Friday 30 March 2018

Canada Reads: book 5

Book 5: "The Boat People" by Sharon Bala

   This book is fiction although it is based on fact.  The fact is that boats arrived in Vancouver from Sri Lanka during the civil war (2009-2010).  They were carrying  refugees, hoping to be allowed to stay in Canada.
   The characters in this book are fictional, but went through the regular stages of immigration- hearings and detention reviews, that take months or years.
  This fictional boatload of 500 refugees was detained in prison. The women and children were in one location, with the men in another location.    This was a problem right from the start because the main character, Mahindan (whose wife had died in childbirth) had a 6 year-old son, Sellian, who was separated from the only person he knew. Mahindan had difficulty getting immigrant status because he had been a mechanic who had repaired a vehicle that was used by a suicide bomber. 
  After several months in the women's prison, Sellian was placed in a foster home, where he could not speak the language or understand the culture.
  The government had great concern about bringing these refugees into the country: "We will protect the nation's sovereignty.  We will not allow our refugee system to be hijacked by an army of terrorist clones".
  Well, this book broke my heart.  I'm afraid that I have 'opened my eyes' too much to the suffering of the world.  Here is another cover, showing the man and his son.

   This book will be presented by Jozhdah Jamalzada.

Mozhdah is an singer/songwriter, born in Afghanistan.  At age 5, her family arrived in Canada. She was raised in Vancouver, studying journalism, philosophy and political science.  She returned to Afghanistan to create a T.V. show.  

Monday 26 March 2018

Canada Reads: book 4

Book 4: "American War" by Omar El Akkad

  This is a dystopian novel.  The prologue talks about the 2030's and 2040's - "before the planet turned on the country and the country turned on itself".
  The Second Civil War in the United States begins in 2074- goes on for twenty years. It is triggered by the climate crisis- the north is banning fossil fuels.  A young southern girl, Sarat Chestnut, is the main character and the novel tells how she was affected by the violence as a child, became a killer and was tortured for years.  She found the ultimate revenge in the horrifying climax.
  It has been called "a notable book of the year, by The New York Times book review, and it is a Globe and Mail 'best book'.
  I hated every page.




This book will be defended by Tahmon Penikett, an actor, who grew up in Whitehorse.
He said that the book is about religious bigotry, regional hatred, racism, sexism and fake news.  I didn't see any of those things.  I saw bombing, fighting, killing, and torture.
He said that it has echoes of America today.  And that, alone, is a scary thought. 
What is the appeal of this book for so many readers?  One of the reviews online said "The war lasts for nearly twenty years, with unmanned drones and biological warfare and good old-fashioned terrorism making a ruins of the South."  What is appealing about that?
Let's face it.  I never understood the appeal of dystopian novels.  Most people have enough challenges in their life, that they don't need to add the sense of hopelessness that these novels invoke.
If people enjoy this writing, they have a right to read it.  However, why would Canada Reads recommend that 'all of Canada' read this book?  It baffles me!

Friday 23 March 2018

Canada Reads: book 3

Book 3:  "Forgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents" by Mark Sakamoto
  This is a non-fiction book about two of the authors' grandparents- his paternal grandmother and his
maternal grandfather, during the second world war. The book intertwines the story of Ralph MacLean, who was captured and spent some years in a POW camp, with the story of Mitsue Oseki, whose family was uprooted from British Columbia to be interned on a sugar beet farm in Alberta.
  Both families had their lives completely changed
Mark Sakamoto is a lawyer who has worked in politics.
as the war affected them in different ways.  Although each family experienced man's inhumanity and brutality, they learned to forgive. 

  The end of the book is the story of the author's mother who lived a very destructive life of abuse and addiction.  He also had to learn to forgive his mother. 
   I did not like this book.  I thought it would only be of interest to the author's family.  There are many much better books about World War II- the Japanese internment as well as the bombing and fighting.  
  This book was full of minutiae- too many small unimportant details.  It started out as an essay and I think that was sufficient.  The rest was filler.
  However, there are many people who thought this book was great and I am waiting to see what the panel for Canada Reads will have to say
about it.


Jeanne Beker
  Jeanne Beker will be defending this book. 
  She is a Canadian television personality, fashion editor, author, and newspaper columnist.  She was appointed a member of the Order of Canada and received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.  

Monday 19 March 2018

Canada Reads: book 2

Book 2: "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

   What an ominous cover!  It certainly does reflect the tone of the novel.  It is a young adult novel and I compare it to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.  They are both post apocalyptic and very dark.
   In this novel, the indigenous people are being hunted AGAIN!  This time for bone marrow to solve the problems of the rest of the world.  A teenage boy, Frenchie, joins a group to escape the "Recruiters" who are rounding them up and taking them to 'marrow-stealing' factories.
  I recognize the value of great story-telling to shed light on important issues.  That is what dystopian novels do for us, but I find them so difficult to read.
  I also recognize that I get too involved in the novel.  At one point in the story, Frenchie listened to the stories of the others in this disparate group of people 'on the run'.  Each individual story was heart-breaking and Frenchie said, "I wanted to throw up.  I felt the bile burn at the base of my throat,  I couldn't take anymore".  At this point in the novel, I understood exactly what he meant.  Every story was so distressing. 
  But I realize that in this novel about 'the hunted trying to hunt', the basic question is: "What does it mean to be human?"
  Lovely to read about the Anishinaabe people.  But so, so sad.


Jully Black

Jully Black is called "Canada's queen of R and B". She will be defending this novel for Canada Reads.  She is known for championing causes and attempts to use her career as a platform to inspire others to celebrate the greatness that is in everyone.
Cherie Dimaline




But I want to also celebrate the author of this book - Cherie Dimaline, a Canadian Metis writer.  This book has won many awards.

Saturday 17 March 2018

Canada Reads 2018: Book 1


2018 theme: "One Book to Open Your Eyes"

Book 1: "Precious Cargo" by Craig Davidson
   What a great cover and title, although the title is also a Bruce Willis movie.
  But I love this cover- the colours, picture, and overall effect.  It does what covers should do- draws you into the book.
  I was really expecting this book to be my favourite, so I read it first.  However, I was disappointed, not really sure why.
  First, let's talk about the content of the book.  The subtitle is: "My year of driving the kids on school bus 3077".  It is a memoir.


Craig Davidson
  Craig Davidson had been trying to write, but was feeling like a failure.  In the midst of despair and poverty, he took this bus-driving job.  He was responsible for five children with special needs- autism and cerebral palsy amongst other emotional and physical disabilities.  He wrote the book to explain how the relationship with these children changed his life.
   I think the overwhelming theme is stated on page 202: "Why are some of us so fortunate while others are not?"  And so, it seems to be about the author grappling with life issues.  Probably for him, it was a year of emotional growth.  The book was written several years after the experience, when he was more settled into his life.  By this time, was experiencing acceptance as a writer and had a wife and baby boy.

  Why didn't I love this book?  Hmm.  Possibly I felt he was trying to be funny but missing the mark.  Perhaps I felt that it was pedestrian, uneventful.  It seemed like a short story that was padded and padded, with descriptions of the bus, the weather, etc.  I also thought he gave too much detail on the bathroom needs of one of the boys.  That is often my problem with memoirs - invasion of the privacy of other people, although I do realize that the author had permission from all of the parents and they saw the book before it was released.
Greg Johnson

   Greg Johnson will be defending this book for Canada Reads.  He is a 'weather guy'.  He is one of Canadian Geographics Magazine's top 100 explorers, and worked on the show "Tornado Hunters".


Monday 12 March 2018

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Hodgson Burnett


   "The Secret Garden" is such a profound, but simple novel!
I think it affected me deeply because the delights of nature seem to have been mostly forgotten in our world today.  The change of seasons and the birds and animals are not noticed as we hustle around, absorbed by technology.
   I was also affected because I am reading through the choices of Canada Reads this year and I am deeply disturbed by the content. My reading choices do affect my phyche and I find it disturbing to focus on man's inhumanity to man in such detail.
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  Frances Hodgson Burnett told her friend Vivian, "I never could write anything that would bring unhappiness into the world.  There is enough of that in all our lives that we cannot get away from.  What we all want is more of the other things- life, love, hope- and an assurance that they are true.  With the best that was in me, I have tried to write more happiness into the world."
  Well, Frances, I appreciate that!  
  I was so interested in this author that I tried to find her biography. However, the only one that I could find was written by this friend, Vivian, who admitted that she did not want to cause upset, so didn't delve too deeply into Frances' life in the biography.
   But here are the facts:
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was born in Manchester, England, married twice and had two sons.  What her friend Vivian would not want to dwell on, is the fact that both marriages were very difficult and one of her sons died young.  Frances was extremely hard-working and was often not well.
  Frances' father died when Frances was 3 years old.  He had been a successful businessman but with his death, there was no income for his wife and five young children, who had lived comfortably in a large house with a maid and a nurse-maid in England.  So they moved in with relatives until Frances' uncle suggested that they join him in Tennessee, where his business was flourishing.  Frances was 16 at this time and was writing constantly.  
  However, the uncle's business did not continue to flourish and Frances' family lived in poverty in the United States. Frances' first story was published at 19- imagine that!  She was writing constantly for magazines and making a good income, so that she was able to move her family into a better home when she was 20.  Her mother died the next year.
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Frances wrote 53 novels and 13 plays.
She is best- known for her three children's stories: "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1885), "A Little Princess" (1905), and "The Secret Garden" (1911).
"Little Lord Fauntleroy" really established her as a writer.  It was made into a play and was very popular.
Frances herself made clothes for her sons, using lace collars and frills.  In fact, she dressed her boys in velvet suits that became very popular.  She let their hair grow long and she curled it every day.
   However, the book that has lasted over the years is "The Secret Garden".
  Frances had a home in Long Island but also loved visiting England.  She had a vast social circle.  She crossed the Atlantic 33 times.
  In the 1880's, Frances became interested in a series of religions- Christian Science, Spiritualism, and Theosophy. I think these beliefs were woven into the writing of "The Secret Garden".
  I really enjoyed "The Secret Garden" and found the author most interesting!

