The Vagrants by Yiyun Li

I saw this book on a display table at Barnes & Noble.  The cover caught my eye--the front of a Chinese jacket/overcoat.  I am very attracted to Asian art--very refined, delicate and it always tells a story.  When I read the inside cover, I wasn't all that impressed, but I thought "I'm still going to buy it.  It might surprise me."  Always work on your instincts when it comes to a book.  This one surprised me.

Although very sad and poignant, it is also quite ordinary in terms of the movements and actions of the people.  This story takes place in 1979, Communist China.  The town was specifically built by the regime and specifically "planted" with people to promote the socialistic cause.  There are also some people who wandered into this village.  It is, on one hand, small and on the other, quite large.  There are distinct disparities amongst the social and economic classes.  There are boundaries that are prescribed and unspoken.  We meet people of the lowest beggar and of the highest government within the town.

The story is about the actions and reactions of a community when faced with, are part of and after the excution of a counterrevolutionary woman.  Some of the stories are excruciatingly ugly.  Some of them, such as her parents, are excruciatingly sad.  Some never had to occur.  Some should have happened and you wonder what if?  In the end, you know that this could have really happened.  All these storylines happened because of the excution of that woman.  She had no knowledge they would happen and couldn't have controlled many of them if she had known.

In 1979 I was 10 years old and I was entering the 4th grade.  I knew about free elections.  I knew I liked to read a lot.  I knew I could go home and have a good dinner and be loved.  I had siblings who laughed and loved.  I had parents who cared and protected.  I live  in the United States, where freedoms are protected--freedom of speech and of press.  Freedom of religion and thought.  Education is valued for the ideas it creates.  I cannot imagine living in China in 1979.

The author is originally from China and lived in this regime.  She now lives in the United States.  The Vagrants by Yiyun Li.

The end of school

American schools end this month and next.  We'll be off for the summer--until September.  In Minnesota, we do not start prior to Labor Day in most districts.  This is because of our awesome State Fair.  I, too, am done with university for the semester.  Several of my classmates are graduating this next week and I wish them well.  I will be arranging several clinical experiences for the fall semester and will graduate in December.

I have developed a philosophy of education over the years.  Some of it is based on my education and some is based on my experiences with learning.  I believe that American schools do not run long enough.  Now hear me out.  When our country expanded, we were very much an agricultural society.  We had fields of food that needed to be prepped and planted early--April & May--each year.  Throughout the summer, different crops are put in, depending on the growing season.  Then, in late September the harvests start.  Keep in mind many fruits and vegetables are harvested throughout late summer, so again, depending on the crops, harvest may have started sooner than September.  When we were not automated, we needed all hands on deck to work the prep, planting and harvest.  Even after the harvest, there is further prep for the coming winter.  Our farmers worked well into November.

With the advent of automation and farms growing smaller, we do not need the large families and society has demonstrated that over the generations.  We also do not need to hold up school for the planting and harvest.  Put the kids back in school.  Our future generations have moved from agriculture through industry and into the information age.  Their best ally is education.  Many European and South East Asian countries are passing us by in the way of technology and information usage.  We need to catch up and if possible surpass them in order to reclaim our spot at the top.  I don't think we need to be on top, but we do need to be in line with the other countries or we will sink.

GO EDUCATION!!

Art in Washington

Today I sit in East Wenatchee, Washington. Yesterday I had an opportunity to drive down a major avenue in town. I saw an awesome thing! There is a museum located in two buildings that look as if they could have been government buildings at one time. On the steps of one there sat a man-sized, brushed metal sculpture. It was a dog, dressed in a suit and reading a book. I wonder if the building might have once been a Carnegie library? I didn't get a good look at the building to see if there was a sign--I was too enthraLled with the reader!
Another building, several blocks down, had a 1950's red-and-white car butt sticking out of the roof! I could love this town! So much character and bits of joie de vie exists despite the depressed economy.

Symbolism

So I didn't actually read them, but I did the next best thing--listened to them!  I can't read books while I work, so I use audio books.  I don't get the whole story most of the time and do have to keep going back on the CD's because I miss a lot, often.  [I do have to think sometimes while I work and thinking with listening doesn't always work]. 

What am I talking about?  The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons (still listening to this one).  I find it a little odd that the first book (DVC) is actually the second and is full of symbolism, while the second book (A&D) is really the first, but not so full of symbolism.  Of course we get to hear about the Papal household and the Conclave, which is awesome! 

I find the symbolism tangents to very interesting and enlightening.  However, I also enjoy a good mystery and it's really hard to stick with the mystery when we keep going off on tangents.  Also, if someone doesn't know a whole lot about symbolism or the church for that matter, it's a little hard to keep up.   For those who really enjoy all the secrecy and the scandals revolving around the church, these are the books for you!  If you really enjoy hearing about the landmarks and cultures in ancient cities, again books are for you.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap--

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of midday to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.
Whit a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them name.
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Dunder and Blixem!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
SO up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys--and St. Nicholas too.

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundles of toys was flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry.
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face, and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight--

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

(original wording--"Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" 12/23/1823 Troy Sentinel. This included the original Dutch names of Dunder and Blixem.  In a later version, Moore used Donder and Blitzen.--per the Note in the Marshall Cavendish Corporation Editon)

Historical Fiction

One of my friends is ALWAYS recommending books. She turned me onto Diana Gabaldon, whose Outlander series takes place between 1940 and 1740 initially. As the main character, Claire travels across time, she meets and falls in love with Jamie (James) who is a Scottish citizen and fiercely loyal to his clan. They eventually get caught up in the Stewart rebellion and Claire returns to her own time. She carries with her Jamie's child.

When she returns, she comes as a doctor and a mother of a full grown child. She has made the decision to return to Jamie on the death of her first and modern day husband. Her child, Brianna, eventually follows her. Across time and across continents, they travel back and forth. Jamie is never able to cross time, but he takes the time travel in stride.

The reader learns of the Scottish history, some English history and early American immigration settlements in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It is a time of treason, a time of loyalty, a time of exploration, and a time of war. You might even catch on to brewing scotch whiskey.

Her next book is An Echo in the Bone, due out 9/22/09.

The Body Farm

On the outskirts of the University of Tennessee research happens. It takes time, but then all the researchers have is time. It takes nature. It takes perseverance. It takes guts--literally and figuratively.

At the Body Farm, the research entails all manners of death. Bodies in trunks, hung from trees, wrapped in tarps and wrapped in comforters. Some are burned and some are wet. Some have been shot and some have been stabbed. Some aren't even whole bodies. All in the name of research. All in the name of science--forensic science.

There was an episode on CSI: Vegas were Grissom took a large pig and wrapped it in a blanket. Then he sat with it for days to see how long it took for flies and other crawlies to find their way to the pig. To devour the pig. All in the name of science. Pigs mimic humans quite closely.

Jefferson Bass, the team of Dr. Bill Bass and journalist Jon Jefferson, pull together mysteries on the level of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. The main character, Dr. Bill Brockton, runs the farm and teaches classes at the university. In his free time, he aids local medical examiners and police departments in forensic detecting. These stories can get eerie and quiet gory. They are not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but they sure make for excellent reading! For the readers really curious, there are excerpts from the materials used in Dr. Brockton's classes.

Carved in Bone
Flesh and Bone

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

A new series...at least for me. This is a definitive young adult series. It covers the current life and times of Nicholas Flamel, the famed alchemyst and sorcerer. Flamel appeared first in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone depending on the nation of publication. The stone was secreted away in Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft for safe keeping. Flamel is also known as the creator of the Elixir of Life, providing immortality to those that drink it.

Turns out that potion needs to be brewed every month or a person will start to age a year a day. Nicholas and his wife Perenelle have set death aside for over 700 years. Now they live and work in San Francisco, owning a used book store. Josh Newman happens to be an average, modern day 15 year old working for the Flamels, or as he knows them, the Flemings. His twin sister, Sophie, is working in the coffee shop just across the road. That all changes when Dr. John Dee shows up with his Golems in tow.

Thus begins a fight for life and for freedoms. Josh and Sophie, of course, fulfill a destiny that twins will save or destroy the world. Scott weaves a story fully built on the ancient mythology, explaining the ancients along the way. This is a great little story and three more books are currently available to carry along the threads. This book is a good beginner book for those who want to keep to the familiar (Harry Potter) and yet start expanding their reading tastes into more fantasy genre. It's easy to follow, much easier than HP. It's also a great way to introduce the mythology of Greek and Roman legends.

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

YUCK! How would you like to "take" a cure for disease that meant you could not eat anything other than tomato water, aspargus water, oj, and daily enemas for nearly 2 months??! Claire & Dora Williamson did just that with horrible results. Certainly not the "cure" they were looking for when they started.

I just finished Starvation Heights. It's historical non-fiction about "Dr." Linda Burfield Hazzard's starvation diet and the death of a British heiress. It's set in Ollala, WA. Claire was just in her 30's when she died. Her sister Dora was rescued in time from the same fate and eventually, with the help of a family nanny, set in motion events that would cause the doctor to be convicted of manslaughter.

Written in 1997, it has not been greatly promoted in the Twin Cities. I would suggest to anyone interested in either the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, early 20th Century crime or weird medical fads to check this one out!