The Order I'll Be Reading My Books Is...

1.) A Complicated Kindness – Miriam Toews
2.) Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
3.) Girl with a Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier
4.) The Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

My reasons for choosing to read the novels in this order consist of evening out the themes and relations each of the novels have in common with each other. Nomi Nickel (Protagonist) of A Complicated Kindness, Chiyo (Protagonist) of Memoirs of a Geisha, Griet (Protagonist) of Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Nanny (Protagonist) of The Nanny Diaries, have a lot in common. Putting aside the difference in time period and geographical location of the various settings, I decided to group these novels based on character, themes and plot relations. All four main characters are women. All four novels reflect themes of coming of age. All four women are strong and courageous in the situations that they are faced with (Nomi – 1. Dealing with life without a mother, after years of having the family together and by her side, 2. Destined to work at the local chicken abattoir, doesn’t want to, but knows she has to in order to support herself), (Chiyo – 1. Dealing with her mother’s terminal illness after years of having the family all together, 2. Must work as a Geisha, doesn’t want to but knows she must in order to support herself and the family), (Griet – 1. Dealing with her family’s poverty, watches as her parents struggle to keep things going, 2. Must be a maid in the Vermeer household, even if it means being homesick, but is responsible enough to know she must do this to support the family), (Nanny – 1. Dealing with tuition problems, has to earn money to pay for her schooling, 2. Must be a nanny for a family she despises and pities at the same time, but she knows she has to in order to support herself).

These are the reasons why I chose to group the novels the way I did:

The first two books I’m going to read, A Complicated Kindness and Memoirs of a Geisha have dealing with drastic changes in their family lives (both girls don’t have their mothers in their lives), and working at jobs they would rather avoid, in common.

The second book, Memoirs of a Geisha and third, Girl with a Pearl Earring, have dealing with poverty, (forcing them to do jobs they’d rather not do to support their families), and settings in foreign countries in the past, in common.

The third book, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and fourth, The Nanny Diaries, have overcoming financial issues (by working at jobs they’d rather not do), and a romance on the side, in common.

So the main genre of these novels is coming of age, and the themes reflect independence, confidence and maturity in these young women while trying to find themselves, along with doing what they can to get by – even if it means doing something they don’t like or would rather not do.