Entry 8
Through and Through Toledo Stories by Joseph Geha. This PowerPoint was presented by Meimi Desta. Similar to Inheritance of Exile, the book covers multiple stories and protagonists, 8 in the original version and 11 in the updated one. This includes Monkey Business, Everything Everything, Almost Thirty, Through and Through, as well as several more. When this is the case it keeps the book interesting as it doesn’t just focus on one person. Stories are a great way to learn about others and show that there is more to someone that you initially think. Various stories contain various perspectives and reading them can teach you something new as well as add to your own. Even when fictional, there’s still truth within it. Books like this one the scenarios are meant to be realistic. Even though this is not the first time I read a book like this, which applies to both in and out of this particular class, it still expanded my knowledge of Arab-American literature. Aside from learning Arabic worlds which I will likely butcher trying to pronounce (which I have done in class) Through and Through Toledo Stories shows the importance of stories as well as the time in which they take place. The book is not only divided into sections of multiple characters, but it’s also divided into different time periods ranging from the 1930s to the present day. This way three different generations’ experiences can be compared and contrasted. The time period is one of the factors that plays into the story. Different generations have different views and ideas that define them. Every new generation had also been paved by the previews. Despite all that some things stay the same as shown with the theme of the evil eye. That is mentioned several times all throughout the book.
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