Chinese Cinderella

Despite being a little way into another fabulous Murakami, work is drawing me into young adult fiction at the moment. In researching some titles for me new job, I could not get over the plethora or fabulous titles and stories available. Many of the were rather good – such as Parvana by Deborah Ellis, as well as Jackie French’s Walking the Boundaries.

However, Adeline Yen Mah’s Chinese Cinderella is really worth writing about. The adult version of the book is called Falling Leaves, and I can only imagine that this is truly wonderful too.

Chinese Cinderella – a true story -is a must for those of us who fell in love with Li Cunxin’s Mao’s Last Dancer. It is the story of an unwanted Chinese daughter whose broth caused the death of her mother. She and her older siblings are routinely mistreated by their stepmother, especially Adeline (Jung-ling) who is most loyal to her aunt and grandfather who oppose her stepmother’s greedy and self-indulgent rule.

Adeline is regularly shipped off to various boarding schools, but finds solace in books and learning. She is a real scholar, and despite never being truly appreciated by her family, is able to prove her worth in some measure and improve her situation without going against her moral scruples.

It is a beautiful and sad story of a remarkable young woman, and one that re-affirms the power of literature and learning. I loved it – read it in a day.

The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell represents the huge pressure on his chest - and the butterfly is the freedom if his mind...

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was written by Jean-Dominique Bauby, a man with locked in syndrome. After a stroke Bauby was left paralysed except for one eye, and through a system of blinks he dictated this story.

There is no doubting that Bauby is an amazing man, who is better able to deal with his condition than I could ever imagine I would. His prose is suprisingly beautiful, although it jumps around quite a bit as Bauby striggles to come to terms with his memories and his new life.

I am glad I read it, although the book had no power over me, no compulsion to make me keep reading. It was interesting though - plus I had to read it for book club. No more non-fiction for a while now though, okay?

Back to a favourite now - Murakami calls and I will blog again soon.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner was one of those books that everyone was reading – and deservedly. It is a wonderful book, epic is scope and clever in its structure. A Thousand Splendid Suns therefore has a very tough act to follow. Many people would have read it simply because of it’s predecessor.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a very different book to The Kite Runner. This book is about women for a start, and it has a shifting narrative. It is also a bit of an homage to Afghanistan in better times - the scene in the countryside with the Buddhas really is wonderful.

We start with Mariam, the illegitimate child of a local businessman in Herat, Afghanistan. When Mariam’s mother dies, she is married of to Rasheed, a much older man she has never met before, who takes her to live in Kabul. While we don’t expect any grand love story, initially we feel Rasheed may be kind towards Mariam, but her inability to carry a pregnancy to term brings out his innate brutality.

The narrative shifts time and perspective here. Laila, a neighbour of Mariam’s is left orphaned and decides to accept Rasheed’s marriage proposal to protect herself and a dangerous secret. Mariam initially resents Laila immensely, especially when she announces her pregnancy – the one thing Mariam wants more than anything but cannot have. But eventually, the two are brought together almost because of the brute they are both tied to. And as the situation in Afghanistan worsens, so too does the situation within their home. Rasheed exerts more and more power of the women, and Laila, the warrior fights back. Mariam, the carer is also eventually forced to fight to protect those she loves.

There is a devastating climax, but one that reinforces the power of real love and a woman’s ability to endure. It is quite a feminist text in many ways, really.

In making the inevitable comparison, readers would have to conclude that A Thousand Splendid Suns is not as good as The Kite Runner, although it is good. The relationship between the two women is wonderful, as is the “wake up” call you inevitably receive from reading such as text – it really makes you value the freedom of lifestyle we have. I do have a few small complaints though. I really enjoyed Part One with Mariam’s story, and never really felt like her voice came through as strongly in the rest of the text. It took me a while to relate to Laila because of this. Also, I could have done without the final few chapters in which everything is wrapped up a little too neatly. Sometimes, a bit if uncertainty in a bad situation is a more realistic ending.