Book Reviews – Perfect Leaves

Old Assignment: “In the Machine, I See Everything…”

…and it all looks the same. On the surface, “The Machine Stops” (by EM Forster) seems like another typical dystopian sci-fi story, however closer inspection of the story’s history yields one important find: it’s old. This leaves me with the assumption that “The Machine Stops” in some way paved the road for its subject matter. I will admit, I have not read every single technology-related dystopian novel, nor am I well versed in the history of the entire movement, but I’ve read enough to realize particular patterns.

**Note: this post contains mild spoilers for The Giver, Brave New World, and the Uglies Series.**

The first thing I picked up on was the characters’ lack of original thought. It quickly became obvious that the majority of the people in the world of the Machine were not accustomed to coming up with their own ideas, and even when they did their ideas were either of little substance or rehashings of the ideas of other people. I imagine this lack of originality is a direct consequence of the Machine. When there are buttons that do everything, there is no real need to do anything.

Immediately, I made the connection between this story and Scott Westerfield’s Uglies series. The people in Westerfield’s novels also lived in a world so technologically advanced that there was very little a computer could not do. Westerfield’s novels, like Forster’s story, refer to a previous version of human civilization in which is apparently less advanced than the current one, so much so that that version of society is obsolete, its members extinct. The difference between these two stories lies in how the humans use the technology. Forster’s short story prompted me to think about technology in new ways. Whereas the people in Westerfield’s novels for the most part used technology to bring themselves to things, the people in Forster’s narrative used technology to bring things to them. This relationship between humans and technology never occurred to me before.

While describing the human relationship with technology, Forster chooses adjectives that suggest a vast emptiness. He actually repeatedly uses the words “nothing” and “empty.” He emphasizes the idea that while the people are seeing their friends and the rest of the world through the machine, they are are actually very much alone in their rooms. He never explicitly states that each citizen lives alone, but it is implied through Vashti’s lifestyle and the repeated assertion that face-to-face interaction is rare and touching is absolutely barbaric (“[the attendant] behaved barbarically… People never touched one another,” page 8). I concluded that the nothingness/emptiness doesn’t particularly bother the humans because they have the machine, and because everyone has approximately the same surroundings, technology and lifestyle.

The idea of sameness is another frequent theme within the dystopian science-fiction genre. The Giver (Lois Lowry), The Uglies Series, and Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) all deal with the idea of sameness. In the Lowry novel, citizens look more or less the same, they all see in black and white and they all follow the same steps into adulthood. The only variances lie in their particular occupations when they grow older, but these differences are inconsequential (unless on is assigned the occupation of “The Receiver,” like Jonas).

The Westerfield novels depict a socially accepted plastic surgery that makes everyone “pretty.” Before having the surgery, one is referred to as “ugly.” The surgery is designed to keep everyone young and pretty, while suppressing original thought (more on that later). In Brave New World people are manufactured in a laboratory. The lower a person’s rank in society, the more copies of them their are. The sameness in these novels suggests that eliminating variance is the most effective way to rid society of trouble and dissent. After all, if everyone is identical (or nearly identical), what would be the point in coveting another’s belongings and life?

Until the end of the story, religion in “The Machine Stops” was faint but present. Religious rituals were alluded to through Vashti’s habit of crying “O Machine!” and kissing “the book.” In Brave New World there is a similar pattern of humans worshiping technology. The religion in Huxley’s world is called “Fordism,” so named because Henry Ford invented the assembly belt, which, according to the novel, is the beginning of technology as we know it (I also couldn’t help but notice the sheer number of products- people included- in Brave New World that were produced on an assembly line).

The inclusion of religion in these two works confirms a hunch I had a few years back: society cannot exist without some form of religion. People are constantly searching for something to give meaning to their lives; they want something to turn to when things go wrong. Vashti’s actions when the Machine begins to stop further strengthen my point. She fervently performs her rituals (chanting, kissing the book and pushing buttons) as if her belief alone would spare her. It is important to note, however, that every person in Brave New World and in “The Machine Stops” follows the same religion. There would be too much dissent if people followed different religions. It is also important to note that both religions are tied to the technologies that lie at society’s foundation. This forges an powerful bond between, humans, religion and technology. Just as the humans cannot live without religion, they cannot live without technology.

As mentioned earlier, original thought is not common in Forster’s fictional world. Towards the end, around the same time the Machine starts propagating religion, original thoughts are more publicly rebuked. Original thought is the beginning of disunity, so it’s best to curtail the flow of such thoughts. Both Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Westerfield’s novels address this topic. In Westerfield’s novels, only the members of the government and the members of the rebellion are aware of the true purpose of the “pretty surgery.” Being pretty and happy are incentives to undergo the procedure, however the happiness is created through what is essentially an implanted tumor on the brain. The tumor rests on the areas of the brain responsible for creativity and unpleasant emotion.

In Bradbury’s novel, original and dissenting ideas are eliminated through near-ritual book burning, while the masses are kept happy by technology that takes care of all their needs. Technology essentially distracts the population from the larger problem. All of these stories paint humans as gullible, adaptable creatures (with the exception of a few main characters who can see through the charade) that don’t question what’s going on as long as they are pacified by their televisions and computers. In a way, there is a similar pattern forming in society today. News is more accessible than ever with the invention of the internet and smartphones that can run news apps, but people tend not to be as informed because there are “more important” matters to attend to, such as achieving a high score on Angry Birds.

I’ve spent the majority of this analysis talking about the similarities between EM Forster’s story and novels of the same genre, but that isn’t to say “The Machine Stops” doesn’t have anything new to add to the conversation. On the contrary, “The Machine Stops” brings forth two new insights. The first concerns a new point of view in the human-technology interaction and the second concerns the result of the fall of technology.

