In The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Amy Tan draws the heartbreaking, complex picture of the relationship between Ruth Young, the middle-aged Chinese-American daughter of LuLing. LuLing’s story is woven into Ruth’s life just as quickly and mercilessly as it is threaded into the reader’s life. It is a sad tale involving dragon bones, World War II China, love, death, and acceptance. Ruth assists in the writing of self-help books; on top of her problems with the authors she helps, she is increasingly finding difficulty with her home situation - Art, her boyfriend, is a divorcee with two daughters, and her struggle to understand her mother’s words is apparent.
LuLing has given her a chance to understand her, however; Ruth receives a diary of sorts describing - well, she isn’t sure. She holds on to it for a long time as her Chinese is terrible, and it’s not until she finally submits it to an expert to translate that she realizes LuLing’s signs of Alzheimer’s aren’t quite as bad as she suspects. She discovers with the reader the truth of LuLing’s past, the significance of ghosts, and the beauty that can come from healing past scars.
It’s hard to formulate a real review of this book; there is so much going on in it - I haven’t even summarized the half of it. It is divided into three parts. The first describes Ruth in a bit of detail including what she’s dealing with and her concern for her mother. The second is the translation of LuLing’s diary as presented to Ruth by the translater who, we discover in the third part, has fallen in love with LuLing through her words. It’s not quite as miraculous as it seems; there is depth in the details presented and one easily feels he/she is struggling through World War II era China right along with LuLing and her family. The third part illustrates Ruth’s reactions to the tale, and her decision of what to do with her mother.
This is an engrossing book which I barely found time to put down. The characters drew me in more than anything else. Ruth reminds me a bit of myself - nitpicky, a little unreasonable, but extremely concerned for those she loves. LuLing shows a strength of will and heart that is almost incomparable by any of the other characters in my life; I imagine it would be an honor to know such a formidable woman. Art, despite Ruth’s misgivings, is an ever-supportive partner. GaoLing, LuLing’s sister (of sorts), shows admirable confidence in her sister’s ability to survive; she also sticks by her through and through without hesitation. It was a quick read, but by no means a light one. I found myself crying several times throughout this book, maybe in part because of the river-flow of smooth, eloquently chosen words, but I think it is mostly because I was sincerely torn when the characters were. I felt for them. I felt like I was with them.
As Ruth finds her voice in the course of this book, so I also felt like I had found something unrecognized previously within me. At the beginning, she is frustrated, feeling useless as one able to speak but unable to speak for her mother - in her defense? Or perhaps she is upset because she cannot find the words to tell her mother how she feels. Once she has read LuLing’s story, however, she finds her voice once again. She speaks out to GaoLing, to Art, to every influence in her life she feels is wanting. Her voice returns as her strength deepens, and I had the impression this is because she discovered a part of her that was once lost. She never knew, of course, LuLing’s struggles, but by learning the truth she has gained bits and pieces of her own past, as well as her mother’s and grandmother’s, thus puzzling together a whole Ruth who feels more complete to face the changes coming in her life. Her voice returns, and I felt full again too.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter is an illustrious painting of the lives within. Layers reveal hidden intricacies of each character - like a special cream-filled surprise. I enjoyed this book, but it hasn’t encouraged me to read other books by the author. This is my first Amy Tan book, unlike most other readers who started with Joy Luck Club (I haven’t even seen the movie!), but as beautifully executed as it was, it wasn’t memorable. It’s been four days since I’ve finished it, but I sadly can’t think of very much else to say in my review. I loved it while I was reading it. I was inside it (as I mentioned); I felt I was part of the story. If I had reviewed it immediately, this post would probably be much longer and full of details pertaining to ink-making and hard work, Ruth and LuLing’s voices, mother-daughter relationships, love in times of war, and who knows what else! But I quickly forgot all the details I wanted to impress in relation to these themes; even now, I can only recall that these were themes, but I wouldn’t be able to give a detailed account.
It was an extremely good book and I would recommend it to anyone, but only under the expectation that the joy won’t last. This is not one of those books that will become a “favorite book;” you won’t cry for the characters after the last page is turned. You’ll have a fond memory of it, knowing that you really loved it, but you won’t be able to say why.
What? Another challenge? Well, I get sucked in easily. This is actually Japanese Literature Challenge #2, but it’s #1 for me because I missed the first one. I get to pick three books and read them between July 30, 2008 and January 30, 2009. No biggie, right? Well, I’m going to stay away from making them all Haruki Murakami books, because it’s more fun that way. So here are my three, plus some alternatives:
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
- Modern Japanese Literature, an anthology of works from 1868-present day (which is actually 1981)
- The Laws of Evening by Mary Yukari Waters
Alternates:
- Rashomon and 17 other stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
- When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
- The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (or at least part of it!)
- Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa (manga)
Wish me luck, and I also hope that more people will join in this challenge!
If you’re browsing challenge pages looking for suggestions on your reading selection (for this challenge or any other that involves Japanese lit), here’s what I recommend:
- xxxHolic by Clamp (manga)
- Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
- Ghosts And The Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends by Barre Toelken (for you folklore-y types)
- Path of the Assassin by Kazuo Koike (manga)
- Gon by Masashi Tanaka (manga)
I know, I know, I’m copping out today. I think I have a really good reason for it, though; I want to spend more time reading and less time online.
So today I’m doing the Where’s Your Book Set meme provided by Blue Archipelago (who is also hosting the July Book Blowout challenge… another reason I would like to read more today!).
1. Title and author of the book
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
2. What year is the book set in?
World War II and before, also I assume the early 2000’s for the “present time” stuff.
3. What happened on this day in that year? Go to google and type in the date ie 13 July 1952 and see if you can find a news item for that day.
Well, exact years aren’t given. Time just kind of… happens. So I’m going to say that the part I’m currently reading was in 1940 during the Sino-Japanese war (give or take a few years). I’m after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident but the end of the war hasn’t happened yet… So this is just a guess. 
On July 13, 1940, Patrick Stewart was born. Okay, it wouldn’t have been a “news item” back then, but the only other thing I can find is from Historyofwar.org stating that Italian troops from Abyssinia attack the British garrison at Moyale on the border between Abyssinia and Kenya. Wow.
4. Where is your book set?
China and America/San Fransisco
5. Have you visited that place before? If yes tell us something about your trip. If no, look the location up on google and tell us an interesting fact about the city/country.
No on both counts. I’ll put this in because it’s relevant to the book:
Chinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout Chinese history. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant, from Oracle bones to Qing edicts. This literary emphasis affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, e.g. the view that calligraphy was a higher art form than painting or drama. Manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were handwritten by ink brush. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions. (Wikipedia)
That said, I’m still slugging through The Bonesetter’s Daughter for my book club. It’s actually quite a good book, but it’s really sad so it’s hard to get the motivation to read straight through. Next I’m going for something a little more light-hearted - Fatal Attraction by Alicia Fields. As you can see from my recently read list, I’ve been diving into more paranormal/romancey type of books, putting out more feelers in the genre if you will. I like the strong men with fatal flaws and supernatural powers; this one, however, stars Aphrodite, so it’ll be really interesting to see whether it butchers Greek mythology like the Gena Showalter books did (*cough* still like them *cough*) or if I’ll come back in a week and tell you it was the truest portrayal I’ve ever seen. I’ve also acquired Inkspell and Dragon Rider, both by Cornelia Funke, since I enjoyed Inkheart so much… But I’ll probably read those after I’ve gotten through the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, as they were so graciously lent to me by Hev. I know! Lots of young adult mingled in there, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Until next week! Hopefully I’ll have an honest-to-God real post about reading then.
When you enter Beaumont Library, you’re greeted with the smiling faces of enthusiastic employees and patrons. They’re always smiling. They are all extremely happy to be there and the librarians are always happy to assist. That’s what makes Beaumont Library such a wonderful community place.
Eve never thought she would get the job, but she had gotten a reply not a week after her application. It had taken a month to get her affairs settled back home, say goodbye to her friends, and sort through her belongings. A trip across the country to live in a hotel requires one to give up certain material objects.
The hotel wasn’t ideal, of course. Eve wished she had found an apartment in time, but she refused to live somewhere she’d never been inside. Looking at pictures on the Internet was fine, but it wasn’t proper to sign a year long lease based on a photograph. Now she was stuck in a small hotel room until she found suitable living conditions. Thus far, Portland hadn’t much to offer.
She sighed and looked around her. Already she had made a good friend in a coworker, a woman named Carla. She was mousey, like Eve, but she had a radiant personality to match her gorgeous blonde hair. Eve, on the other hand, was a little shy at first. Carla was very welcoming, however, and opened her up before any of the other employees could. She was sure Eve would fit right in and feel at home within a month. Eve wanted to agree.
A child walked up to the desk asking for any books about dragons. The other librarians were assisting others, so Eve took a deep breath and officially began her role as a Beaumont Library employee.
“Did you want dragon story books, or are you just looking for books that talk about dragons as an animal?”
