Monday, August 25, 2008

BACK TO GREEN LAKE

This is the hill that leads from the house to the lake.
Going down: EASY
Going up: STEEP, STEEP, STEEP!
However... there was this great hammock up on the patio
that was never used unless I hopped on.

And here I am with a lovely view... no, not my feet!
Comfy, quiet, peaceful and a great spot to read.
So, I took full advantage of this opportunity
and read some good books.

Gail Tsukiyama is my current author-of-choice.
I like her writing style, her story lines, and the
wonderful cultural and historical info. I gathered as I read.
Great characters!!

Women of the Silk covers 20 years in the life of Pei, a Chinese girl sent to work in a silk factory during the first decades of the 20th century. Her parents consign her to the factory for the wages she will send home. Initially terrified, Pei soon settles into the communal routine, and finds the 12-hour factory day made bearable by the kindness of supervisors and fellow workers. Along with her best friend, Lin, she decides at 16 to go through the hairdressing ceremony, in which girls pledge to dedicate their lives to silk work instead of marrying, and move into the peaceful milieu of the "sisters' house." Details of the process of spinning silk, the close bonds among the sisterhood, and contrasts between the tradition-steeped existence the young women enjoy and the upheaval attending the new communist regime create a compelling narrative. Tsukiyama's simple, elegant and fluid prose weaves a vivid picture of rural China.



Language of the Threads is a sequel. It continues the story of Pei's life
in China and onto Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation.


The Samurai's Garden is the story of a young male student
who is sent to Japan to recover from TB.
The story is about his relationships with several
characters... one being a female leper.

~~~

I just bought 2 more books by this author and I can't wait to begin them.
They are hard to put down... my kind of a book!
~~~
Love you,
Joni



6 comments:

preppy little dress AKA "PLD" said...

looks like a very relaxing time! what fun! just hope the mosquitoes stayed away! btw, where you guys affected by the bad storms that went through wisconsin? we drove by the wisconsin dells area on our way up to northeast wisconsin and saw tons of flooding a month after the horrible storm!

Junie Moon said...

We had a similar steep drop from the rental house down to the dock and lake on our vacation in the N.C. mountains. It wore me out. I'm so glad you had a hammock where you could rest, read, and recover. Thank you for sharing these delightful books. I'll add the titles to my "must read" list.

Angie said...

Wow. That looks like a Tennessee hill to me! : )

It's good to have you back among the land of the blogging, my friend!

I'm hoping -- once the Buddy Walk is behind me -- to start reading again! : )

Helen said...

Lookey here! Nice new look - YUMMY YUMMERS! LOL to your climb back..but hey! Hanging out in that hammock would make it worth it. Gorgeous photos my friend.

artisbliss said...

What a lovely, relaxing place to be. And it sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Lovie said...

I've been lurking in "Yummers" for some time. I really like it here! Just read your review of these books and tommorrow I am out to purchase book 1. They sound so good!
Lovey