In dystopian novels, the audience usually only gets to see the thoughts of the dissenter. Those who acquiesce to “the system” are obviously present in the stories, but they do not have much dimension beyond the face that believes “the system” is best for society. In EM Forster’s narrative, the audience sees the Machine from the perspective of an ardent believer in its powers. We see Vashti’s disgust towards her son’s dissenting thoughts and even her failure to comprehend the idea that anything could be wrong with her beloved Machine. Had the story been told only from perspective, and excluded her son, the audience may well have converted to a believer in the Machine (until the end, that is). Speaking of the end, I have yet to read another dystopian or science-fiction novel which concludes with the nearly immediate death of every person within the novel’s world. In “The Machine Stops,” people were so dependent on the Machine that they accepted its shortcomings, and died within minutes of its ultimate failure. The humans literally could not survive without technology.

At times, modern attachment to technology feels similar to the relationship described by EM Forster, albeit less extreme. It is still possible to live without technology, but it’s becoming increasingly more difficult. Fortunately, the progression and production of technology relies on creativity, so we’ve thus far avoided the pitfall of ceasing to come up with our own ideas. We also have yet to achieve sameness. While people are more and more able to acquire similar things, and while people are expected to have certain “baseline” technology (namely a car, a cellphone, and a computer) the variety among these products is astonishing and there are still areas of the world that are untainted by the “modern world’s” incessant coveting.

Though unrelated to the bulk of my analysis, I can’t help but take “The Machine” as a metaphor for the social side of “modern” society as well. Our world is very much a machine. We are expected to follow the scheme and complete the tasks in order. I won’t get into that right now, I’ve written about it here. The main idea is that we all must remain vigilant, lest we become so settled into our way of life that we do not notice the machine taking over.

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I originally wrote this post in 2014. I was going to write a long, updated political conclusion but such rambling has no place on my blog right now. Besides, the post is long enough. Suffice it to say that reading this post concerned me. I’m frightened by just how similar current events are to the action in the short story. That said, I remember immensely enjoying the tale, and I highly recommend it. I don’t remember enough to give an exact star rating, but The Machine Stops is definitely somewhere in the 4-5 star range.

“The Machine Stops” is in the public domain, which means you can read it for free. I’ve chosen to link Feedbooks and the Wikipedia audiobook, but you can also find “The Machine Stops” on LibriVox (a free audiobook app). If you do choose to buy it, I’d be grateful if you use my Amazon link. It costs nothing for you and gives me a few cents towards maintaining this blog. ❤

A Reimagining of a Childhood Classic + a Not-So-Good Read

Heads up, two graphic novel reviews are coming our way.

anne of green gables cover image — Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2017. 232 Pages

Anne of Green Gables, written by L.M. Montgomery, adapted by Mariah Marsden, illustrated by Brenna Thummler and edited by Erika Kuster.

I think I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time in fifth grade. It wasn’t a book I particularly loved, but since the new remake came out in 2016 and the graphic novel popped up on NetGalley I snagged a copy.

My first impression of this version of was that the art is beautiful. It’s detailed yet not overly so, and it suits the material at hand. Anne’s whimsical nature comes across in the bright colors and patterned surroundings.

Overall, the novel is short and sweet. It begins around the time the Cuthberts adopt Anne and ends after she graduates from college. This adaptation trims the fat of the novel and sticks to the most important scenes. I’d have appreciated just a little more story, but Anne is fine as it is.

Because it’s been so long since I read the novel version of Anne of Green Gables, I’d forgotten the majority of the plot. This made reading the graphic novel a pleasing experience. I’d forgotten how cute Anne and Gilbert are together; I started shipping them almost as soon as Gilbert entered the narrative. Whenever the elders punished Anne for a mistake, I too felt the harshness and unfairness of it all. I’d also forgotten Anne has such a lovely vocabulary. Her ability to tell tales, is pretty much unrivaled. Huck Finn comes close, but Anne’s language is much prettier. I bet she’d make a great author or blogger.

The Anne of Green Gables graphic novel is short; I read the entire thing in the span of an hour or so. It’s great for people who want to re-read the story without sinking a huge time commitment into it. It’s also a great way to introduce a graphic novel reader into classics. I know there are kids and adults alike who are adamant in their belief that the classics are no good, perhaps this version of Anne of Green Gables will change their minds. This version may also help those who find the novel version too difficult. The visual aspect can help people follow along. There’s no need for people of differing abilities to miss out on a great story.

I really couldn’t find fault with this graphic novel, so I’m giving it five glowing stars.

image of pos cover — Lion Forge Comics, 2017. 256 Pages

POS: Piece of Sh*t, written by Pierre Pacquet and illustrated by Jesus Alonso Iglesias

Oh boy, what do I even say about this one? Take pretty much all of the positive energy from the Anne section and drop it in the trash. POS‘s art was nice, but that’s about where my praise ends. I understand that dog is important to the story but the plot has no real cohesion. The graphic novel jumps from scene to scene in a rambling flashback that ends in anticlimax. There are too many scenes that have nothing to do with the dog, if the dog is indeed the focus.

I guess it was kind of cool to see the struggles of someone trying to get into the publishing business. POS is a french novel that’s been translated and released for English speaking readers. I honestly wouldn’t recommend simply because there’s no story. If i had time to get to know Pierre and get invested in his life, maybe it would be a better story. As it stand, the reader is immediately thrown into Pierre’s life, with no real reason to care about anything he does. Skip this one, pick up a second copy of Anne instead, lol.

Since zero stars isn’t an option I’m giving POS once rousing star for the POS that it is.

Anne of Green Gables on Goodreads | POS on Goodreads (apparently there were people who found POS riveting)

I received both of these graphic novels from NetGalley.

One Word: Yikes

beijing smog cover — Matador Publishing, 2017. 326 pages

I’ve got to be very careful with what I say in this review.

Though Beijing Smog is fiction, it is political in nature, I’ll stick to reviewing the novel without going on tangents. To be honest, the book was awful.

What it’s about and who’s involved:

Beijing Smog follows the stories of three seemingly unrelated groups of characters who all have a hand in dangerous cyber-business. After the scheme comes crashing down, several of the characters meet and no one is really sure of the truth. The only reality is that everything relates to the Party.

US Team

The most relevant member of the US Team is is Chuck Drayton, the screw up “Cyber Guy” who is unqualified for his job as a US Ambassador in Shanghai. We meet other members of Team USA, but these diplomats and hackers don’t do much to advance the plot.

