Several weeks ago when I posted something about volunteering in the Vietnamese refugee camps in Hong Kong, my friend Judy told me about a class she took years ago about the Vietnam War."Have you read Johnny Got His Gun?" she asked me.I hadn't, so she lent it to me. I read … [Read more...]
Book of the week–When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
I switched continents last week when I read When a Crocodile Eats the Sun (Little, Brown and Company, 2006) by Peter Godwin.Last year I did a memoir writing independent study with author Paula Bernstein. Some of the best advice she gave (and she gave me quite a bit) was to … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Song of the Azalea
When my friend Raymond told me about Song of the Azalea: Memoir of a Chinese Son by Kenneth Ore and Joann Yu (Penguin Canada, 2005), I went online and bought it without thinking twice.He wasn't joking when he said it was a powerful story. I found it to be one of the best … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Wild Ginger by Anchee Min
Last month my college friend Dina heard Anchee Min speak in New York. When she raved about Min's lecture, I thought back to how much I loved reading Red Azalea (Pantheon, 1994), Katherine (Berkley Trade, 2001), and Becoming Madame Mao (Mariner, 2001).So I decided to pick up … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Burmese Days by George Orwell
All this talk about Southeast Asia got me thinking about literature written during the British Raj. So last week I read Burmese Days (Harcourt, 1934) by George Orwell.In college I used the reading period before finals not to review my class notes, but to read novels. And they … [Read more...]