I picked this book up randomly at my public library. One of the other books by this author, Haruki Murakami, was featured by the library. As a Japanese author, Murakami has won numerous awards in Japan and abroad. His work has been featured in various U.S. magazines, such as The New Yorker. The book that I chose, After the Quake, is a series of short stories.
The short stories are based upon the 1995 earthquake that hit the city of Kobe. The author came back to Japan and was so moved by the catastrophic events of the quake that he created six short stories. The only commonality of the six stories is that the earthquake plays some minor or major role in the stories. As described, "each story is affected perhiperally by the disaster." Murakami's writing is very poetic, but flows very easily. It is not laborious to read his work: the book is fast to read. However, I recognize that his writing is a little different than American or British writers. I don't really know how to describe it other than by saying that the scenes or analogies Murakami sets up are not as straight forward or western as American writers. As a result, it was refreshing for me to read work created by a foreign author. I can't remember the last time that I actually read work created by an artist from another country. Most of my reading are created by American writers or immigrant American writers.
I saw the title of this book in the window of my favorite book store (Women and Children First) and I was very intrigued. Then, I saw the author's name "Susan Jane Gilman" written in bold, capital letters and I knew I had to get my hands on it. I don't want to reveal too much of this book because the ending is worth waiting for, but I will say that things are not quite what they seem.
From one of my favorite authors is a memoir about traveling through China in the early '80s. Susan and her friend, Julie, graduate from Brown University and immediately want to take off to conquer the world. They are full of the kind of energy that only 22 year olds have- a sense of excitement and immortality. Unfortunately, things get out of control while in China as they face heavy security, communist agendas, and a third world country. We're talking the kind of China that was just after Nixon as opposed to the China just after the Olympics.The imagery that Gilman creates allows the reader to be there in China. I can't fully explain my emotions when I finished the book, but I can say that my heart ached for the author and the relationships she made and lost. Basically, the author connects the reader to the human experience despite how far off the actual events seem to be.Gilman is a fantastic writer because she is raw and hilarious. She is my kind of woman. I can relate to her memoirs because I hear hints of my own life. After college, I also wanted to conquer the world and went on a solo backpacking trip through Europe. I wanted to be independent and adventurous- all the things that a strong woman should be. Now, I can relive those moments by reading entertaining books by Gilman.
This summer flew by very quickly. I guess most summers end up this way, but between traveling abroad and moving into a house, our time was precious. I read two books that I never got a chance to post. So, here's to rounding out my 2009 summer reading list with two books that are highly recommended.
The first book I neglected to post is a fictional book called Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. This novel was selected as a Bellwether Prize created by Barbara Kingsolver to commend books that discuss issues of social justice and responsibility. As NPR's title of the review of this book states, it is about racism and family secrets. The novel hinges on the racial mores of the deep south during and after WWII. Jordan intended to write the novel in entirely one voice and one character. However, she did not want to lose the thoughts of all the characters in the book. As a result, this is a novel of many different voices and perspectives that all hinge around two families and their inevitable connection to each other.
The other book I had the pleasure of reading is a nonficiton book, which is also a prize winner (National Book Critics Award). Written by Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and Then You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures gives an intense look at a Hmong family's circumstances of their severely epilleptic child. The book gives both perspectives of the Hmong practice of well-being and Western medicine and how these two unendingly conflict with each other. The subject is very fascinating given the history and migration of the Hmong to the United States. At the same time, the subject is incredibly frustrating because there seems to be no real solution to two incredibly polar cultures. I actually read this book around the time that I watched Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. This movie is about a Hmong family's relationship with a white, racist man and how the two come together over an adolescent's fight to stay out of a gang. Similar cultural issue represented in the movie are also discussed in this book.
The famed author, Frank McCourt passed away yesterday. Apparently, he had been sick for a little while, but still taught a memoir writing class at a university in New York. McCourt is most famous for writing a memoir titled, Angela's Ashes, which is based on his childhood of growing up in Limerick, Ireland in abject poverty. I read this book in high school and have forgotten many details about the book. But, having just come back from a trip to Ireland, I am very interested in returning to this novel. The book became a bestseller and won a Pulitzer Prize in the 1990s. McCourt did not write about his childhood until he was in his sixties. At first, he didn't think about writing about his past because he was ashamed and angry. McCourt said in an interview that he had to let go of his angry before he could write the story.
McCourt is also known for writing a later novel, Teacher Man. Although not prize worthy, I really appreciated reading this book especially after my first couple of years teaching. The book is a memoir about McCourt's early career in teaching high school English in the public schools of New York City. I could relate very easily to some of McCourt's woes and troubles: the book is full of anecdotes and stories with no real solution in the end, which oddly made me feel better about myself as a teacher.In regards to our trip to Ireland, I decided to read a fiction book written by another Irish writer. The writer is William Trevor and the book is called The Story of Lucy Gault. I enjoyed reading this book while in Ireland because I could set the scene so easily. Despite not going to Cork, I could easily imagine Lucy Gault's house by the cliffs because we visited many incredible cliffs while in Ireland. 