Hong Kong Team

Calling Anthony “Tony” Morgan part of the Hong Kong team is not quite right, considering he actually lives in Shanghai (like Chuck). His wife (Cindy Wu) has a house in Beijing as well, but most of Tony’s story takes place in Hong Kong and Macau. He meets some people there, but these people are mostly irrelevant.

Beijing Team

The Beijing Team is actually just a group of flunkee college students who spend too much time online. Wang, Liu and Zhang are a group of friends who live and study together, though they focus more on getting rich quick than their courses. I can’t remember their full names because Ian Williams mostly refers to them by their surnames. None of the boys are particularly bright.

The Review

There are so many issues with Beijing Smog I don’t even know where to start. Within five minutes of opening the book, I already hated Chuck Drayton. He’s what I’d call the typical entitled American expat. If things don’t go his way he flies off the handle, and he seems to have almost no understanding of China and Chinese culture. He complains that a mix up at the hotel and bad traffic forced him to take the metro, and that he’s going to be late to his function. The thing is, he’s only four stops away from the venue. If four metro stops (8-10 minutes on the Beijing metro) is going to make you late, then not even a cab will save you.

Besides, Chuck doesn’t take his job seriously and he’s always making mistakes. He hardly knows the first thing about software, let alone anything about cyber security. His knowledge amounts to what you can learn from spending a few hours on Google. Throughout the novel, Chuck’s ineptitude and his contempt for others make him my least favorite character. He also puts other people in danger.

When I met Tony I thought he was a nice enough guy, but the way Williams describes his wealth is unrealistic. I can’t remember how much his apartment costs, but unless he actually bought the place there is no rent in Shanghai that is as high as Tony’s supposedly is. I’m extremely familiar with Shanghai and its rent prices. The number may seem like nothing compared to New York prices but it’s astronomical compared to the average Shanghai price, even for an apartment in Shanghai’s financial district.

Tony doesn’t have too many character flaws. He frequently visits of massage parlors, but that’s pretty much to be expected of his sort (that doesn’t make it right). He and his wife have a mechanical relationship (also common). He’s just a man doing what he can to make money. His greed is off-putting but he’s still not as bad as Chuck.

Finally, we come to the Beijing Team. The boys are so maddeningly daft I had to take breaks after reading their sections. For the first part of the novel, Williams spends time talking about Zhang and his issues. Zhang, however, turns out to be an unnecessary character, as is his friend Liu. Wang is the only character that matters in the end, but we only really start to get to know him in the last third of the novel.

On that note, Beijing Smog is incredibly slow-paced. It’s not obvious to the readers how the characters are connected until about halfway through the novel, and even the characters’ stories don’t really start overlapping until about the 75% mark. When the characters do meet each other, it’s only Chuck that meets Wang, and their interaction only lasted a handful of pages. Tony never meets Wang, but Wang meets one of Tony’s new enemies. Chuck and Tony meet early on, but there’s so much filler that their interactions become boring.

In fact, there are entire chapters of filler and the dialogue is terrible. I found myself actively thinking “who talks like this?” I also found it hard to believe that after being confronted by the Party about his online activity TWICE, Wang still doesn’t understand the ramifications of his online posts. His excuse is always, “it was just a joke!” or “I post so many things everyday, how can I remember that one post?” I also make a million posts a day, but I still generally remember what I posted. Are there posts I regret? Yes, but I haven’t forgotten them. Wang starts seeing one of the main symbols from his posts popping up at the protests around the country and can not wrap his pea-brained head around why it is problematic from the government’s point of view. By extension, he can’t figure out why the authorities keep hounding him. HIS FRIEND EVEN WARNS HIM ABOUT THE CRACKDOWN ON THE USAGE OF CERTAIN WORDS AND SYMBOLS. HE IGNORES THE WARNING AND CONTINUES TO POST, DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE AUTHORITIES WON’T LEAVE HIM ALONE. How can someone be so thick-skulled?

Clearly, I am angry.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge a novel based on the characters, but since the characters are the substance of the novel, what choice do I have? Even if the characters were perfect, it’s not like Beijing Smog is a literary masterpiece.

In summary, this book is the story of a bunch of idiots that and could have been reduced to the size of a novella. There are loose ends in the novel too, which is just great. I’m giving Beijing Smog two stars because I actually finished it, but I hated every single second.

The book is still too new for Thriftbooks and other secondhand sites, but here’s Beijng Smog on Amazon and Goodreads.

Beijing Smog is somewhat similar to Ray Hecht’s South China Morning Blues, so I’ve linked that review as well (but SCMB was actually a much better book). I wrote it a couple years ago and haven’t updated since, so it still follows the older format.

If you prefer the older format, let me know! I’ll go back to it. 😛 For the record, I received Beijing Smog as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Chinese Female History through Fiction (with Evelina!)

snow flower and the secret fan cover — Random House, 2005. 288 pgs

As my older readers may know, I’m a huge Lisa See fan. I read Shanghai Girls ages ago, and last year I reviewed The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. This time I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan with Evelina at Avalinah’s Books.

We discussed the book while reading, then gave each other some post-reading questions. The following are my answers; head over to her blog to see her answers to my questions. Evelina asked some pretty tough questions. I tried my best to give good answers, haha.

This is the first buddy read I’ve done, and I must say I quite enjoyed it. Our discussion was fantastic, and I considered plot points and ideas I may not have paid attention to on my own. I just might have to do more of these.

1. First of all, give me your general impression of the book. How enjoyable and engrossing was it? How many #feels did you suffer?

I actually had a hard time getting into Snow Flower and the Secret Fan at first. The style and content of the sentences seemed forced, and I didn’t think I was attached to any of the characters. For a while I felt like I was reading just to get through the book, then the plot started taking turns and I started freaking out. Somehow, I’d gotten invested in the characters’ lives so their fortunes and misfortunes killed me on the inside. By the time I realized what was happening, I’d passed the point of no return and I had to keep reading. If I had to rate the book, I’d give it four stars. I wasn’t as immediately into it like I was with other Lisa See novels, but in the end it was still a pretty good book.

2. The novel has a lot of info on the customs of foot binding. So, how much did it terrify you? And how much do you believe it meant the invisible chaining of a woman to a single room in the house? What would you say about the women who desired it even after it was out of practice?