The child looked unsure of herself, biting her lip and looking towards the ground. “I suppose both would do,” she said quietly, clearly trying to sound as educated on the subject as possible, though Eve gathered that perhaps this one had only read one or two things about dragons and wanted to explore further. She smiled. Kids were so wonderful.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. I happen to know a bit about dragons so I might be able to show you a few that you’d like.”
The child’s face brightened and she followed obediently as Eve led her to the fantasy side of the children’s book section. In truth, she only knew as much as she’d read, which wasn’t a lot; not to mention the fact that Eve didn’t generally read literature for kids, so she lacked the knowledge necessary to recommend specific books. She made a mental note to fix this as soon as possible.
“Let’s see… Well, have you read the Eragon books? I haven’t read them myself, but they seem to be very popular.”
The girl determindly shook her head no, adding, “I don’t like those.” She looked disgusted at the thought, which was just as well because Eve noticed that the books were all checked out.
“Here’s one! I read these when I was your age. They’re very good, and funny to boot.” She handed the girl a copy of the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Eve had indeed enjoyed those when she was younger and she remembered a time when she would wait impatiently for the next in the series to be released. She’d call the bookstore almost daily until, finally, they revealed that there was a copy waiting just for her. The girl looked ecstatic and egged the librarian on for more selections. The book she clutched tightly to her chest.
That was the extent of Eve’s knowledge, but fortunately for her, most dragon books for kids have the word “dragon” in the title. She started a stack for the girl including Dragonwings by Laurence Yep, Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, Dragon’s Nest by Emily Rodda (the first in a series), How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by Joe Nigg, among others. With every book added to the pile, the girl looked at Eve in absolute admiration. Clearly, she had superpowers.
Eve offered another of her warm smiles. It was rewarding enough just to get that kind of look from any patron, but from a child it made her entire career choice worthwhile. When she’d collected all she could, she turned to the child. “Well, I hope you’re happy with this selection! If you ever have any other questions, you can come to me if you’d like. My name is Eve, and it’s very nice to have been able to help you today.”
All shyness left the child. She set the books on a table and said, “Oh, thank you very much for helping me. I’m going to read all these books! I’m Georgette Walla.” It was very formal the way Georgette politely offered her hand, shook Eve’s, and then waited to see if Eve had anything else to say. Seeing that Eve wasn’t going to continue, she picked up her books, slurred a “thank you, Miss Eve” and hurried off into the opposite direction. Eve was struck. She wasn’t shocked that the girl was so polite, but that she was so forward, and that she had called her “Miss Eve.” Like a dream come true.
She vaguely heard Georgette calling to her “Uncle Chris” about all the books she found and wanted to check out, but Carla was beckoning her over to the circulation desk so she couldn’t ponder her victories for the moment.
“That was great! I told you that you’d fit right in.”
Eve blushed. She thought there was something important Carla wanted to say; she hadn’t realized that the whole encounter had been witnessed and that her friend was ever ready to praise her.
“You did really well, I’m so proud of you. And I can tell by your face that you’re proud of yourself!”
“Well, you know, I worked at a library before I came here. It’s not like I’ve never helped a patron before!”
Carla glared, but with a playful grin. “Of course, but you worked in a city library. At city libraries, you probably have less chance to help the relatives of rockstars.”
Eve stood stark still and silent. “Rock stars?” she squeaked.
“Yeah, they come in here all the time. I think she’s his niece or something. See?” She pointed in Georgette’s direction; she was excitedly explaining every book in the stack to her “Uncle Chris” who nodded and smiled at each, sometimes adding inaudible commentary.
Eve relaxed, then shrugged. “If he’s a rock star, I don’t know his band. Sorry.” No need to get worked up. It’s not like he was Kurt Cobain back from the dead. That certainly would have been frightening.
“Oh my gosh, act natural.” Carla started rustling papers and decided it’d be best to tie up the landline by picking up the phone and pretending to help a patron. Georgette was pointing in their direction; Eve guessed that the girl was pointing out the librarian who had helped her find all those interesting books. Again, she shrugged, and started making her grocery list. Anything that would get Carla’s intense stare off of her for not immediately “acting natural” in the presence of someone who was clearly important to her.
Georgette led the rock star over and plopped her stack of dragon books on the counter. Her smile spanned from ear to ear. “We’d like to check these out, please, Miss Eve.”
Eve blushed and grinned at the same time, happy that she’d been addressed again as ‘Miss Eve.’ She was disappointed, however, that she had to send the child away. “Sorry, Miss Georgette, but the check out counter is right across the room there. Do you see it next to the Now Read poster?” The girl nodded energetically. “They’ll help you get your books out so you can start reading them.”
