Barbara is an American woman teaching English in Japan during the Vietnam War. She is a stranger to the culture, the language, the people. Her neighbor and fellow teacher, Michi-san, is the only one to make her feel welcome and help cross the cultural divide. When Michi dies, Barbara is bereft – and surprised to discover that Michi has left her a bequest: a tansu chest filled with bottles of homemade plum wine. Each bottle is wrapped in paper – and the papers are covered with elegant Japanese calligraphy. There is one bottle of wine, one sheet of paper, per year – going back twenty years. Barbara, unable to read the Japanese, turns to Seiji, a mysterious young man and friend of Michi’s. As they work together to translate Michi’s legacy, they are drawn together – but is Seiji telling her everything the parchments contain, or is he protecting a secret of his own?

Why is it so hard to write a review of a book that I merely “liked?” If I love a book, I have no problem writing the review. If I hate it, chances are I didn’t finish it. But if I thought it was just “okay” – that’s when I’m stumped.

I truly wanted to love Plum Wine. When I bought it a few years ago, I stood in the aisle of the bookstore, absorbed in the first chapter, and I was excited to read it. But then other books crowded in, and I didn’t get to it until now. Megan at Posey Sessions mentioned that this was one of the books she wanted to read in the new year, and so we decided to read it together and have Twitter discussions. Those discussions – and knowing that Megan was reading along with me – definitely increased my enjoyment with the book, and also made me take the time to articulate why it wasn’t working all that well for me.

There were sections of this book that were written beautifully, and I appreciated the way the author dealt with the cultural differences between Barbara and the Japanese people among whom she was living and working. I’d be interested in knowing if the cultural divide is still as wide now as it apparently was during the Vietnam War era. The customs and culture were fascinating – the tea ceremony, the plum wine, the Kitsune (the fox myths) – all of these added to the picture of a people steeped in history and tradition.

My favorite sections of the book by far were the interactions between Barbara and her students. It was interesting to see the dilemmas they were facing, things like arranged marriage or being considered “untouchable” for working as a mortician, especially considering that the time period was only 50 years ago. The story that Barbara uncovers while reading Michi’s writing is also intriguing – and gives the reader a lot of insight into what life was like for Hiroshima survivors.

Unfortunately, the writing was very uneven. While there were some beautiful passages, there were other sections – especially dialogue – that were awkward and didn’t flow. In many scenes, the dialogue seemed very stilted. And the romance between Barbara and Seiji, which becomes a main focus of the story, didn’t work for me at all. It was portrayed as a great passion, with Barbara’s character continually talking about how drawn she was to Seiji, how much she wanted to be with him – and yet his character did not work as the object of that much passionate obsession. He was a very unlikable character, and even though I realized he had a reason for being emotionally handicapped, I couldn’t find anything to care about in the romance between the two.

Megan and I had some interesting discussions about the book on Twitter. She had some of the same reservations as I did about the book, but she ended up liking it much more than I did, so you’ll definitely want to click over to her review and read her thoughts. This is definitely the case of a book that some of you will probably love – it just wasn’t a great read for me.

Megan was very interested in the Kitsune, or fox myths, that play a big role in the book – especially in Michi’s family history. She was inspired to do some research and digging, and has written a fascinating post on the myths, their history, and other sources of information.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: historical fiction, multi-cultural fiction

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Lek and Sarai own a small resort on Thailand’s Ko Phi Phi island. Their restaurant and bungalows stay busy enough for them to just get by. Lek is happy to welcome Patch, and the help he brings to the resort, even though it’s obvious that Patch is running from something. Patch’s brother, Ryan, shows up on Ko Phi Phi with his girlfriend, Brooke, hoping to convince Patch to turn himself in to the authorities. As the brothers and Brooke spend time together, it becomes obvious that Ryan’s and Brooke’s relationship is shattering, while Patch and Brooke are drawn to each other. As the cracks begin to appear between the brothers, and Lek and Sarai struggle to keep their resort profitable, none of them are aware of the devastation headed their way.

This is the fourth book by John Shors that I have read and reviewed – and loved. (You can find my reviews of his other books on my Reviews by Author page.) In fact, I think his books keep getting better and better, as Cross Currents is my favorite by far. (I haven’t read Beneath a Marble Sky yet.) This author has such a huge passion for Asia and its people, and each page of this book is soaked in that passion. I can honestly say I had no desire to visit Asia until I read The Wishing Trees, and after this latest book, I find myself wanting to go to Thailand, to experience the beauty and the kindness of the people.

