Lucy + Opal Mehta

I am a proud member of the Guyana Book Club. Dont be fooled by the title, half the time we spend gaffing is not even about the books.

Last Saturday we talked about Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid and How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life. Both books dealt with the lives of 18 year olds. However that is where the similarities ended.

Lucy is an West Indian Immigrant who has come to America to work as an au pair. I had studied Lucy in my third year as part of my WI literature course. I had looked at the theme of colonization in the novel, as represented by the Daffodils. I was shocked to find that Dionne ( the driving force behind the bookclub ) had disliked the novel, find Lucy's frequent sexual encounters unrealistic and too much. I always thought the sex was Lucy's way of exploring who she was. To be honest i had not reread the book and am a little dim on the details. All of Kincaid's books seems to be one and the same because of the recurrent imagery and themes.

What i had liked about Lucy is that she had this love / hate relationship with her mother. She strove to be as much unlike her mother as possible but in several instances we see that Lucy is her mother's alter ego. This theme is more apparent in Annie John. Although the names of the protagonists differ it is easy to see that Lucy picks off where Annie John leaves off. The ending of Annie John the protagonist leaves for America to become an Au Pair and Lucy begins with the protagonist arriving in America. in addition, although Lucy is glad to be free of the British influenced culture of her homeland she is immensely home sick. She is constantly immersed in the memories she tries to put behind her.

Lucy also explores the creation of art with her picture taking. The novel ends with Lucy writing in her note book. The journey of the artist has truly begun.



How Opal Mehta Got Kisses, Got Wild and Got a Life is a short, funny read about an 18 year old's journey to Harvard. Opal Mehta states: "Ever since my family moved to New Jersey from Chennai India, I had known that i was meant to attend Harvard. Okay, so i wasn't actually born when they moved, but i'm certain some of the Harvard vibes reached me in the womb." In the next paragraph she tells us about HOWGIH - How Opal Will Get Into Harvard.

The interviewer tells Opal that Harvard likes her academics however she isnt well rounded enough. Her parents come up with another plan : HOWGAL - How Opal will get a life. The plan requires her becoming a typical American Brat. I i enjoyed the book immensely. I could identify with the whole brains vs beauty theme and trying to fit in. Thankfully in the end, Opal discovers her fun is in the NERDY stuff not partying, drinking and being well ....... a bitch.

However, having watched a lot of American TV, and movies about American teens i find nothing new in the approach. I was surprised to hear from Dionne that there had been a big fuss over the book and it has been pulled from the shelves. Due to the write plagiarizing a majority of the book from other novels by Megan Mcaffery, Sophie Kinsella and even Rushdie. I honestly thought that Kaavya Viswanathan could have been writing her own experiences due to the similarities of her background that that of Opal. All and all a wonderful book, light read. seems to be popular among younger readers seeing as only me and Sanja liked it while the older members of book club did not.