the “next Game of Thrones” in terms of epic fantasy series that just…take over the world. It does differentiate itself in the portrayal of female roles though.

The script is very classic high fantasy. Stakes are as large as the whole world, where the action of one ordinary (or not so ordinary, as it turns out) villager will save or destroy everything. It’s rather cliché at times, but in that way it probably sticks close to Robert Jordan’s vision.

Casting and Characters

The diversity of the cast is well worth a mention as actors and actresses of all colors fill the Wheel. However, I didn’t feel enough pull from the main characters of the story other than Moraine (and she isn’t really supposed to be a main character). In comparison to Shadow and Bone, another fantasy series released in 2021, I have to say Kaz and the gang wins the race by a far margin.

Feminism in the Wheel of Time

Amazon’s take on the world of the Wheel is a feminist, matriarchal world, where women hold the power and are the main driving force of the story. Not a sidelined supporter nor victim of misogyny; this is major for fantasy shows. Women in this world are born knowing that they are the only beings capable of channeling the One Power. They are raised being told they can be leaders. In fact the highest position of leadership, the Tamyrlin Seat, always goes to a woman. So many other fantasy characters in fantasy literature have to prove that they are “worthy” to be more than free domestic labor. In The Wheel of Time the women are born worthy – imagine that.

In Wheel of Time the women are born worthy – imagine that.

All in all despite the lack of magnetism to the characters, I think Amazon’s Wheel of Time is a great step for feminist fantasy. I probably won’t read the books, not only because there is 24 of them, but also because I’ve read from reviews that the books are quite traditional in its binary gender tropes. So cheers to staying away from that!

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Book Review: She Who Became the Sun

I loved everything about She Who Became the Sun, happy sigh. And General Ouyang? I get that he’s a eunuch and he doesn’t swing my direction, but I’m still swooning over him. Okay, so what’s this book about?

Historical Fantasy

She Who Became the Sun is a historical fantasy retelling of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor who founded the Ming Dynasty, expelled the Mongols, and unified China. The topic is already something I’m incredibly interested in – China’s deliciously dramatic history. Add to that the twist of Zhu being a girl? Automatic read. It does have Mulan vibes but it’s much more – think Mulan slash Daenerys Targaryen of Game of Thrones.

Shelley Parker-Chan‘s writing is gripping from the very first sentence to the very end. One thing I especially like are her analogies – Zhongli village lying in the heat of the sun like a dead dog? Amazing. The book has many such sentences like this, which brings the atmosphere of ancient China alive for me. They way she retells and brings alive the characters: the to-be Empress Ma, General Ouyang, and of course Zhu makes these historical figures into people I won’t forget.

Women Empowerment

Exactly as the title promises, the empowerment narrative is good. As someone with Chinese heritage, I feel Shelley gets the idea so well that it hits home. Girls in the Chinese culture were just so itemized, so unimportant, so…nothing compared to boys. Boys are everything. Girls are meaningless, expendable. I lived this growing up. So I loved that in this fantasy, at least, we can show that we are not meaningless.

Women too can have mandates of heaven, lead armies, and leave a legacy of our names.

If you’re into women empowerment fantasy, check out my Nishaverse series.

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Girls – Let’s Start Investing!

“You don’t save your way to wealth, you invest your way to wealth.” Janda Becanda (The Widow Jokes Podcast) episode on cryptocurrency.

Following up on my post about financial freedom for women is this post on investing for women. What’s the idea behind investing? The quote above sums it best. Once you have stable finances (paid off your debts, set up an emergency fund, you have an active insurance) then and only then would it be a good time to start considering investing. The philosophy behind it is that the money you save up decreases in value over time due to inflation rates. Thus the best way to grow your money is by spending it on sound investments.

Sadly, most women lack confidence in investing in comparison to men. However, despite less women investing, studies actually show that the women who invest are outperforming the men who are investing.

My Approach As a Newbie

For me, I approached it this way: investing, like everything else in life, is a habit. If it’s a habit, that means everyone can learn it and manage the ropes well to benefit themselves. I started my investing attempts late 2019 and I won’t say I’m an expert – not at all. I’m still a newbie. But what I want to share are some tips on how to start investing. Because, the best time to start investing is as soon as possible – the longer the time you have, the better your chances are.

First, talk to a trusted financial advisor. Find someone who is well along their investing journey and ask them to share their basic philosophies. How do they make their decisions? What books / journals / blogs did they read? Maybe they listen to some great podcasts. Educate yourself on the topic, and make yourself more financially literate.

Educate yourself on the topic, and make yourself more financially literate.

Second, try to understand your appetite for risk. Do you like risks? Or do you prefer something safer? Would you be ready if that bit that you invested suddenly loses value during a market recession?

Third, diversify. Don’t have all your eggs in one basket. Spread out your investments into several different sectors (research beforehand never hurts). That way when one sector sinks, the others can still help balance your portfolio. This happened for me in the pandemic. Most of my stocks were bleeding except an investment I made on forex trading in 2019. Phew.

Fourth, don’t wait to invest. Start with as small as 10 USD, but get yourself into the habit of it and let time work for your favor, instead of for your demise.

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First Blood, A Poem

I finally picked up Milk and Honey (Rupi Kaur) and also Lang Leav‘s poetry collections: Love Looks Good On You. Needless to say, it was the boost I needed to start working on my second poetry collection! There are so far 60 short proses and poems in the draft, and here is one of them.

