Fred Wah is a western Canadian authour who has written a number of books. Diamond Grill is published by NeWest Press (Edmonton), which also published books by Thomas Wharton and Hiromi Goto- that may be where I first heard of Fred Wah because I like to look for books by Canadian authours, I think because I enjoy recognizing the familiar landscapes. Diamond Grill is the authour's memoir about working in his family's Chinese restaurant in the 1950's in Nelson, BC. It is really more of a collection of memories, each one ranging from a half-page to a couple of pages, gathered together to form a story. I read the book years ago and remember enjoying it and wanted to reread it being more familiar with Nelson now. There isn't much focus on the setting, as the novel is concerned more with the cafe's daily rhythms, the authour's memories of his father, the role of ancestry in identity, and the authour's feelings of not quite fitting in anywhere, feeling neither white enough nor Chinese enough but rather somewhere in the middle. This was the first book of Wah's that I read and I really enjoyed it; I believe (can't remember which) I've read others of his and found them also to be very good.
It was also fun to glean a few tidbits of life in Nelson in the 50's, such as that there were a half a dozen Chinese restaurants in town (where did they go?) and a Chinatown area on Lake Street; Wait's News got the first soft-serve ice cream machine in 1953, and there was once a Kootenay Tofu company sometime around the 60's or 70's (no longer in existence so far as I can tell and not associated with Silver King). A good, quick read!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ahh! Its what the kids are reading
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
This is a fun book - soon to be a movie - that is a big hit with teens and tweens. I read one article that said that tween boys love the Cullen vampires as much as teen girls do. Gotta love that! If youwant to stay young read this vampire teen romance! Ther are4 books inthe series and some online additions as well.
L. whoever
This is a fun book - soon to be a movie - that is a big hit with teens and tweens. I read one article that said that tween boys love the Cullen vampires as much as teen girls do. Gotta love that! If youwant to stay young read this vampire teen romance! Ther are4 books inthe series and some online additions as well.
L. whoever
Social Commentary
I would have to recommend all of Shaun Tan's books if youare at all interested in Social Commentary:
http://www.shauntan.net/books.html
I bought the whole lot if anyone want to read them.
The Rabbits is about colonization.
The Arrival is a wordless book about the immigrant experience,
and Tales from Outer Suburbia (I wish I had tought of that title) is about the experience of being from outside the status quo culture. Our whole family experienced that when we moved to B'lodge.
I haven't read the others.
Very powerful means of expression.
L.
http://www.shauntan.net/books.html
I bought the whole lot if anyone want to read them.
The Rabbits is about colonization.
The Arrival is a wordless book about the immigrant experience,
and Tales from Outer Suburbia (I wish I had tought of that title) is about the experience of being from outside the status quo culture. Our whole family experienced that when we moved to B'lodge.
I haven't read the others.
Very powerful means of expression.
L.
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott
I have not read this book yet Still on the holds list. However, this book was a 2008 Giller Prize nominee.
L. whoever
Books By Marina Endicott:
Open Arms - 2001
Good to a Fault - 2008
L. whoever
Books By Marina Endicott:
Open Arms - 2001
Good to a Fault - 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
This was a recommended read by a few different friends- usually a good sign and in this case definitely so. A satisfying read it was, though the story itself is a bit hard to summarize, because the book is so mammoth. It is sort of a fictionalized version of the authour's life so far, and just to give you an idea, this is the author's bio:
"Gregory David Roberts, like the hero of his novel, spent many years as a fugitive. In 1978, after his divorce, losing custody of his daughter, and being convicted of a series of robberies committed to support his heroin habit, he was jailed in an Australian maximum security prison and sentenced to nineteen years. In 1980, he escaped over the prison's front wall, and for the next ten years eluded authorities, living in New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and Europe- but for most of that time in Bombay, where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for the Bombay mafia. He was finally captured in Germany and served out his sentence there and in Australia, during which time he wrote Shantaram. He is now a full-time writer and lives in Bombay."
