Trying to Float by Nicolaia Rips: book review

Trying to Float: Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel (2016) is set in the Hotel Chelsea, New York, from 1998 to 2015. This is a Young Adult book - the memoir of a 17-year-old school girl who has lived her whole life in the infamous Hotel Chelsea.

This is not just a memoir, it is also about the historic Hotel Chelsea, famed since it was built in 1966 for its legendary guests, such as Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, Gore Vidal, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Satre, Leonard Cohen, and Patti Smith.

Father Michael, a writer, and mother Sheila, an artist, moved into a one-room apartment in the hotel and set about finding a school for Nicolaia (Nicki). Slow academically, and slow to fit in socially, Nicki was nevertheless gifted in public speaking. Shy at school yet precocious in her home-hotel setting, this is her story of trying to make friends among a motley crew. For not only is the school the institution for children of well known celebrities or wealthy people, but it is also a school of cliques, and the hotel is not only a place for the artistic but also for home to drug addicts, ladies of the night, misfits and mavericks.

At school there are Pippi the dance teacher, Doris, Uhura, Fan, Janie, Greta, Noah, Roberto, Ned and the secret group. In the hotel there are The Crafties, an 80-year-old sexually ambiguous Storme, the Capitan, Artie and his wife Colleen and daugher Dahlia.

Although there is a cast of characters, this is predominantly about outcasts and awkwardness, friendlessness and loneliness. There is nothing fancy in the writing, but there are witty and comical life-episodes, with a blend of self-deprecating humour and sassy initiative.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog