Strangness

      This is a very peculiar/strange book. And each character's story is weird in itself. We get Macon who is an arrogant, strict, money-breathing brute of a father as it seems, while Ruth is a strange, love-deprived mother who pays maybe just a tad bit too much attention to her deceased father. There are the two sisters who grow up to be 40 year old 'girls' without a breath of the world, and a boy, Milkman, who is just totally confused and reluctant to grow up. As the story unfolds, we start learning various parts of everything. After Ruth's story after the visit to the cemetery, I honestly did not want to hear another word from her. Her story was feeble, and to be honest, it kinda sounded like a story that a woman from back then was supposed to have. Weak, mellow, and emotional. I did not like it. It sounded like a defense not an account of a story, and in this aspect Macon's story was much more realistic in its presentation. The only person that I am more or less likely to side with is Lena. Her calling Milkman was so different from the rest of the story. Everyone is so weak and somehow in his or her own world. But Lena is the only one that sees what is really going on. And this is a great breath of fresh air for us. After listening to Macon's money tainted speech, Ruth's love-filled pleas, and Milkman's completely carefree attitude, it is nice to get someone who can let us look into the family form the outside, from a normal view. We get a real perspective that opens to us in two pages what has been happening for the past chapters. In that, the story itself begins to change. The plot moves on and starts maturing Milkman, but the narrative also becomes more real. The change is gradual, but it is like Lena started chipping away at Milkman's thick hide of indifference and when Guitar tries to kill Milkman in the forest, the shield finally shatters. Milkman now becomes a man, sees and understands his own actions, sees his family from a different light, and finally finds a mission for his life. Nothing is pointless anymore. And in this sense I like the book more. Things start to go on a realistic course, and it feels great when the main character finally starts understanding things about the world around him. So overall, I feel like the book got better and better after Lena's rant. Everything started finding its own place.