It’s time again for an installation of Traveling Marla’s book club!

This month’s book was Rusty Bell by Nthikeng Mohlele. This book was a challenge for me as a reader—I enjoy a good flawed narrator, but the voice that takes the reader through this novel is, as I said to Marla when I sent in my questions, a piece of goddamn work.

That said, there’s always something to learn from reading, even if a book isn’t to your personal taste. Reading Rusty Bell made me think about a lot of my own assumptions and biases, and revealed some to me that I hadn’t realized I harbored. It made me think about the role of the narrator, and what changes in the reading experience when one can’t find anything to relate to in a character. I learned a lot from reading Rusty Bell, and I’m grateful that Marla’s book club gave me the motivation to get through it and give it thoughtful consideration, rather than only a gut reaction.

To learn more about the book, and to read the submitted questions and the author’s responses, check out Marla’s book club!