It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon, my husband
is not around, and my book group just met this morning, so it seems like the perfect
time to write a new post, even though it’s a day early. It’s supposed to be bright, but chilly,
tomorrow, the kind of day when I enjoy getting outside, so I’m
thankful for the rain this afternoon.
I read Jamie Ford’s new book last week, Songs
of Willow Frost, which I plan to review for the local paper. If you recall, my book group read his first
book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter
and Sweet, earlier this year. This
novel plunges readers into Depression-era Seattle as seen through the eyes of a
young boy who spends his days hoping to be reunited with his mother. Set in
1934, 12-year old William Eng, a young boy who has spent the last five years in
Sacred Heart Orphanage among other lost children, dreams of the day his mother,
Song Liu Eng, will return for him.
Unsure if she is dead or alive, he almost can’t believe his luck when,
on an outing to celebrate the orphanage boys’ collective “birthdays”, he sees a
woman on the film screen that he is sure is his mother, despite the fact that
she goes by the name of Willow Frost. Facing
the stern treatment and racial discrimination at the orphanage along with other
children, William and his friend Charlotte plan their escape to find Willow,
who is appearing in an upcoming live show at one of the city’s theatres. Shift in time back to 1921, where we meet 16-year
old Song Lui, the young daughter of an ailing Cantonese mother and domineering
stepfather, who makes unwelcome advances towards his stepdaughter. Song Lui, who has a part-time job singing in
front of the local music store, draws attention from the crowds with her
lovely, haunting voice. When
circumstances deliver her into an unwelcome situation, being an unwed Chinese
mother, she relies on this job to keep body and soul together while she
struggles to make a comfortable home for her son William, the only thing that
makes her life worth living. She is
forced to give William up, and we are given the opportunity to see how this
decision changes both of their lives. This
novel immerses readers in the social climate of the day and offers them the
opportunity to experience the inequality and poverty that characterized the
community during the 1920s and 1930s, particularly those visited on non-Caucasians. The author also details the history of
theatre and film at that time. While this
novel is sure to satisfy Ford fans, Songs of Willow Frost, like Hotel
on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, seemed flat to me. I can’t explain why this is so. The story, setting and characters are
interesting. The writing is good. But somehow I was unable to “feel” anything for the characters. It was a truly bittersweet tale, and
all-too-believable, yet it failed to affect me.
I think what my book club members said about Hotel was that it
was not “gripping”, but that it was a “nice story”. I felt the same about this novel. Some elements stretched the imagination, but
overall, it was an OK read. I would
recommend it for book clubs, as well as for fans of Ford.
And we discussed Major Pettigrew’s Last
Stand by Helen Simonson this morning.
I had never read this novel before, but it was recommended by one of my
members, so I included it. Set in the
English countryside, in the village of Edgecomb St Mary, the main character is
67-year old Major Ernest Pettigrew, a widower who has just learned that his
brother Bertie has died. He is
devastated by this loss, and, while answering a knock at the door, he collapses
in grief and is comforted by Mrs Ali, the village shopkeeper, from whom he has
been purchasing milk and bread for years, but to whom he has never really spoken. He finds suddenly that they have much to talk
about, and they are drawn into a furtive courtship that consists of Sunday
afternoons discussing Kipling and walks in the park, accompanied by tea and
conversation. This relationship is
discouraged by the village, which is steeped in tradition, and by the Major’s
son, Roger, who is only interested in making money and making the right connections
in the business world. Not only is Mrs.
Ali a woman of colour (although born in Britain, her family is originally from Pakistan); she is also a tradeperson, since she and her
now-deceased husband purchased the shop in the village some years before. While
the novel centres around this budding romance, it is not limited to this
alone. It also explores the values of
youth versus older adults, the differences in cultures, particularly Britain,
Pakistan and America, and the needs of men and women in life and love. Of the five of us in the group, three loved
it, while two did not. Those that loved
it enjoyed the language and wit used by the author, and the humour of some of
the situations. They felt that the novel
was realistic and that the characters were interesting and varied. They felt that the Major’s ability to
gradually let go of the traditions and accept change into his life reflected
the experiences of older people realistically.
Of the two who did not love it, one thought that the Major was too
perfect, and not very realistic at al.
She also felt that the situations all turned out just right, that it was
a fairy tale where everyone got what they wanted and everyone lived “happily
ever after”. I was the other of the two,
and I felt that the novel touched on too many situations in too superficial a
manner. I wondered if maybe it would
have been a better reading experience for me if the author focused on fewer
issues but did so with more depth.
Having said that, upon reflection, I thought that perhaps this how we experience
life, that injustices surround us every day but that it takes a crisis to force
us to notice things, and then we notice everything all at once. It was definitely a good choice for the book
club, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a “feel good” read.
I think that’s all for today. I will have to choose another book to read
now, definitely one for my committee, since I’ve been somewhat lax in that area
recently. But which one to choose, Accusation
by Catherine Bush or The Book of Stolen Tales by D J McIntosh? I know nothing about either one, just that
they are both written by Canadian authors, so I’m very curious to try one and
see how it goes. As always, I’ll let you
know in my next post.
Bye for now…
Julie
PS You may have noticed that I changed my
arrangement of book club lists on the right-hand side – I hope that will make
things easier to find. I’m looking
forward to tackling the books on the 2014 Book Club list, which includes what I
think are some really great titles.
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