These were a couple of quick trips and easy reads. The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin, is a great book for children, or as a family read aloud. It is about a young American girl of Chinese descent. It is a good dose of perspective for those of us who have been born […]
Novel Destinations: China with “Wild Swans”
Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, is a non-fiction work about three generations of Chinese women, beginning in the early 20th century. Jung’s grandmother had bound feet, was sold as a concubine, and lived through the Kuomintang Revolution, The Cultural Revolution and The Great leap Forward. (None of them were as grand as they sound!) Her […]
Novel Destinations: India and Pacific Ocean
I recently finished Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. What an fun trip! It began in India, around 1975. Pi’s family owns a zoo, but feels pressure to leave India due to the political turmoil surrounding Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. However, before they could leave, they had to make provisions for all of the animals […]
Novel Destinations: Ethiopia – A Powerful Read!!!
Oh. My. Gosh. “Cutting for Stones,” by Abraham Verghese, is one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time. When I finished it, I felt like I had parted ways with friends. First of all, what comes to mind when you hear the word, “Ethiopia?” Skinny, black skeletons with distended […]
Novel Destinations – Norway
“Out Stealing Horses,” by Perr Peterson, is set in eastern Norway in late 1999. The main character is a man named Trond, who is in the twilight of his life. He has moved out into the countryside to be alone, to avoid human entanglements and to reflect on his past. As fate would have it, […]