“Thank you!” Georgette piped.
“Yes, thanks for helping her find her books, otherwise we would have been here all day,” said the rock star, who winked and then followed his niece towards the check out counter.
Carla gaped. Eve felt no change in her thoughts until her friend spoke.
“What are the chances that I have worked here for five years and his niece has never approached me, but on your third day you not only get to help her find all kinds of books but he actually speaks to you? I seriously have been,” she coughed, “admiring him from afar for a while.”
Though she had little attraction to the man, Eve glowed a little on the inside. It wasn’t often that someone found reason to be jealous of her, especially not based on a chance encounter, and it felt good to be the subject of adoration for once.
This was my first Norman Mailer book. Popping in and out of book forums around the Internet I discovered that a lot of people hold this author in very high regard. Some people even have related handles, and to create an alias from a living person (well, living at the time) must imply a certain degree of admiration. So I decided I would read a Norman Mailer book sometime, and it was when I was trying to decide which one looked interesting to me that The Castle in the Forest came out. Enamored as I am with European history of that era, the contest ended. This was going to be my first Norman Mailer book. It would decide whether or not I’d continue on to another one.
This is not for the weak of heart. The Book Thief, as I said in my review, may be too painful a work to read especially for those who find the events to be too close for comfort. This, however, is a vivid illustration of an Austrian family ridden with incest, hatred, fear, apprehension, manipulation, and above all, a mother’s love. This is not just the story of Adolf Hitler’s childhood; it is an explanation of the seeds which created his evil and a portrait of the mother and father who nourished him.
The narrator, a devil, possesses the body of an SS man named Dieter. He tells the reader of a pre-Adolf world; the bulk of the book seemed more about his father than about him, but his mother certainly holds a strong role in the play. As do his brothers and sisters - in fact, every character is so fully explained in this book that it makes one feel like it is not at all about Adolf but more about “the Hitlers.” Though the devil was assigned to follow dear Adi, he somehow managed to sink into much more familial detail.
No matter. It strengthened the painting to have such details intensified. This, as I’ve said, is not the story of the man you and I think of when we hear the name “Adolf Hitler.” Just the same, I say it’s not for the faint of heart. Nothing in this book excuses Adolf’s decisions, but as the narrator works for Satan, you can’t imagine the narration to be all too pleasant. I couldn’t put it down, but others may be offended by the language. To be sure, there wasn’t a lot of cursing, but intricate description of less-than-attractive subjects are certainly present. And the smells! There are so many smells described in this book that the reader finds herself shivering on more than one occasion.
So, against the rules of his kind, this devil in the form of an SS in service to Heinrich Himmler has decided to write down his research into Adolf Hitler’s history. It is only in the end where he explains the title of the book, another reason I would give caution to anyone jumping into the idea of reading this. It’s good - very good, actually - and I am more prone to purchase other Norman Mailer books and read them now. I will probably recommend this more often than not. But it throws a curve ball at you. It reminds you that you cannot blame one single individual for such abominable crimes.
Some people, I know, would not like to admit this. They would like to single out one name, something that sounds particularly evil, and blame just him for the acts of many. I would not suggest this book to those people.
Ach, so it makes you think. There are a few scenes which are implanted on my brain right now, though I don’t know if it’s because they were particularly sweet and disturbing, or because they were so well described. This is one of those books which, after you’ve read it, you wish you knew someone else who’d also read it so the two of you could talk about it in some depth. There isn’t much in the way of politics here, except perhaps Alois’ (Adolf’s father) desire to climb up the social ladder. You don’t even meet Adolf until half the book is already in your memory, and when you do meet him it’s with varying degrees of hatred and pity. It isn’t one of those books that falsely makes you want the character to succeed. It doesn’t claim you so much that you feel the devil is inside you also. It’s merely a narrative well and fully presented. The story of a family and the struggles each individual in that family had to face.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the tangents the devil would go into. He’s helpful with it - lets you know the exact page he’ll be getting back to Adolf’s life, if you wanted to skip his tangents - but I still can’t figure out why it was necessary to include a whole section on the Tsar of Russia and his involvement with a massacre. If this was about that devil and his experiences influencing and inspiring his clients, yes, then it would be understandable. It made me wonder if perhaps this was more the story of that devil and the powers that devils have in this world rather than simply a narration about a well-known historical figure. It’d be interesting, I think, but probably not so interesting without Norman Mailer.
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