The authour on his website says, "The rule of thumb for Shantaram, and for the sequel, which I’m completing now in these months, is that the experiences are all real, taken from my own life and direct personal experience, but the characters and the dialogue and the narrative structure are all creations." At the very least, this book is an incredible read just for the fact that the plot is so unbelievably outrageous that you can't help but assume it's fiction, yet much of it (by his own account) is based on experience; it's fun to wonder what is fact and what is fiction. It's a mix of his philosophies, epiphanies, and impressions of Bombay, much of it dealing with the city's black market and organized crime. His writing style is very beautiful and descriptive and philisophical, enough to make you stop and think, but as the plot gathers momentum you may find that you get so swallowed up by it that you stop appreciating the finer points as you get swept along.
I forgot to mention one thing so I'm going to add a (windy) post-script here. The authour states that the theme of Shantaram is exhile- the exhile from his past life when he became an escaped convict. But to me the theme that stood out most was that of retribution versus rehabilitation, and the way that society treats its wrong-doers. The authour's experience with prison and with being labelled as a criminal gives him a point of view that I think many people who have been in his position may share- that the modern justice system is more about vengeance and punishment than it is about leading someone to the right path and helping them to live within society. What purpose does prison really serve, a place where people are beaten and humiliated, except to satisfy the righteous and the wronged? It doesn't teach people that what they've done is wrong, or hurtful, and certainly not in a way that allows them to re-enter society as more compassionate and humane people. If anything it makes their struggle harder, or their resentment stronger, neither of which helps society as a whole deal with its inevitable problem of wrong-doers. So many literary works throughout history follow the theme that vengeance leads only to sorrow. Shantaram brings a new interpretation to the age-old theme, told through the eyes of the criminal himself, and expresses a valuable viewpoint that I think so many of us have never personally encountered. Says a character in the book, "justice is not only the way we punish those who do wrong. It is also the way we try to save them."
"Gregory David Roberts, like the hero of his novel, spent many years as a fugitive. In 1978, after his divorce, losing custody of his daughter, and being convicted of a series of robberies committed to support his heroin habit, he was jailed in an Australian maximum security prison and sentenced to nineteen years. In 1980, he escaped over the prison's front wall, and for the next ten years eluded authorities, living in New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and Europe- but for most of that time in Bombay, where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for the Bombay mafia. He was finally captured in Germany and served out his sentence there and in Australia, during which time he wrote Shantaram. He is now a full-time writer and lives in Bombay."
The authour on his website says, "The rule of thumb for Shantaram, and for the sequel, which I’m completing now in these months, is that the experiences are all real, taken from my own life and direct personal experience, but the characters and the dialogue and the narrative structure are all creations." At the very least, this book is an incredible read just for the fact that the plot is so unbelievably outrageous that you can't help but assume it's fiction, yet much of it (by his own account) is based on experience; it's fun to wonder what is fact and what is fiction. It's a mix of his philosophies, epiphanies, and impressions of Bombay, much of it dealing with the city's black market and organized crime. His writing style is very beautiful and descriptive and philisophical, enough to make you stop and think, but as the plot gathers momentum you may find that you get so swallowed up by it that you stop appreciating the finer points as you get swept along.
I forgot to mention one thing so I'm going to add a (windy) post-script here. The authour states that the theme of Shantaram is exhile- the exhile from his past life when he became an escaped convict. But to me the theme that stood out most was that of retribution versus rehabilitation, and the way that society treats its wrong-doers. The authour's experience with prison and with being labelled as a criminal gives him a point of view that I think many people who have been in his position may share- that the modern justice system is more about vengeance and punishment than it is about leading someone to the right path and helping them to live within society. What purpose does prison really serve, a place where people are beaten and humiliated, except to satisfy the righteous and the wronged? It doesn't teach people that what they've done is wrong, or hurtful, and certainly not in a way that allows them to re-enter society as more compassionate and humane people. If anything it makes their struggle harder, or their resentment stronger, neither of which helps society as a whole deal with its inevitable problem of wrong-doers. So many literary works throughout history follow the theme that vengeance leads only to sorrow. Shantaram brings a new interpretation to the age-old theme, told through the eyes of the criminal himself, and expresses a valuable viewpoint that I think so many of us have never personally encountered. Says a character in the book, "justice is not only the way we punish those who do wrong. It is also the way we try to save them."
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