One of the things that John Shors does best is write setting – he puts you right smack in the middle of the story. As I read, I could hear Lek and Sarai’s children laughing, feel the sand between my toes, see the tree house Patch built, taste the banana crepes. And while I was turning the pages, vicariously living in Thailand, I was falling in love with the characters in this story. Lek, with his injured hip, who works so hard to make his wife laugh. Sarai, who is so driven and busy, all of her movements quick and efficient. Yai, Sarai’s mother, literally fat and happy, taking such good care of baby Achara. Niran, and his love of the ocean and its creatures. Suchin, so feisty and full of laughter and jokes. And Ryan and Patch, two brothers who couldn’t be more different, who each struggle to understand the other, but whose bond couldn’t be stronger or more permanent. Brooke, a young woman who has had something precious stolen from her, and who finds a measure of healing on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi.

Of course, reading this book is a lot like waiting for the last shoe to drop. Because of the setting and the time period, I knew what was coming, and the deeper I got into the story and the more attached to the characters I became, the more I was scared for how things would end. The last twenty pages or so were accompanied by sadness and many tears, but ultimately, Cross Currents is a story of family devotion, love, and redemption. It is a story not to be missed.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, john shors, multi-cultural fiction

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Normally, I write my own plot synopses for my reviews, but this book is so different than anything I’ve ever read that I’m not sure where to start. After reading the excellent cover blurb, I know I couldn’t do any better, so I am going to be lazy and let the cover do the talking for me:

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different – special – she names her child Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient tongue.

From a young age, stubborn, willful Onyesonwu is trouble. It doesn’t take long for her to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her violent conception. She is Ewu – a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by both tribes.

But Onye is not the average Ewu. As a child, Onye’s singing attracts owls. By the age of eleven, she can change into a vulture. But these amazing abilities are merely the first glimmers of remarkable and unique magic. As Onye grows, so do her abilities – soon she can manipulate matter and flesh, or travel beyond into the spiritual world. During an inadvertent visit to this other realm she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.

Desperate to elude her would-be murderer, and to understand her own nature, she seeks help from the magic practitioners of her village. But, even among her mother’s people, she meets with frustrating prejudice because she is Ewu and female. Yet Onyesonwu persists.

Eventually her magical destiny and her rebellious nature will force her to leave home on a quest that will be perilous in ways that Onyesonwu can not possibly imagine. For this journey will cause her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately to learn why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death?

Honestly, I am feeling quite inadequate to convey to you how awesome and amazing this book is. I have had it on my review shelf for awhile – it was a copy sent to me by the publisher, and after reading the blurb, I thought, “Does the person who sent this to me read my blog?” because it is so completely different from what I normally read. I am so very glad that I picked it up anyway, because I would have missed out on a truly brilliant book.

Okorafor’s vision of a post-apocalyptic Africa is so fully formed, so vividly described, that, even now, a couple days after finishing the book, I can see the ravaged desert in my mind. I can picture Onye and Mwita, her true love; the sorcerers Aro and Sola; the Red People and their dust storm; Onye’s loyal friend, Luyu. In fact, these people and the places they inhabit became so real to me that I have dreamed about them the past couple of nights, long after I cried over the last few pages.

Onye’s story is a story of magic, of love, of being a woman. it’s the story of a mother’s amazing love for a daughter conceived in the most horrific circumstances; the story of true love that surpasses all; of finding and fulfilling one’s destiny in the face of insurmountable odds. Through Onye’s story, the author deals with racism, prejudice, and sexual discrimination. Onye is an amazingly strong young woman, full of passion for her world and a desire to stop the horrors being committed in the name of a religion that feeds prejudice and hatred.

I know that my words aren’t enough to convey how much this book moved me, and so I hope that you will just trust me when I say that you must read Onyesonwu’s story for yourself.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dystopian fiction, multi-cultural fiction, science fiction

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Shoko was a young Japanese girl when the atomic bomb was dropped on nearby Nagasaki. She grew into her teen years and young adulthood in a Japan occupied by the United States military. Her father encouraged her to marry an American, knowing that a future in America would hold more promise and opportunity for her. She followed her head rather than her heart, and married Charlie Morgan, emigrating to the United States. In her new country, she is an outsider, never fitting in with the other military wives or the PTA. She tries to pass on her values to her daughter, Suiko, but the cultural divide between them is vast. When Shoko’s heart condition – a condition acquired because of her proximity to the atomic bomb – becomes worse, she is determined to reconcile with her brother, Taro, before she dies. Unable to travel to Japan, she convinces Suiko to take her daughter Helena to the land of her forefathers and make amends on her behalf.

This is the second book I’ve read this year dealing with Asian emigration to the United States; Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok was the first. While Ms. Kwok’s wonderful novel deals with the experience from that of a young girl from Hong Kong, How to Be an American Housewife vividly illustrates the challenges facing the Japanese women who accompanied American G.I.s home from Japan in the years following World War II. Ms. Dilloway accompanies each chapter of Shoko’s story with a quote from the fictional guide How to Be an American Housewife, a book which encourages the Japanese women to give up the traditions, customs, and habits of their homeland and adapt to their new home.

The book has shifts in perspective and in time, as Shoko’s story of growing up and meeting Charlie – and leaving her true love behind in Japan – is slowly revealed, along with her efforts to be a good wife to Charlie and a good mother to Mike and Suiko. The mother-daughter dynamic is a complicated one in the best of circumstances, and Shoko and Suiko’s relationship difficulties are compounded by the cultural divide between Japan and America. As Suiko travels to her mother’s homeland, she begins to understand Shoko – and herself – in a new way.

The two women’s perspectives are drawn extremely well, with Shoko’s halting voice and stilted grammar demonstrating not only her lack of English skills, but the practical, stoic nature which allowed her to make a new life for herself. Suiko is unable to see herself accurately amid the constant struggle between wanting her mother’s approval and yet resisting her traditional ways. I enjoyed exploring the contrast between Japan and the US, between mother and daughter, with these characters, and look forward to Ms. Dilloway’s next book.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2010. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: multi-cultural fiction

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After her father dies, Kimberly Chang and her mother leave Hong Kong and come to the USA to make a better life for themselves. They are indebted to Kim’s aunt, and so are forced to live in an uninhabitable apartment, while Kim’s mom works in a sweatshop. Their only hope for a better life is for Kim to obtain an education. She’s extremely intelligent, and does well in school, in spite of her poverty, poor English, and difficulty fitting in. Just when Kim and her mother seem finally to be out from under her aunt’s jealous and greedy eye, Kim is forced to make a decision, and her choice will determine not only her fate, but those of the people she loves.

Jean Kwok’s Girl in Translation made Entertainment Weekly’s list of must-read summer reads, and for good reason. I was a bit late in getting to it, but am so glad I didn’t wait any longer, as it is beautifully written, both fish-out-of-water tale and coming-of-age story. Kim is a wonderful character, a young girl who is put in nearly impossible circumstances. She is torn between her desire to fit in in America and her duty to honor her mother, who doesn’t always understand how difficult it is for Kim. She faces so much that makes it impossible for her to be like her fellow students: living without a telephone with which her friends can contact her; wearing homemade underwear that are fully visible when she changes for gym class; not being able to participate in extra-curricular activities because she needs to help her mom meet her quota at the factory. She can’t even visit her friends’ homes because they would expect to reciprocate and visit Kim’s apartment, which is in deplorable condition. And even those issues are dwarfed by the constant threat of hunger and homelessness.

Kwok draws on her own childhood as an immigrant from Hong Kong, and so the novel is completely realistic. Kim’s resilience and intelligence drew me into the story right away. I also related to Kim’s mother’s desire to provide the best possibilities and chances in life for her daughter, all while living in a culture that she can’t even begin to understand. The Changs are two strong women, women who face the worst that life can throw at them, and yet come out shining. Highly recommended.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2010. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: literary fiction, multi-cultural fiction

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When an earthquake devastates the Indian visa and passport office, an unlikely group of companions are stuck together in the collapsed building: Lily, a rebellious Chinese teenager and her grandmother, Jiang; Uma, a college student planning to visit her parents, who have retired to India; Tariq, a Muslim young man who has good reason to distrust Americans; the Pritchetts, an upper-class white couple whose marriage is falling apart in the wake of the wife’s suicide attempt; Cameron, an African-American Vietnam vet who is trying to atone for his past; and Malathi and Mangalam, two consulate workers who are on the verge of an affair.

At first, they believe that rescue will be on its way shortly, and most of them are able to hold it together. As time goes by and food runs out, more of the ceiling caves in, and water begins rising through the carpet, panic begins to set in. Uma asks everyone to settle down and each tell a story from their life, a story of one amazing thing they had each experienced. The fear of death allows them to open up and share personal memories, stories of the twists and turns that life takes, stories of love and suffering and mistakes – demonstrating that deep down, they have more commonalities than differences.

I really wanted to love this little book. The premise sounded like it was exactly the kind of book that would grab me. I did like it, but I felt that the brevity of the book kept me from completely engaging with any of the characters. I got a small glimpse into their pasts and personalities, but not enough to make me truly anxious about whether or not rescue was on its way. Ms. Divakaruni has a gift, but I wish she had used it to go deeper. I understand that the way she chose to divulge the characters’ histories – through them telling their stories to the others – necessitated that the stories be brief, but in the end, I think it diluted the impact of the book.

(Disclosure: I received an ARC of One Amazing Thing from Library Thing for the purpose of review. Many of the links on my site are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on any of those links and subsequently purchase anything, I will receive a small percentage in commission.)