See’s description left me cringing.

Woman with bound feet — Here’s an example of bound feet. Click to precede to the relevant Wikipedia page.

I was perplexed and fascinated when I searched up some pictures of bound feet. In general, I try to reserve judgement of these sort of things. Every culture has its own arbitrary beauty standard, and it’s not for me to decide whether a practice is right or wrong. I felt a little uncomfortable that some of the young girls were being forced to do it though.

Then again, in the US it isn’t uncommon for people to pierce their daughter’s ears before they even know how to speak, and that’s also an unnecessary body modification made in the name of beauty. Granted, ear piercing doesn’t usually affect someone’s ability to hear in the way foot binding affects someone’s ability to walk, but I wonder if that was the case before we had sterile needles.

I know some of the women chose to bind their feet to gain higher status, but I don’t understand why they’d willingly chose a practice that so severely limits their freedom and ease of movement (the descriptions of the womens’ feet while they were fleeing the rebels were strikingly vivid). I’d like to believe that some of the women bound their feet precisely because it prevented them from walking far and doing heavy lifting. That means they wouldn’t have to go outside and do the hard labor that they felt was beneath them. It could be a way to have the men serve the women.

Unfortunately, women were still expected to do all of the work inside the house, unless they were wealthy enough to afford servants, so that theory is unlikely.

Or perhaps we’re reading too much into it. Maybe the men really liked the look of the bound feet, and the immobilization of women is just a consequence no one paid much attention to. Still, I’d like to read more about it.

3-4. Let’s discuss the contrast between the western and the oriental way of things: for example, that a child’s funeral would be the bigger event in the west, and yet it’s inconsequential in the east, as opposed to an old person’s, which would be viewed as natural in the west? Elaborate on how the novel aims to show the contrast to the western reader.

The 21st century has its hangups when it comes to respecting women or minorities, but I found it incomparable to 18th century China. How did you feel when you finished the novel – do you value your freedom in society more now that you’ve read it? Or do you see much room for improvement still?

I combined these questions because my answers are thematically similar.

There is a strong Confucian influence on the novel. Lily mentions “filial piety” several times, and the funerals are a classic example of the familial hierarchy. If I remember correctly, the adult that died was a rather high ranking member of the family, especially compared to the child, so it makes sense that the adult’s funeral was bigger. The older person also carried more wisdom, and knowledge is cherished in Confucian tradition.

Nowadays, whenever there’s a tragic death of a child or of a group of children, the online community says, “smallest coffins are the heaviest.” I’ve started to notice both eastern and western communities expressing this sentiment.

I’m not sure whether Confucian tradition is still followed in the most rural areas of east Asia, but modernity seems to be shifting the world’s perception. I think now, the general perception is that while an older person’s death is still sad, the older person has lived a long, fulfilling live, whereas the child will never get the chance to experience “all of life’s joys.”

Example of Chinese Ethnic Embrodery — These women are wearing embroidery from the Yi Ethnic Minority in China. Source: China Daily

Besides status differences between family members, I found the ancient Chinese concept of dowry to be rather interesting. The bride winds up paying the groom’s family with skill, not money. The groom’s family provides fabric and material goods while the bride must turn these goods into useful items for herself and her future family, mainly in the form of clothing and bedding. I can’t imagine the speed at which brides must learn to sew and embroider in order to put together a lifetime’s worth of material in the months before their weddings.

While the status of women has improved overall in the global consciousness, I actually see direct parallels between the depiction of women in the novel and the reality of women today. I don’t know too many countries where women are still considered outright useless, but women still hold a lesser position than men.

Most people in the US no longer consider women subservient to men, so there’s that difference at least. We’ve gained a lot of rights, and for that I am thankful, but there’s still work to do in getting people to value us for something other than child-rearing and homemakers. Alright, let me get off my soapbox, haha.

5. Girl circles, girl relationships! I found them simply fascinating. That a society so restricting of women still encouraged strong feminine bonds that last a lifetime made me infinitely happy. What’s your take on it? Or do you believe that was just a way of keeping the half-slaves appeased?

I definitely viewed the circles as a way to keep the women docile. I imagine that if they were locked in the female chambers alone with just their children and in-laws they’d have staged a mutiny, especially since there doesn’t seem to be much interaction between husband and wife other than in the bedroom. Having an old-same or an after marriage sister group gives them someone to share their woes with, and also helps occupy their time since the women are constantly writing (or in some cases embroidering) letters to their friends.

Regardless of their purpose, I’m glad the women’s circles existed, and I’m doubly glad Lisa See included them in the novel. I always appreciate how she focuses on the womens’ side of the story, without making the women focus all of their attention on the men. While the women talk about the men when necessary, they also have conversations about their own matters. It’s still a surprisingly rare event in novels.

6. Divide and conquer. Sending women away to be married far, so they could form no relationships – that seems to be part of the customs in the novel. Do you see that as a way of control in a society?

When we first discussed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I thought dividing the women was a way to keep them separate. In general, they wouldn’t form as strong a bond with their in-laws as with their biological family.

The more I think about it, though, the more I see the practical nature of dividing the women. People didn’t have a lot of money, so marrying the women away was a way to lessen the number of mouths to feed in the household. In the spirit of fairness, the women more-or-less stayed with their parents for the first few years of marriage, then returned home regularly during times of food shortage.

7. Let’s talk about right and wrong, and the way society views people through the lens of material things. Would you agree that the novel was trying to say that no matter who is right, the poor will always be ‘in the wrong’, and ‘the rich in the right’? Do you think Lisa See was trying to portray that through Lily’s story?

Oooh, I didn’t think about this while reading. In short, yes, poor people are always “in the wrong” in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Wealthier people tend to control the narrative, so even if poor people are doing the right thing, it may not be immediately obvious to us.

In the novel, we are following the action through Lily’s point of view, and she is rich when she’s recounting the story. I will admit that I fully believed Lily was correct in her beliefs, even if I was annoyed by how frequently she played the victim. Too often, she cried about how Snow Flower lied to her without considering why Snow Flower may have lied. She never really thought about anyone’s intentions but her own, then got angry with people when she realized “the truth,” even if she was really wrong.

I’m saddened by how quickly Snow Flower accepted defeat, though. Even though she shouldn’t be required to justify herself to her clearly selfish friend, she could have argued her case, if not with the public then at least with Lily. I think even she knew that as a “lowly” poor person, there was no point in arguing with someone of much higher social standing.

8. Lisa See depicts the trapped life of a woman who can’t really change anything and all the circumstances working only in favor of making it worse, no matter what the woman chooses. This seemed to be the case for almost all women back in that day. Give me your thoughts on this subject.

Lily was the luckiest of all the characters. Her situation just kept improving, and she only seemed to suffer one major disappointment in her life.

Example of Nu Shu — An example of Nu Shu, the “secret” women’s writing discussed in the book.

Snow Flower was the one who kept trying to change her situation and kept making it worse, in my opinion. I do agree that the women really didn’t have much choice other than to accept their fate. They could have started a rebellion, but the change wouldn’t have happened overnight. It might not have even changed in their lifetime.

As I mentioned in question four, some of the structures were practical in nature: they were meant to ensure the best chance of survival for the families in the villages. Wounds are less likely to fester in the cold, so foot binding in the autumn/winter months was safer. The pollution taboos seemed to protect reproductive health. Animals carry all sorts of bacteria and viruses on and in their bodies; a wealthy person who marries into a butcher family is more likely to get sick (and die, especially before modern hygiene laws came in to play) than someone who is in or near the butcher class.

The worst part in all of this is that the women in the novel are treated like chattel. Even if many of the traditions protect them, the women have absolutely no say in anything else in their lives. Not being able to choose a husband is pretty much standard for the time period, but they also don’t even get to choose their friends (the old-same match was arranged!). I don’t really understand the logic behind that.

9. The Taiping rebellion. Do you feel like Lisa See should have written more about this historical episode? Or maybe she didn’t to symbolize how remote the woman’s life was from the “realm of men”, that even in danger, the woman’s life is by the hearth, even if it’s in a field?

I was so frustrated by the depiction of the Taiping Rebellion. I love modern Chinese history (the period after the Opium War) and was fully ready to nerd out on the historical bits of information. Instead, we got a unimpressive and unnecessary discussion about the struggles of living in the mountains.

Although we learned so important information about the characters, the time spent fleeing the rebels didn’t do anything to advance the plot. Lisa See could have told us about bound feet and the relationship between Snow Flower and her husband in different ways. The time in the mountains forced Snow Flower and Lily to live together for an extended period of time, but the result would have been the same if Lily had just stayed in Snow Flower’s house for more than a few days at a time.

I hadn’t considered the episode as a way to show how remote the women were from the “outside realm,” but since they were quite literally forced outside, I feel the episode should have brought them into closer contact with reality. They spent months side-by-side with men, and somehow didn’t learn anything about the world they live in. I would have preferred to see the women struggle against the rebels, while realizing how little they knew about the motivations and potential consequences of the Rebellion.

It would have been doubly interesting to see whether they would still prefer the women’s chamber after having learned about it, or if they would have wanted to go out and explore.

On an unrelated note: the Taiping Rebellion episode showed me that Lily and her husband are goals. T_T

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Phew, that was a long post, and hopefully not too rambly, hah. Discussing the book really increased by enjoyment. After having discussed the book with Evelina, I realized Lisa See’s books are all related. She chooses similar themes for her novels, and the timelines appear to be chronological.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) covers events in the early nineteenth century and focuses on the relationship between two intimate friends while On Gold Mountain (1995) covers the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and centers around family and immigration. Shanghai Girls covers the early to mid twentieth century and is mainly about two sisters within a family who eventually emigrate. Dreams of Joy (2011) goes until the late twentieth century and follows the same sisters from Shanghai Girls. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (2017) starts in the late twentieth century and brings Lisa See’s stories firmly into the twenty-first century, focusing on both mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships.

It seems her earlier novels were laying the foundation of understanding for her newer novels. I don’t know if it was intentional on the part of See, but it’s interesting nonetheless. There are more novels, but those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I can’t wait to read more.

I’m currently reading Beijing Smog by Ian Williams, so I guess my blog will feature China-centric books for a while.

Congrats to the readers who made it this far, you’re the real MVPs.

If you’d like to know more about Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, check it out on Goodreads, buy it on Amazon and of course, go read Evelina’s blog post! 😀 The book is also available on Thriftbooks and Abe Books, if that’s what you prefer.

I just started using Comment Luv, so drop a note below so I know whether or not the plug in works, hahah. Next week I’ll show you my recent tea haul.

Comic and Graphic Novel Roundup

super sikh 2 cover — Rosarium Publishing, 2017. 25 Pages.

Super Sikh #2: Viva Las Vegas

By: Eileen Kaur Alden, Supreet Singh Manchanda and Amit Tayal

I admit that I’m writing this mini-review several months after having read the comic and that starting at the second issue probably doesn’t help matters, but I don’t remember being blown away by Super Sikh. I asked my friend about the first one (she’s Sikh, and her younger brother apparently likes the series) and our conclusion that it Super Sikh is overall pretty “meh.”

Don’t get me wrong, the art is beautiful. The dialogue, however, is lackluster and the plot relies on a few trope and stereotypes, which is ironic because Super Sikh is one of those comics with an underlying political message. It seeks to change people’s opinions of Sikh people. Unfortunately, while in the process of exonerating Sikh people, the comic throws Muslims under the bus. Not Cool. Muslims are cast as the terrorists who are out to destroy America or American ideals or something like that, and because Deep is the superhero of the story, America’s enemies become his enemies. Super Sikh quickly devolved into an “us versus them” (America versus Muslims, or Sikh versus Muslims) story.

I don’t think I need to list examples of Islamophobia in America (or in European countries) here, but I will mention the existing tension between Sikhs and Muslims. I’m going to be general with my following explanation and I know not everything I say is applicable to everyone, but I don’t want to get into a long, complicated discussion in this blog post.