First Blood

“Have you started bleeding?”

“No…have you?”

“Of course! Last year!”

“Wow. How does it feel?”

“Oh, you know, just a bit bloody. Not too bad.”

Why hasn’t mine come yet?

Is something wrong with me?

Where could I have gotten more information

Other than the other girls’ conversations

Why was there no education

No open communication

On something so important

As our menstruation?

For more of my poetry, you can check out my first poetry collection: A Season of Poetry at the shop. Thank you for your support!

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Arranged Marriage Theme in Nisha

A lot of great reviews have flowed in for my fantasy series Nisha and its sequel, Sacred Rituals. Thank you so much to all my readers out there who have taken the time to read and review my books. One review, in particular, caught my eye. It’s Febrian’s review on Goodreads, can you can read the full review here.

Febrian wrote “believe me, Nisha, I was also wondering what it would take to get your parents to understand your life is your choice.” She highlighted the arranged marriage theme, which I would like to highlight in this post. No major spoilers for the book ahead if you haven’t read it.

Nisha and Ged Luft’s Situation

Indeed one of the running themes in Nisha is her arranged marriage to young Lord Ged Luft. Her parents, the King and Queen arranged this because the crown was running out of money, and for them, the only way to refill the crown’s coffers was to marry off Princess Nisha to the Lufts, a wealthy noble family of their Kingdom, Seis.

There are many wonderful stories in literature or in real life which depict forced arranged marriage working out very well, but not mine. As Mary, an illustrator who has read the book also said in a Mad Tea Book Club discussion, she didn’t think Nisha was a good example of arranged marriages working out well.

This is precisely the case because I have experienced arranged marriage situations, and it simply didn’t work out for me. I was THIS CLOSE to getting married to someone whom my parents had introduced. I ended the relationship because I knew I would not be happy long-term in that arrangement.

Child Bride

There is one BIG difference though, and that is the point that Nisha is underage. I was set up when I was in my mid-20s, but Nisha was set up in her teens. And this is my main point: CHILD MARRIAGE IS NOT OKAY. If you think this practice is finished, I am sad to say that it is not so.

Globally, 1 in 5 women were married before their 18th birthday. As instability increases, girls living in conflict or crisis settings become particularly vulnerable to the practice.

unicef

This is precisely what happens to Nisha. Her kingdom falls into crisis, and the answer in her parents’ mind was to marry her off to solve the problem. NO, IT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. And if you read Nisha and Sacred Rituals, you will know why.

To read more on child bride problems, visit this article (International Women’s Health Coalition).

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Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Alright, here goes me reviewing a very hype book. By now, I’m quite aware my taste in books are somewhat different than the trendy ones – although I do get curious every now and then.

Quick Description

Our main character is a journalist named Monique Grant, who was chosen by retired Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo to write her biography. Throughout her glamorous and scandalous life, Evelyn Hugo has collected and outlived 7 husbands, including outliving a daughter. Evelyn has engineered her public image in such a way to hide unflinching truths, which she now gives to Monique. A question runs throughout the whole narrative: why Monique?

My Thoughts

I rated it 3 stars on Goodreads because I think it was so-so for me. I can understand the hype – who isn’t interested in the glitzy behind-the-scenes of Hollywood? The empowerment themes for people of color and LGBTQ are also a plus point going for this book.

However, some things didn’t sit right with me because the author does a lot of “forcing a point” through Evelyn’s story. There was not much room for the reader to arrive at their own opinions nor to disagree. The whole book feels like it’s teaching how to live life, and it had some alright lessons, but also some I disagreed with.

An example is this quote:

“When you’re given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn’t give things, you take things.”

The Seven husbands of evelyn hugo

My Kindle has automatic highlight function, and it’s showing me that 8 thousand other readers highlighted this quote. So I guess a lot of readers like it. For me though, I disagree. The statement actually contradicts itself, having stated “opportunities are given” then in the next breath “nothing is given, you have to take it.” But didn’t the text just say that opportunities are given?

The world gives so many things to us – life itself is a gift from the world. If we’re reading and breathing, we’ve already taken free clean oxygen, burned some fossil fuels, or used up some tree bark.

The world gives free air for us to breathe, soil for us to grow crops, a whole planet for us to enjoy. And from the moment we popped out of our mothers’ wombs to the moment we decompose, all we do is take from the world and emit harmful poisons to our planet. Unless we are very careful with our lifestyles and have a strong commitment to leave this earth a better place, then I assure you that both you and I are criminals in nature’s eyes. I am guilty of it myself.

Personal Bias

Obviously this book is not about relationships with nature and with our environment, it’s more about human relationships and it’s got some great lessons on that. Yet my personal bias is kicking in whenever I read narratives that are only about humans. Because the world isn’t just about humans.

We know that after the pandemic. A tiny virus slammed down our activities and plans, and we had no choice but to work around how to survive with a constantly mutating virus in the air.

Ending (Spoiler Alert!)

The ending is controversial, as the whole book tries to be. And here is one point where I do agree with the author. Yes, I honestly believe that individuals in their right mind should be able to exercise their right-to-die. Done properly, it can be a meaningful and relieving experience for everyone. Take the case of Betsy, who was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease.

“Dying is easy, try living in this body.”

Betsy (VOX.Com)

So all in all, I thought The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was so-so. If you like scandalous, empowering, well-rounded tragedy narratives, try the classic Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.