UPEP Reading Group II: Rereading The Past

Thanks for following along thus far! We finished our first reading group. The 3 readers who showed up every week had so much to say about each novel. I loved our discussions. They are eager to advertise this group to fellow inmates and recruit some more readers for our next group.

When it came time to decide what the next batch of books we shall read, we took a vote. There were 5 themed groups of books and we decided on a group titled "Rereading the Past." This group is centered around 8 novels novels that are retelling and reinterpreting old stories, texts, and archetypes. We will discuss these more contemporary texts in relation to their older source material. Dissecting editorial and structural choices made by each author. We will talk about the intent of each novel and how it helps us revisit these old and ancient stories through a new lens. What parts of these stories make them adaptable to new audiences throughout the years? Why do writers keep revisiting these tales? And what can we learn from multiple retellings of the same story. These are a few of the questions that will help guide our conversations.
Here is a list of the books we will read:

Book 1: Foe by J.M Coetzee (inspired by Robinson Crusoe) 1986
Book 2: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (inspired by Homer's Illiad) 2011
Book 3: East of Eden by John Steinbeck (inspired by Genesis and Cain & Abel) 1952
Book 4: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (inspired by Penelope) 2005
Book 5: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (inspired by Cupid & Psyche) 1956
Book 6: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (inspired by Antigone) 2017
Book 7: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (inspired by ancient and modern myth) 2001
Book 8: The Keep by Jennifer Egan (inspired by Gothic literature) 2006

I hope you enjoy following along. Feel free to share your own thoughts on these novels, and if you have suggestions for other books that would pair well, please share those as well!

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.

Thanks! And keep reading.

Dystopian Fiction - Book 8: "On Such A Full Sea" by Change-rae Lee

We've reached the end of our first reading group. And our final book is On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee. It was somewhat difficult to find a novel to pair with Animal Farm, but dystopia is a broad enough genre that I hope we made it work.

Right as we sat down, one enthusiastic reader said, "This book is like a peony: it opens up just a little bit each day. And then it blossoms." He loved it, said the Lee led him through the novel in soft waves, and he was gently brought into the world of the novel. Two of the readers really loved the style (one of them didn't care for it too much). 

We all seemed to like the "We" narrator(s). A collective narrator has a calming and welcoming effect on the reader, at least with this group. It almost made it like a mythology of sorts--that Fan is this hero whose story has been told again and again over time.

One confounding thing is that Fan isn't exactly a hero, at least in the way we traditionally think of heroes. She doesn't change much throughout the novel and is usually acted upon. She doesn't have a lot of agency throughout the novel. She is taken advantage of as soon as she leaves B-Mor by almost every character she encounters. So what makes her exceptional? One reader she is just a mythologized runaway.

One reader, the one who didn't like it that much, pointed out some SOLID connections to "Animal Farm." He noted how the "we" narrators are akin to the collective animals on the farm. They are somewhat unsettled. And they have limited information (at least the later generations do). They are left to fill in the gaps and focus on the present, as the reasons for their current disposition are distant and foggy.

It was a great conclusion to this reading group. We covered a lot of territory and had some very vibrant discussions. Can't wait for the next one. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Lee, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Chang-rae Lee, as well as some information on On Such a Full sea. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a link to an essay from 2017 by Christopher T. Fan. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.

Stay tuned for our next reading group. It's called "Rereading the Past," and we're really excited about it.

Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Dystopian Fiction - Book 7: "Animal Farm" by George Orwell

The readers said they read Animal Farm in two days; it was short and enjoyable. And we loved talking about it. We didn't pause for a second.

They immediately related the novel to the situations in prison. They all have different experiences having traveled to different prisons and facilities. They talked about how different it is when the guards are "in charge" as opposed to when the inmates are "in charge." They much prefer to guards being in charge. When the officers had no power is when they were most scared. We had a new reader (just for the day), and he related it to some works by Ayn Rand--the kind of "support-the-cause/revolution" type of feeling in her writing.

We also talked about so many different political worlds, both past and present. Everything from WWII to Revolutionary War to the current US administration. In "Animal Farm," facts and news are distorted, leaders change their own rules and rhetoric. Readjustments are made to the rations. We were all in awe of the way Orwell's ideas fit so nicely on top of so many different contexts and histories.

We talked about socialism and capitalism, and in this text and perhaps in reality as well, how they both lead to the people at the top getting fat and taking advantage of those below them. Both of these routes lead to corruption. They lead the lower-class to the same place, just with slightly different autonomies. 

The role of hope came out in our discussions, which was surprising. One reader talked about how much people can endure if they have hope. They can endure lots of conflict and suffering if they have hope and something to look forward to. This is also the same way with fear. The animals are afraid of Mr. Jones. And in what ways do political figures use fear to manipulate the bodies they govern? All of these ideologies have different ideals and "utopias" they are striving for--it's just the getting there that's the problem.

This was one of the more robust conversations we've had. We went all over the map, talking about the book and how its ideas correlate to our world and the world of the past. We all marveled at Orwell's accomplishment with this novel and how true it rings to this day. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Orwell, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of George Orwell, as well as some information on Animal Farm.  You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot