Shanghai Girls

By Lisa See

Two sisters growing up in Shanghai are living an exciting, cosmopolitan life as young girls when everything is interrupted by  family misfortune followed immediately by the Japanese attack of China during WWII. Their story unfolds and eventually brings them to Los Angeles, California to the heart of Chinatown. Through this story of their lives surfaces a unique story about sisters and about being Chinese in WWII America.

Note: I don't have page numbers for these quotes because I read it on my iPhone kindle.

"During this time of adversity - as it is for all sisters - our petty jealousies ad the question of which of us is loved more dissolve. We have to rely on each other."

"In Shanghai, life flows like an endlessly serene river for the wealthy, the lucky, the fortunate. For those with bad fates, the smell of desperation is as strong as a rotting corpse."

"Mama used to tell us a story about a cicada sitting high in a tree. It chirps and drinks in dew, oblivious to the praying mantis behind it. The mantis arches up its front leg to stab the cicada, but it doesn't know an oriole perches behind it. The bird stretches out its neck to snap up the mantis for a midday meal, but is unaware of the boy who's come into the garden with a net. Three creatures - he cicada, the mantis, and the oriole - all coveted gains without being aware of the greater and inescapable danger that was coming.

Later that afternoon, the first shots are exchanged between Chinese and Japanese soldiers."

"Maybe we are all like that with our mothers. They seem ordinary until one day they are extraordinary."

"I despair over what is happening to us. I want to be rescued. If not that, then I want to go back to bed, lie under the covers, and sob until I have no tears left. But I am May's older sister. I have to be braver than my emotions. I have to help us fight our bad fates. I take a deep breath and stand. 'Let's go. I'm ready.'"

"Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life. She is the only person left in the world who shares my memories of our childhood, our parents, our Shanghai, our struggles, our sorrows, and, yes, even our moments of happiness and triumph. My sister is the one person who truly knows me, as I know her. The last thing May says to me is "When our hair is white, we'll still have our sister love."

I bought two copies and sent them to my sisters!

Book 31

Kinshu: Autumn Brocade

By Teru Miyamoto

This compelling book is a series of letters exchanged between a man and a woman who were once married. After a very brief encounter on a train they are both left with freshly surfaced memories and questions. As the letters begin to go back and forth the story of their broken marriage unfolds and within it ten years of emotions and curiosity surrounding those events. The passage of time has left changes in each of the letter writers reflected by this discussion of the past.  

Witnessing the letter exchange felt almost voyeuristic as you read this intimate exchange. An exchange which is also not a complete picture or story simply because of the nature of letter writing. With no other narrative added except what was written in the letters, I was left with a sense of what remained unsaid within that exchange. A wonderful feeling as you close the book and ruminate on all of the story that you heard and that which you are left to only wonder. I really enjoyed this book.

For reasons I will not get into, half way through the book I purchased one of the very few songs I have bought on iTunes because I just needed to hear it while I was reading the book: Mozarts 39th symphony.

Book 30

Asleep

By Banana Yoshimoto

Each of the three chapters in this book tells the story of a woman and her particular experience with sleep, or a kind of sleep (spiritual or physical). The power of the stories is in Yoshimoto's literary style - surreal and simple. Yoshimoto has a unique way of writing from a very internal location within her characters which enables you to connect with them. This exploration was interesting and thought provoking.

I look forward to reading more of this extremely talented writer and hopefully finding language to explain her unique and compelling writing style.

Book 29

After the Quake

By Harruki Murakami

These stories struggle with life altered after the Kobe earthquake. Each one carries its own message through Murakami's accessible characters and unique allegory. Very good read.

Book 28

Two Addiction Books

The Adderall Diaries

Stephen Elliott

Book 26

Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man

Bill Clegg

Book 27

Shame in the Blood

By Tetsuo Miura

“Whether we seek death or it seeks us, and whenever, wherever, for whatever reason we may die, it seemed to me that death, which arrives and leaves in a fraction of a second, is exactly the same for everyone. No death can ever be beautiful or ugly. One day, death comes and departs again instantly, leaving only a dead body behind. It is so astonishingly cold, surprisingly austere. It offers no room at all for any emotion to slip through. It doesn’t even want to accept sadness immediately.” 138

With the Old Breed

E.B. Sledge

WWII Pacific theater non-fiction from the perspective of one young soldier who beat the odds of survival in a few of the most bloody battles.