Friday 9 March 2018

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett

classic book club choice
    Isn't this a delightful cover?  And what a wonderful story!                                       Mary Lennox, born in India, was "the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen".  She had a sour expression and was always ill.  She was 9 when her parents died in a cholera outbreak.  She was sent to England, to her uncle Archibald Craven, a hunchback who was also sour, who had a son, Colin, who was also sour and very ill- at least everyone thought that he was (including himself). What developed was a grand adventure for Mary, who had been kept in two rooms in a 100 room mansion with only servants bringing food.  But that didn't stop her inquiring spirit. She discovered the "Secret Garden" that was kept hidden and locked because Archibald's wife had died there.  Her exciting adventures with nature were shared with her young servant Martha and Martha's brother Dickon.  And, eventually, she shared the 'wonders of nature' with Colin, who had not been out of his room for years.  Thus began a journey of healing for Mary, Colin, and eventually spread to Colin's father, Archibald.
Quotes:
1.) "Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen".
2.) "Thoughts are as powerful as electric batteries".

"The Secret" that they discovered is the power of the mind and the power of nature.


   It was interesting to me that, back in 1911, the author used the term "The Secret".  It referred to the garden but also the healing they discovered there, by the power of their minds.

   It reminded me of the recent book called "The Secret", which is based on the law of attraction, claiming that thoughts can change the world! Of course, this theory is termed 'pseudoscience' because it cannot be proven, but who hasn't experienced how thoughts and words can change the perception of any circumstance?
  I was delighted with this book and even more interested when I read about the author.  I will write my next blog about....
Frances Hodgson Burnett


Friday 2 March 2018

Freedom To Read

Freedom to Read Week
February 25 - March 3, 2018


   My daughter has suggested that I write a blog on this topic.  I think it is to remind me of the fact that when she entered senior school, she brought home almost every book that I had learned about when I took a course on controversial teenage novels.  Even earlier than that, she had brought home a book from the church library- "Go Ask Alice" by anonymous.  As she was reading, she was asking the meanings of words that I really didn't want her to know yet.  So I decided to read that book, and, actually, I agreed that she should read it.  Perhaps she was a little too young, but it was a book about drugs and I felt that it gave a really good understanding of what happens when teens get involved in drugs. But I really didn't want her using that language.  She is a social worker now, so I guess it didn't damage her too much.  Her language is fairly classy.

   Not many books are banned in Canada.  I could only find evidence of seven and I have never heard of five of them. 

Books that have been banned in Canada:
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century - a book that denies the holocaust
Lethal Marriage- the story of Paul Benardo and Karla Homolka
Lolita- a professor obsessed with a 12-year-old
The Naked and the Dead- an American novel of World War ll
Peyton Place- a steamy expose on a small American town
The Turner Diaries- blueprint for terrorism
White Niggers of America- about the F.L.Q.

   But here is a more interesting list of Canadian books that have been challenged.  I understand about books being challenged because I was a children's librarian and was challenged a few times- always by a parent who was not a reader but picked out quotes that were disturbing.  
   My thinking is that you cannot condemn a book unless you have read every word.  And, children can learn that they shouldn't use that language- what is the bigger issue in the book? (As in "Go Ask Alice")


Books that have been challenged in Canada:


"The Diviners" by Margaret Lawrence
"The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill
"Three Wishes" by Deborah Ellis
"Underground to Canada" by Barbara Smucker
"The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" by Mordecai Richler
"Lives of Girls and Women" by Alice Munro
"When Everything Feels Like the Movies" by Raziel Reid
"Essex County" by Jeff Lemire
"The Wars" by Timothy Findley
"This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki
"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

  I have read seven of those books and all I can say is that "When Everyone Feels Like the Movies" was one of the worst books that I have ever read, but other readers feel that it has a message for the youth of today.  So be it!
  I wish I had something profound to say about banning books, but I don't.  I realize that it is a slippery slope, so let's appreciate our "Freedom to read"!