For some reason, a rather large portion of Sikh Americans (and Sikh Canadians) detest Muslim Americans and Muslim Canadians. I think the sentiment has to do with the partition of India. Sikhs see themselves as fundamentally Indian (with some choosing to elevate their Punjabi heritage) while Muslims, especially South Asian Muslims, are seen as traitors. According to the Sikh haters, Muslims dared to abandon India and go to Pakistan. This is obviously not true of all Muslims. Not every Muslims is South Asian, and there were Indian Muslims who decided to stay in India during the partition. Still, although Sikhs are fighting to end discrimination against their people in the Americas, some turn a blind eye to discrimination and violence against Muslims when we should all be fighting on the same side. The end goal is religious tolerance and the end of discrimination against all racialized people.

Anyway, Super Sikh‘s art was nice, but it wasn’t nice enough for me to forgive the perpetuation of an unnecessary feud.

If you care to read it yourself, you can find a synopsis on Goodreads or buy it on Amazon.

Lady Stuff Cover — Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2017. 125 Pages.

Lady Stuff: Secrets to Being a Woman

By: Loryn Brantz

This comic collection was super disappointing. To be honest, I requested it on NetGalley by accident, because I mistook it for Sarah Anderson‘s work. Once I realized this was something else entirely, I decided to roll with it. How bad could it be, right?

Apparently, very, very bad. The jokes felt tired and at times forced. I felt like I’d seen most of the comics online before. Brantz writes for Buzzfeed and has work featured in several children’s novels. I didn’t bother to find any of her other books, but I will say that adult comic collections are not her strong suit. Sure the situations are relatable, but the stories aren’t told in a particularly interesting way. Most of the comics are one or two panels, and quite a few are “before and after” type drawings. I found myself yawning as I scrolled through the pages. I couldn’t wait the for book to end. If any of my readers see Lady Stuff, move on. Sarah Anderson does a better job of showing us what it’s like to be a lady.

In the interest of fairness, I’m still posting the Goodreads and Amazon links for Lady Stuff, but please, save yourself.

The Girl Who Said Sorry

Written by: Hayoung Yim; Illustrated by: Marta Maszkiewicz

I wanted to end this post on a positive note, and The Girl Who Said Sorry is a perfect book. It’s short, sweet and to-the-point. Essentially, a young girl continually apologizes for living her life because the way she wants to live is not the way her elders expect her to live. In the end she finds her inner strength and refuses to apologize for being herself any longer. It’s got a strong feminist message, one that’s not only helpful for children, but also adults. Too often women learn to apologize, to make themselves smaller for the convenience of others. It may take a while to unlearn it, but if we can all teach our girls they don’t need to do it in the first place, then we’re making progress.

I will comment that because this book is so short, it focuses mainly on the girl. It doesn’t give boys (or rather, male-identifying people) any pointers on how to be allies, but I think that’s okay. Allyship can be the topic of another book. I think The Girl Who Said Sorry is fine just the way it is.

As if the lesson weren’t enough by itself, half of the proceeds go to Girl Up, which is a UN Foundation campaign dedicated to empowering young girls. I plan on buying the book for that reason alone. By the way, if you haven’t heard of Girl Rising (a separate campaign), you should definitely check that out.

If you’d like to grab a copy, head on over to Amazon. Otherwise, you can check out the summary and reviews on Goodreads.

I Managed to Score Volume 2

If you missed my review of the first volume, check it out here.

DayBlack Volume 2

By: Keef Cross

As I mentioned in my previous DayBlack review, DayBlack follows the story of Merce, a slave-turned-vampire who’s trying to survive in the modern world. Over the centuries, he has invented several clever tactics for staying alive undetected.

When I finished the first volume (which contains issues 1-3), I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue reading the series. I don’t remember what made me feel that way though, because when I saw the second volume on NetGalley I requested it so fast I surprised myself. I guess deep down I really wanted to know how Merce’s story continued.

While reading this volume, I realized I misspoke in my first DayBlack post. I was reading one volume as if it were a single story, but actually each volume contains three different issues. If I bought them individually instead of receiving the volume, I’d have to purchase three separate books. I realized my mistake when I made it to Issue Five, and after I noticed it I felt like I was binge-reading the story. I think that’s what eventually got me hooked.

Volume 2 (issues 4-6) begins in a strange place. I spent most of Issue 4 trying to figure out what was happening. I didn’t understand where Merce was or what he was doing, and his son seemed to have disappeared as well. I was satisfied in Issue 6 when his son came back, but just like in the first volume, his appearance was brief. DayBlack Volume 2 seems to be where Merce’s backstory begins to mesh with his present day activities. Two characters reappear from his past, and the reader is trying to figure out who they are while Merce tries to figure out why they’ve arrived. In other words, Merce is just as confused as the reader. I was confused; then I was angry that my confusion wasn’t being resolved. At the same time, Merce’s confusion dissipates and his anger grows. By creating this emotional involvement with the reader, Cross evokes feelings of empathy for Merce.

Based on what we’ve seen of other vampires in the series, Merce seems to be decidedly more human (this volume introduces a potential reason for that). He experiences grief at the loss of a past lover. He experiences anger and lust and longing. Most importantly, he feels remorse.

While Merce may outwardly seem guarded and haughty to the characters in the story, the reader knows he holds himself to a relatively high moral standard. When he makes a mistake he feels guilty. He feels a sense of duty towards his son, even if his son should technically be his worst enemy. He tries not to kill people. When he does kill someone, he does it only to protect himself.

Other vampires kill gratuitously, and they make a mess of it in the process. The other vampires we’ve seen so far in DayBlack don’t think twice about ending a humans life for even the smallest transgressions. The vampires manipulate humans, and when they’re done they discard them. It’s no wonder the vampire hunters are so intent on purging the Earth of this night-walking species.

We also learn one of Merce’s vulnerabilities in Volume 2. It’s not his kryptonite, but it’s clearly something that causes him great emotional anguish.

Just like the first volume of DayBlack, this one is not for the faint of heart, and it’s potentially NSFW. The scenes are more suggestive and more bloody. Partway through the volume, I actually started counting how many instances of barely-hidden nudity I saw. Male sex organs are generally covered by plants or by another person’s limbs. Female genitalia are covered by similar means, but their chests are usually visible, even through clothing. There were a couple instances where nothing but a stream of blood “covered” a woman’s nipples.