"The sun bore down unmercifully, and the heat was exhausting. Smoke and dust from the barrage limited my vision. The ground seemed to sway back and forth under the concussions. I ffelt as though I were floating along in the vortex of some unreal thunderstorm. Japanese bullets snapped and cracked, and tracers went by me on both sides at waist height. This deadly small-arms fire seemed almost insignificant amid the erupting shells. Explosions and the hum and he growl of shell fragments shredded the air. Chunks of blasted coral stung my face and hands while steel fragments spattered down on the hard rock like hail on a city street. Everywhere shells flashed like giant firecrackers.

Through the haze I saw Marines stumble and pitch forward as they got hit. I then looked neither right nor left but just straight to my front. The further we went, the worse it got. The noise and concussion pressed in on my ears like a vise. I gritted my teeth and braced myself in anticipation of the shock of being struck down at any moment. It seemed impossible that any of us could make it across. We passed several craters that offered shelter, but I remembered the order to keep moving. Because of the superb discipline and excellent esprit of the Marines, it had never occurred to us that attack might fail." Pg 79

"In combat, cleanliness for the infantryman was all but impossible. Our filth added to our general misery. Fear and filth went hand in hand. It has always puzzled me that this important factor in our daily lives has received so little attention from historians and often is omitted from otherwise excellent personal memoirs by infantryman. It is, of course, a vile subject, but is was as important to us then as being wet or dry, hot or cold, in the shade or exposed to the blistering sun, hungry, tired or sick." Pg 92

"It was difficult to accept. We come from a nation and a culture that values life and the individual. To find oneself in a situation where your life seems of little value is the ultimate in loneliness. It is a humbling experience. Most of the combat veterans had already grappled with this realization on Guadalcanal or Gloucester, but it struck me out in that swamp." Pg 100

"It is difficult to convey to anyone who has not experienced it the ghastly horror of having your sense of smell saturated constantly with the putrid odor of rotting flesh day to day, night after night. This was something the men of an infantry battalion got a horrifying dose of during a long, protracted battle such as Peleliu. In the tropics the dead became bloated and gave off a terrific stench within a few hours of death." Pg 142

"We didn't talk about such things. They were too horrible and obscene even for hardened veterans. The conditions taxed the toughest I knew almost to the point of screaming. Nor do authors normally write about such vileness; unless they have seen it with their own eyes, it is too preposterous to think that men could actually live and fight for days and nights on end under such terrible conditions and not be driven insane. But I saw much of it there on Okinawa and to me the war was insanity." Pg. 260

"War is brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste. Combat leaves an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it. The only redeeming factors were my comrades' incredible bravery and their devotion to each other. Marine Corps training taught us to kill efficiently and to try to survive. But it also taught us loyalty to each other - and love. That esprit de corps sustained us.

Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one's responsibilities and to be willing to make sacrifices for one's country - as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, 'If the country is good enough to live in, its good enough to fight for.' With privilege goes responsibility." Pg 315

Book 24

The Devil’s Whisper

By Miyuke Miyabe

Weaving stories that seem disperate from opposite ends of Tokyo and how they converge together, Miyabe writes a great story about four women who commit suicide and the aftermath.  It is a mystery about how to piece together a story when you don’t know what happened but it could save your life. Excellent story, great read and entirely different. 

Book 23

Hardboiled & Hard Luck

By Banana Yoshimoto

Two short stories about two different women. My first book by this author at the recommendation of my cousin. She tells elegant, simple stories that leave you connected to the characters and compelled by them. I still wonder what happened to them after we met them and moved on. 

Banana writes beautifully. I hope to read everything she has written.

Book 22

The Sleeping Drag

By Miyuke Miyabe

I have been reading, I just have not been blogging! 

This book started me on a whole curriculum of Japanese writers. I am finding it difficult to describe the books I am reading. 

This book is a simple story about a man who meets a boy under unfortunate circumstances. Their lives are then connected and their story forms a mystery of sorts being played out in relationships. The unfolding of the connections and struggles within these relationships, including those with paranormal abilities, forms a great story.

Book 21