I'm not the biggest fan of poetry so keep that in mind as you read this. There are poems that resonate with me and there are poets that I enjoy, but they are far and few. My teacher adores David Lee and I hoped that her enthusiasm would rub off me; it did not. David Lee is not without talent, though, don't get me wrong. There are many people out there that enjoy Lee's poems. My one star is not an issue of bad verse, but rather an issue of preference. I do prefer to not read David Lee.

This semester, I'm gaining more insight into a culture that hardly ever crossed my path. I love that Mukherjee's Desirable Daughters juxtaposes Eastern and Western cultures. Was it my favorite book? No. Did I learn something from it? Yes. Do I regret reading it? I never regret a book.

Desirable Daughters had overlaid Indian and American culture; The Tree Bride juxtaposes British and Indian cultures. The Tree Bride was more difficult for me to read than Desirable Daughters because I knew next to nothing about Indian history. The story's setting is during British rule in India and I felt disconnected while reading because the concepts and events are foreign to me. If anything, this book has taught me that I fail at world history.

I read most of this book once before but didn't finish it. So this is my first time finishing the book and the second time reading it. I really want to like this book. I just don't really understand it as much as I want to. I understand the themes; I just feel like there's more to this story that I'm missing. This isn't a book with elegantly beautiful diction; it is a head-scratcher though.

Out of all of the Three Sisters from Calcutta books I've had to read for class, Miss New India is my favorite. There are many themes in this book, but one that sticks out to me is the idea of a new up and coming generation. This generation is one that readers my age can relate more to; there are technological and economic changes as well as the ideas of sexuality and cultural change. This book felt more real to me.

I am personally not a fan of contemporary poetry, but Tracy K. Smith does a damn good job of it.

I have read a LOT of books this semester; some books were eh and some kind of sucked, but Trethewey's collection on EJ Bellocq's photographs is AMAZING! This is a book I will not sell back to the University bookstore.