I don’t particularly want to see the graphic scenes. In fact, I feel guilty because I feel like I should be filling my mind with other things. I’m so involved in the story at this point, though, that I almost feel obligated to continue. An invisible force is coaxing me to follow Merce until the end. Like it or not, I’m in this for the long run.

I’m giving four stars (feathers? I need a personalized rating system) to DayBlack: Volume 2, not because I found fault in it, but because I can’t justify myself giving 5 stars for something so violent. That said, I enjoyed the story and I’m pleased by the art. I hope more comic artists follow in Cross’s footsteps and create art that doesn’t conform to European or East Asian standards. I cautiously recommend DayBlack: read at your own risk. It’s so different from other comics, though, that I think it’s worth the read even if it’s not your style.

DayBlack Volume 2 will be available for purchase on December 27th, 2017. Find it on: Amazon | Thriftbooks | Goodreads

Almost Everyone is a Little Like Lars

Heart and Brain: Body Language

By: Nick Seluk

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2017. 144 Pages

I know I’ve been reviewing nothing but graphic novels and comic books lately, but I meant it when I said NetGalley has some seriously awesome stuff in that category. When I came across Heart and Brain: Body Language (An Awkward Yeti Collection) I smashed the request button.

I’ve been reading Awkard Yeti comics for about a year on Nick Seluk’s website. His comics feature Lars, the yeti, and his zany internal organs. Each organ has its own personality and affect the way Lars interacts with the world. Lars deals with coffee addiction and social anxiety; his Heart is whimsical and his Brain is pragmatic (but is often swayed by his Heart). The whole lot is super relatable.

While reading Heart and Brain: Body Language I found that though Seluk posts a fair amount of his comics online, they’re not all on the website. The book includes quite a few “bonus” comics and I appreciate Seluk’s use of primary “crayola box” colors (I don’t know how else to describe them). The color pallet is simple and bright, which makes even the difficult/frightening situation easy to read.

A number of the comics are single-pane, which I tend to be a fan of. Besides Seluk, Wiley Miller (the artists behind Non Sequitor comics) and Dan Piraro (author of Bizarro! comics) all do a pretty good job of making me chuckle in the 15 seconds it takes to read the panel. That’s what I call talent. If you click through the links to the other comic websites, I’m sure you’ll realize that my sense of humor is pretty strange.

Since so much of Seluk’s work is online, I decided that this post will speak about his work in general, rather than the book itself. You can gauge whether you’d like the book by going to http://www.theawkwardyeti.com and clicking through some of the panels. I’m warning you, it’s a deep rabbit hole.

Heart and Brain: Body Language is actually Seluk’s third collection. I’ve noticed he released all his books in October, but I’m not sure why that is. I’m sure it’s at least partyly coincidence. Or maybe he just like the month of October.

He released Heart and Brain: Gut Instincts in 2016, and Heart and Brain in 2015. As you can see, Heart and Brain are the stars of the show, even though the series is officially called The Awkard Yeti. Since releasing his first collection, Seluk has branched out to open an Awkward Yeti webstore and is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund his Heart and Brain party game. I can’t imagine what the game will be like, but I’m intrigued by the concept.

Body Language comes out today (October 3rd) and is available in both paperback and digital form. From now until October 21st, you’ll receive a FREE Marvel comic with the purchase of select graphic novels. It just so happens that Body Language is part of the promotion so head on over to Amazon to grab a copy: Heart and Brain: Body Language on Amazon.

Tea AND Dragons?! #yesplease

The Tea Dragon Society

By: Kate O’Neil

I loved this book so much it warrants the second-ever gif on my blog. This was my face the entire time I was reading:

I picked up this beauty while I was browsing through the graphic novels on NetGalley and the title immediately caught my attention. How could I not read something about tea? The dragons were just an added bonus. I figured the story would be simple since this is a Middle Grade book (ages ~9-12) but boy was I in for a treat.

There are so many interesting things I’m having a hard time sorting them out in my head to write this review.

Let’s start with the major theme: traditions. The book begins with Greta questioning whether it’s still important for her to learn her mother’s craft. She comes from a line of blacksmiths, but apparently it’s a dying art. Along the way she runs into a dragon, which she later learns is a tea dragon. Like blacksmithing, raising a tea dragon is no longer a cherished skill. Greta, her friends and her mentors all grapple with whether, how and why people should keep traditions alive.

As for the dragons themselves, well, O’Neil certainly put time into creating their stories. Each dragon produces a specific type of tea. When the tea is brewed properly, is has magical properties and contains all of the memories it has with its caretaker. Each tea dragon has its own personality and they’re notoriously difficult to care for. They are quite unlike their full-dragon cousins.

Early in the story, Greta meets Minette, a lost girl. I don’t want to give too much of her backstory away, but I thought it was exceptionally clever of O’Neil to have a tea dragon pair with Minette in her time of need.

Throughout the novel, there’s also an LGBTQIA undertone. It’s not overtly obvious, in fact, unless you’re paying close attention you might miss it. While some novels attempt to push a political agenda down your throat in such a way that destroys the integrity of the story, the LGBTQ* elements were woven in so seamlessly that they just made sense.

The Tea Dragon Society was a well-written, beautifully illustrated, fully immersive experience. I’m actually kind of upset there aren’t more novels out (yet?).

I want to know how Greta and Minette grow. I want to find out more about their families. I want to see what becomes of blacksmithing, tea dragon raising and other old-world crafts. I want to see what happens to Hesekiel and Erik. How do they care for each other? What exactly happened during the battle the tea dragon alluded to?

If you’re reading this, do me a favor: grab a copy of The Tea Dragon Society and make sure all of your friends to the same. It comes out on October 31st but is already available for preorder on Amazon. It’s so wonderfully pure. It may feel like there’s little hope for humanity these days, but The Tea Dragon Society is a ray of sunshine in the darkness.

tea dragon society cover — Oni Press, 2017. 72 pgs

REPOST: Pinterest Would Have Been Better

cover of 30 day whole food challenge — Kindle, 2017. 135 pgs

30 Day Whole Food Challenge: Essential Recipes to Help you Lose Weight Naturally, Stay Healthy, and Feel Good

By: Amanda Rice

I’m starting to think I’m the Simon Cowell of book reviews.