The story is of a girl who gets left behind by her parents. She isn't able to let go of her guilt because she feels as if she is responsible for all the grief and sadness that happens to her family. Ireland is a tiny country with so much history, flavor, and culture. The picture above was taken on our trip around the Dingle Peninsula, which is the west coast of Ireland. Ireland is a great place to visit and the Irish are great writers, storytellers, and folk singers. The "gift of the gab" is certainly in use in this country.
So it goes...
This book is an American classic and, as a result, it is quite good. I didn't know what to really expect from Vonnegut. Is it a story about the Holocaust? Is it a battle story? It's not really any of these one facets of WWII because it encompasses so much more. I think the true art behind Slaughterhouse-Five is that the author wrote about grave themes in a somewhat light manner as a dark comedy with a rhythmic cadence that makes the book really enjoyable and easy to read. It's one of those books that I find myself asking, "How the hell did the author pull this off?" I mean, Vonnegut included in his anti-war story a protagonist who jumps through time and meets aliens. And yet, Vonnegut is able to pull it off beautifully and well with credibility.The quick synopsis is the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, is an average man who is enlisted and shipped off to Germany to fight in WWII. The character is a captured POW and survives the bombing of Dresden. However, the plot is not a typical war story because the reader gradually becomes exposed to Billy Pilgrim's mind- he time travels, in no particular sequence. For example, in one moment he is with his wife Valencia and then his mind jumps to the large pits of Earth uncovered from the bombing in Dresden. Weaved into these two settings is his belief of being captured by aliens for scientific purposes and is exposed to questions about life. Billy Pilgrim's life unravels as his family, friends, and colleagues lose faith in him because they believe his stories of aliens is outlandish. But, the reader believes Pilgrim's story and feels compassion for the character. This continuous jumping back and forth without real progress towards an end makes it seem as if there is a never ending cycle for Billy Pilgrim. Just when the war appears to be over, he is jumped back to an earlier time and may have to go through things all over again. Also, the aliens that Billy Pilgrim encounter state at one point that Earth will destruct itself and continuously destruct itself- the aliens are used to humans killing other humans. It is a morbid and sad idea as are the scenes from Dresden. Furthermore, Billy Pilgrim knows when, where, and how he is going to die. He lives going through the motions, ultimately knowing the end and having no large feelings or emotions.Parts of this story is actually based on the author's true life experiences of the war. In fact, the author explains that Billy Pilgrim is able to survive the bombing of Dresden, in which thousands of civilians perished, because he is kept underground by the Germans in a meat locker. Apparently, this is also true of the author. The bombing of Dresden by British and American forces remains controversial today because a city that was not known for military purposes was completely destroyed despite the Allied forces saying that the target was critical and necessary. The bombing occurred just a few months before V-E Day (Victory in Europe).
I keep seeing references to Dr. Kessler's book all over the place. One is in the June issue of Women's Health and another is in NY Times. Here's the link to the NY Times article.
Both of these articles hit the mark and the entire 200+ page book is truly reiterated in these short 2-3 page articles.
Enjoy!
If there was a book in the 1950s that mirrored Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City, it is Elaine Dundy's protagonist, Sally Jay Gorce. This semi-autobiographic book is about Sally Jay- the type of character you love despite her quirks, inconsistencies, and stupid mistakes much like Carrie Bradshaw (Did she really have to leave Aidan? I'm mean...COME ON!). I love Sally Jay because she takes Paris by storm at the age of 23 and loves the city for everything I loved the city for when I was the same age. The book brought fond memories, many of which are romanticized in my head and leave me longing for Paris.
Sally Jay goes through a series of self awareness, sexual revelation, and fumbles as she tries to be independent. She is a dreamer and a constant runaway. Despite these faults, she seems to be always honest with herself and with people around her. Sally Jay does not really hide her faults and I found this refreshing. There's the Spaniard, with which she was a mistress for, Jim, one the she should have married, and Larry, the one she should have really run away from. Through these loves, she knows right from wrong, but still seems to go for wrong. I'm not sure if she truly discovered herself at the end of the book. But, then again, the protagonist is only 23 years old and I personally believe every girl is an idiot in their early twenties.One complaint of the book that I have is that it does get a little slow. In the middle of the book, the reader tends to wait for something big to happen. And, when the same problems keep confronting Sally Jay, the reader gets a bit tired. Despite this, the book is a fun summer read.Apparently, the book is Dundy's first attempt at a novel, which created much tension with her then-writer/husband and soon-to-be divorced writer/husband because it was incredibly successful. It made the best seller list when the book debuted. Dundy shared that the story is not totally true to Dundy's experience in Europe, but many of the stories do come from similar experiences- going to a Parsian jail, seeing all the sites, and trying to be the American girl in Paris.
