Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
I don't usually read short stories. No reason, I just typically haven't. But, I saw this book all over bookstagram and it kept getting referenced as just a wonderful collection that explores relationships and race. Since this year I have commited to reading more diverse authors , this seemed like a good book to pick up. I'm really glad I did! A few of the stories, while good, didn't stick with me . But a couple really stood out and I can't stop thinking about them.
Boys Go to Jupiter was my favorite. A white college student poses in a confederate flag bathing suit and then refuses to admit there is anything wrong with it. The author does some interesting things to try to make us sympathize with the student by giving us her back story which is kind of sad. I almost fell for it. I listened to a podcast called the Stacks and they discussed this in detail. The Podcaster mentioned how she is sure white women and black women will feel differently in this story. She's right. I had to stop and think, why would I be sympathizing with this young woman? Why does the fact that she has a black best friend and a tragic backstory make it okay that she did this terrible thing and refuses to apologize for it and makes excuses for it? So, I didn't. I didn't sympathize with her. I reexamined my feelings and thought about how ignorance is not an excuse for bad behavior. the story is just really well done.
Anything Could Disappear was also really good. A young black woman is carrying drugs and ends up with an abandoned baby boy. I wasn't sure what she was going to do. Not sure I expected her to keep him or what happens next. It feels like this could be a movie! You get invested in her life in this short story and the ending was sad.
Finally the Novella at the end, Office of Historical Corrections was a nice way to wrap it up. This story is about a government agency whose job is to correct historical mistakes. The young woman in the story corrects signs, tourist discussing history, newspaper articles, etc. Cassie is assigned to find out about a sign that has been changed and without giving away too much, there is controversy with an old friend and a family secret to be exposed about a racist white man.
I gave the collection 4 Stars even though there were a couple of stories that were forgettable. The ones that stood out made the collection worth reading and highly recommending .
Since this is Juneteenth weekend, I started thinking about what food to make. On Instagram, I follow the hashtag, #Juneteenthcookout2021 and there were so many great recipes and food ideas for a cookout. There was also some good history attached to the food. Stories about why red food and drink is so important. I didn't post on the 19th because it kind of felt like it wasn't my day to post. I read a few articles about Juneteenth and watched a couple of videos.
I decided to make mom's coleslaw which would be something i might take to a cookout. Mom loved this coleslaw partly because of how sweet it is. She liked her food sweet! Next time I make it, i'm going to cut the sugar back.
Mom's slaw
1 bag of slaw mix
1 carrot or a handful of petite carrots cut into small pieces or shredded
1/2 onion-chopped fine or shredded
1 yellow bell pepper. Mom used green bell peppers but i don't care for green peppers. I would go with red or yellow or orange . Chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped up parsley
3/4 cup of mayo
3/4 cup of sugar (Next time i'm making this 1/2 cup)
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
black pepper
Mix all of the slaw together. Mix the mayo, sugar, seeds and pepper together and pour over. mix well and chill.
Delicious. Happy reading!
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