Recently, I’ve started requesting “project books” from publishers. Desiring a reprieve from information overload, I look to project books to give me something to work on while I read. Project books give me the opportunity to start new, healthy habits.

30 Day Whole Food Challenge was the first project book I requested and it was awful. I ignored the fact the the book was based on a fad diet and decided I would try out some recipes to see if anything tasted good. I’ve read my fair share of cookbooks in the past; this “book” was really more like a pamphlet. My copy clocked in at a whopping 108 pages with ample blank space, though the Kindle Edition supposedly has 135 pages.

Cookbooks usually have plenty of pictures, and most cookbooks will give information regarding the specific nutrients in a meal, substitutions and maybe a bit of interesting information regarding the dish. 30 Day Whole Food Challenge did none of those things. It would have been nice to see some pictures of preparation steps or serving ideas.

I’m tempted to call this the anti-cookbook. By now, I’m used to modifying recipes to suit my dietary restrictions. I swap pork for beef or chicken depending on the recipe, and when I don’t feel like eating meat,(I try to limit my meat consumption to once or twice per week, I’m slowly transitioning to vegetarianism) I can usually remove or replace the meat.

With 30 Day Whole Food Challenge, however, most of the recipes required meat, and it became exhausting trying to figure out how to adjust them to my liking. Since this book was about whole food, I expected more vegetable dishes than meat dishes, but at least 2/3 of the book is dedicated to meat.

Besides that, there are a lot of rather uncommon ingredients listed in the recipes (guar gum? water kefir?). I don’t live near a health food store, and a lot of these recipes can’t be completed with the stuff someone has in an average kitchen. If have to either shop online or trek to almost the neighboring city to go to Whole Foods, and Whole Foods produce is out of my price range.

Aw man, don’t even get me started on the typos! There were typos all throughout the book, from incorrect cook times to misleading recipe labels. One of the foods on the “allowed” list is also on the “disallowed” list. Which is it? It’s clear Rice typed this book and hit publish without giving it a second glance. To be fair, I received an ARC, but most ARCs have at least been glanced through and edited by the authors before they’re sent for review.

I suppose this book is good for a very specific type of person. If you already know what Whole30 is and don’t have any particular dietary restriction, then you might find this cookbook helpful. There are plenty of recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner but there’s very little information about what the Whole30 diet actually is. This book would make a great addition to another foundation text on the Whole30 diet.

If you’re just starting out on your health-food journey, you might want to skip this one.

You Call That a Thriller?!

image of the girl on the rain — Riverhead Books, 2015. 325 pgs.

The Girl on the Train

By: Paula Hawkins

The TBR (to-be-read) shelf is a magical and dangerous part of every bookworm’s life. It has the mysterious ability to continuously grow and accommodate new purchases, threatening to eat all of a bookworm’s money. At the same time, the TBR shelf is kind of like a cactus; we water it occasionally then forget about it. This summer, I finally decided to read some of the books on the shelf, but if you’ve been reading my reviews you know I haven’t read much I’ve liked.

I guess the problem with the TBR shelf is that some of the purchases are so old the books seem like they belong to another lifetime. We buy the books at different stages in our reading journey, then move on.

I really thought I’d like The Girl on the Train because I enjoyed watching Gone Girl. I haven’t read the book, but in general I like to read and watch thrillers. The Girl on the Train is classified as a thriller, but there’s nothing thrilling about it. It was slow-moving, and I couldn’t get into the story.

All of the characters were just…too much. Anna was too jealous and vindictive, Rachel was too pathetic and self destructive, Megan was too stupid, selfish and vapid, Tom was also too selfish, Kamal was too weak-willed, Scott was too controlling. I understand that Rachel was a recovering alcoholic who suffered a probably traumatic break up, but I have a hard time understanding and believing the link between her past trauma and her getting involved in the criminal investigation.

There weren’t a whole lot of surprises in The Girl on the Train. Just like Rachel, I listed the handful of possible outcomes after only reading about 1/3 of the book and it turns out my guesses were correct. Towards the end, there was one moment when I wasn’t sure how Anna was going to react to what was going on between Tom and Rachel (that’s not a spoiler, I promise. In the middle of the book Anna suspects something, but if you keep reading you’ll find out the truth and it’s kind of interesting), but that little bit of intrigue was not enough to save the book.

The Girl on the Train was straight up boring.

The premise was promising (“a commuter sees something through the train window that changes her life forever”) but the thing she sees is not the catalyst for the main action of the novel. Perhaps it was that disconnect that kept me at a distance. Sure, the thing Rachel sees through the window is what pushes her to get involved with the police (therefore involving her in the main action), but seeing as Megan and Scott (who she dubbed “Jess and Jason” before she realized who they were) were random strangers living their lives, what she saw had nothing to do with her. It was none of her business in the first place.

As I read, I kept feeling like something more was going to happen. After a point I realized there would be no shocking plot twists. By then I’d read probably 2/3 of the book and I didn’t have another physical book with me so I decided to finish it anyway. I’d already DNF’ed The Prophet and the Messiah and The Computer, and I was trying to stay on track with my Goodreads Reading Challenge so I powered through the remaining 100 or so pages.

It turns out I didn’t need to worry about the reading goal because I found a bunch of graphic novels to read and review. I’m really glad I turned to graphic novels to take a breather from my TBR, because some of the graphic novels were pretty good reads, and all of them took less than an hour to leaf through. The reviews for those books will be coming up soon enough.

I’m not sure what rating to give The Girl on the Train. It gets 3 stars for writing, 1 for plot, 2 for characterization and 4 for setting. That comes to an average of about 2.5 stars, so I’ll round down to two. I seriously cannot recommend this book. It’s just that bad.

If you want to read the book and see for yourself how bad the book is, or if you just want to prove me wrong, you can pick the book up on Amazon, Thriftbooks, and probably your local library.