My book buying methods are unconventional; I tend to browse bookstores without an agenda, don't necessarily pick up what's on a table and pay no heed to titles that make it to a particular list. For me, book purchases are all about being in-the-moment and my mood. A few months ago I read the poignant, evocative, and unforgettable, The Space Between Us (http://amzn.to/jQ9135) by author Thrity Umrigar. Since I tend to gravitate toward books on the inner lives of women, it was the promise of friendship that piqued my interest. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hide the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. A powerful and perceptive novel, it demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.
In August 2005 I was at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, I also go to museums based on mood. Walking through an exhibition, I learned that writer Lisa See would be discussing and signing her new book. Entranced by Ms. See's delivery, I didn't buy or read the book until early 2006. Not only was I transported but I couldn't get it out of my mind long after I read it. The literary masterwork– Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, ( http://amzn.to/koK1QG) is an extraordinary novel set in nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. This well written tale is related with clarity, sentiment, and remorse. And it's through remorse that the reader comes to know the true character of Lily, as she reflects upon a misunderstanding she had with her one true love. To read more on footbinding review this fascinating article:
Women from our so called "cultured west" would find it difficult to believe that women from Asia and India still live lives that western women escaped from after the 1920's/30's.
ReplyDelete