Sunday, June 17, 2018

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Li-Yan is a girl child born into an Akha family, one of China's ethnic minorities.  They live on a remote, rural mountain and their lives are guided by strong traditions and superstitions.  In the late 20th century, they know nothing of electricity or television or gas powered automobiles. Their lives are simple, uncomplicated.

The families make a meager living by harvesting tea leaves.  When a stranger arrives one day in his car and enters through the spirit gate, the village is changed forever.  He teaches them the value of different types of tea which brings wealth and prosperity to their lives.  He also opens Li-Yan's eyes to the outside world.  On the recommendation of her teacher, who convinces the tribe elders the Li-yan has promise, even though she is a girl, to go to the city to further her education.

Li-Yan, however has fallen in love with Sanpa, a boy whose stars do not align with hers.  The marriage is forbidden but their love overrides whatever the horoscopes have predicted.  That choice sends her life down a path that even the wisest sage of the village couldn't have predicted.

I am a huge Lisa See fan, having read almost all of her novels.  I loved, loved, loved The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. In my opinion, this is her best novel yet.  Included in a great story of Chinese tradition meets the whirlwind, you will learn all you never knew about tea.  Trust me, you'll want to sit down with a nice hot cup and have a good conversation to go with it.  I couldn't put this one down.  

Sunday, June 10, 2018

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Joe, a 13 year old boy and his family are members of the Chippewa Nation, living on the reservation. His father is a judge in the tribal judicial system.  When his mother, Gerlaldine becomes a victim of a violent crime, a search for justice on all levels of society begins.

Geraldine withdraws to her darkened bedroom.  Joe is left with out a mother for reasons he doesn't understand.  His father is left without a wife and companion, replaced by a crime he is desperate to solve. Joe seeks comfort in his friends and family on the reservation, teenagers and adults, young and old, all who help him to understand a small piece of his anger.  He is left however, to put the pieces of the puzzle together on his own.

Sometimes I found the story difficult to follow.  The story begins in 1988, with Joe as the narrator. Throughout the book, we are thrust into the future to see Joe as an adult, married man with children and then we are whipped quickly back into past again. He is older and wiser but to me he seemed like a different person than the Joe at 13, I adored. We are all different than in our teenage years but I wasn't quite sure if I liked the grown up Joe.

The Round House is intense. The window into tribal life is interesting and engaging.  The insight the story gives into racism and hate crimes in this country is enlightening.  Don't pick up this title thinking it will be a light, summer read, it's not. Read with an open mind and be ready to learn about other cultures, racial division, love of family and relish in the utter craziness of boys experiencing puberty. You won't be sorry you took the time to lose yourself in The Round House.


Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong First off I have to say I happened on this book by chance.  My sister's name is Susan Leigh Furl...