“Look
for signs of us in the world around you – the leaves, the clouds, the birds.”
27 Bookers including one guest, Chuck Turner’s
daughter Amy Anderssen, dodged a scattering of raindrops on our way to Rokhshie
Malone’s for this month’s meeting. It was a perfect setting for this novel and
we thank Rokhsie for opening her home, providing “themed” snacks including
fortune cookies, as well as delicious treats for those who skipped breakfast. We
appreciate everyone bringing flowers for Jane Freer’s Easter parade and thank
Jean Alexander for spearheading this project. Love dripped from every bloom and
we hope Jane will feel the extent of our friendship.
Water plays a significant role in The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, as it was the site of great tragedy and
healing. Often the type of water in a story is as important as the water
reference itself. Rivers are constantly moving and follow a distinct path,
often representing the flow of life or fertility. References to the ocean
signify overcoming obstacles or abysses dragging characters into deep depths of
the waters. Lakes are used when characters face great decisions or offer deep
introspection. Water in a story is powerful and has the ability to free
characters as well as claim them. Life cannot exist without water. Humans and
the Earth are each 80% water. We are water and water is us.
Mei Lien cherished time at the shoreline. Alone with
the spirits she embraced who she was and where she had come from. It was an
opportunity to immerse herself in memories. Her offerings, two apples, two
packages of cold rice tied with five ribbons representing the five elements,
blue for water, red for fire, black for wood, white for metal, and yellow for
earth sailed in bark boats to sea warding off water dragons and providing
sustenance to the spirits of her father and grandmother. Bookers enjoyed a
moment of silence to center our thoughts…a drop of water causes a ripple…the
ripple becomes a wave…then the wave carries momentum until the water is smooth
again. It is the circle of life before our eyes.
The author, Kelli Estes, while researching material came
across a story about a smuggler fleeing a revenue cutter because his cargo
consisted of illegal Chinese immigrants. He bashed their heads and dumped their
bodies overboard to escape monetary penalties. This was the basis for the story
but using literary license, she placed Mei Lien and her family on board that
carrier. Immigration laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary
Act of 1892 allowed the United States to exclude people based on their Chinese
race. 350 Seattle Chinese were driven out of town on a steamer bound for San
Francisco. The Governor intervened, a judge declaring martial law and each
passenger was informed of their right to leave or stay. Those who left arrived
safely in San Francisco. Those who stayed were protected. Ms. Estes chose
Seattle for her story to honor all those whose lives were taken in other cities
because of the anti-Chinese sentiment raging in the Country.
Pat Faherty, dressed in a kimono, led the review of
this historical romance novel set on Orcas Island, part of the San Juan chain
of islands at the tip of Washington state. The novel followed a dual storyline
from the late 1880s to present day. Mei Lien, a young Chinese girl born in the
United States lived in Seattle at the time of the anti-Chinese movement fueled
by fear that the Chinese people were taking American jobs. Aboard a ship
supposedly bound for China, Mei Lien learns the fate of those on board and in
the ultimate act of love, her father saves her life by pushing her overboard
forcing her to find her destiny on her own. The contemporary story of Inara
Erickson began when she inherited her family’s estate on Orcas Island, her late
aunt hoping she would turn the property into a bed and breakfast. Inara had
followed a career path that would please her corporate father, but in the end
knew she was to follow her heart and choose her own destiny. Both women
suffered great losses, Inara’s tied to her mother’s death, Mei Lien’s to the
death of her father, grandmother, and her innocence. Within the small community
in which they lived, both women separated by a hundred years end up being
connected by fate, a hotel, and an embroidered sleeve of silk. Pat ended her
review with a stuffed seal peeking out of her kimono reminding us of the
symbolism of the continuous presence of Mei Lien’s departed grandmother in the
characters of the novel. Very well done Ms. Faherty!!
The majority of Bookers in attendance loved the story,
but a few who did not felt it was contrived, more in line with a Harlequin
romance novel with too many coincidences and clichés, with the story feeling
predictable. The author admits to writing the book as if each were separate
novels. She wrote Mei Lien’s story first, then Inara’s which might account for
some reviewers commenting that it seemed disjointed. We talked about what you
would do to save your child’s life, the calming qualities of the water, and
personal stories related to the mystical healing attribute of water itself as
documented in the new therapy for those veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder. It was a great meeting and discussion and as always, we all
share respect for our reading differences and preferences…all having our
personal cups of tea in reading and in life. Thanks to everyone for
participating and supporting our grand book club!
On the business side:
Bookers’ book donations for the Pinnacle free lending
library have been delivered. Many thanks to Bonnie Magee for handling this
transfer and Dee Dee has promised to add something to the newsletter announcing
this
.
We hope by our May meeting to have a definite answer
on our summer read. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of Life in a Box and others being
considered to entertain us during our summer break from meeting….not reading!
COLOR CODING
SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
Wed. May 3rd NOTE CHANGE OF DATE
Orphan
# 8 by Kim van Alkemade
RED
Reviewer:
Patty Evans
Wine
& Cheese evening meeting, 6:00 p.m.
Home of Melanie
Prebis.
Bonnie
Magee, Food Czar
Summer Read: To
be determined
Mei Lien believed in the foretelling signs of mystical
powers. My fortune cookie read, “The future belongs to those who believe in the
beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt.
Happy Reading,
JoDee