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, multi-cultural fiction

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The White Mary is the story of Marika Vecera, a journalist whose job involves traveling to the most violent and dangerous places in the world. She has seen in person horrors that most of us couldn’t bear to even hear described.

When Marika hears of the suicide of Robert Lewis, a journalist whom she idolized, she decides to write a biography of his life. During her research, she reads a letter from an American missionary who is certain he has seen the supposedly-dead Lewis in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Marika is involved in her first ever healthy relationship, but her own demons prevent her from fully giving herself over to Seb, her boyfriend. She decides to head to Papua New Guinea in the hopes of tracking down the possibly alive Lewis.

I’m not quite sure what I think of this book. On the one hand, it is extremely well-written. The descriptions of the Congo and the jungles of Papua New Guinea are breathtaking in their detail. Salak fully demonstrates the physical horrors of what Marika experiences while held hostage in Africa, and the toll the jungles of PNG take on her body. I appreciated the honesty and emotion with which the story was written.

But, I can’t really say that I loved it. I disliked the way that the author used the character’s sexual experiences to portray her emotional state. Many of the scenes were so explicit, even brutal, in my opinion. I think there are other ways to portray what a person is going through emotionally than through how they experience sex.

I also found the scenes of Marika’s emotional “redemption” unbelievable. They just didn’t play as realistic to me. However, I have read many other reviews of The White Mary that are full of praises, so it could just be me.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, multi-cultural fiction

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Marina is still reeling from her father’s suicide when she moves to a rural town in Japan to speak English. As she attempts to teach her students, she must also learn the intricate rules of behavior and decorum inherent in Japanese culture – down to the most detailed rules of what to do with your garbage. She attempts to navigate these rules, while embarking on a friendship with Hiro, the man who is her supervisor. As this friendship begins to look like something deeper, Marina is left to wonder what that means for her current relationship with Carolyn, whom she followed to Japan.

I have to admit that until I was over halfway through, I wasn’t sure I liked this book. I had a very hard time liking Marina and an even harder time understanding some of the choices she made. But once I reached the halfway point, I wanted to see how things turned out – not so much because of Marina, but because of the character of Hiro. I loved his dedication to his students, and felt so badly for how discouraged he became by their resistance to his efforts. The letters Hiro wrote to Marina were my favorite part of the book, because they gave insight into who he was.

Fish out of water stories can be hard – there’s a fine line between finding the humor in cultural differences, and putting forward a sense of superiority. While I believe that Ms. Watrous has a love for the country of Japan, I don’t think that she was entirely successful in walking this line. There were times when some of the humor at the cultural differences came across as being at the expense of the Japanese. However, I don’t believe that was the author’s intent.

While I had a mixed reaction to the main character, I did enjoy Ms. Watrous’s writing style, and she did a wonderful job of describing the characters and places that Marina encounters. I will definitely be looking forward to more of her work.

(An ARC of If You Follow Me was provided to me by the publisher for the purpose of reviewing it for this blog tour. The above link is an Amazon affiliate link. If you click on it and subsequently purchase anything, I will receive a small percentage in commission.)

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2010. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, multi-cultural fiction

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He then told me that I could offer a signed copy up for giveaway on my blog – just in time for Christmas! I received my lovely signed copy in the mail today, and I can’t wait to read it – the cover is gorgeous, and it’s getting great reviews.

Here are the giveaway details:

~ For one entry, leave a comment on this post.

~ You can earn additional entries by tweeting or blogging about this contest. Please come back and leave a blog link or your Twitter user name.

~ For a third, and final entry, leave a comment telling me about the best book you’ve read this year – give me the title, author, and a six-word review. (No spoilers, please!)

~ This giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada.

~ All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST, Friday, December 18th. On, the 19th, I will draw a winner using Random.org.

Good luck!

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, giveaways, multi-cultural fiction

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Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata won the Newbery Medal in 2005, and the award was well-deserved. This is the story of Katie, the child of Japanese immigrants, growing up in the 1950s. Katie’s best friend is her older sister Lynn. Lynn’s guidance and care help Katie through a move from Iowa to Georgia, through the days of her parents working long, exhausting hours at a chicken hatchery, and through the adjustment to a baby brother. When Lynn gets sick, though, it’s Katie’s turn to take care of her.

Kadohata has written a wonderfully simple story of a family, and yet within that simple story are themes like prejudice, workers’ rights, grief, parenting, and honor. I haven’t read much Japanese-American literature, but I was fascinated by the story of these parents trying to make a better life for their kids. My daughter Natalie read both Kira-Kira and Weedflower by Kadohata, and told me I should read them. She was right; I would not want to have missed out on this story. I will listen to Weedflower soon.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2009. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: historical fiction, multi-cultural fiction, YA fiction

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