Dear Bookclub,
An absolute springtime refresh, luncheon at Terrie's was the backdrop for our discussion of Nguyen Phan Qué Mai's poetic "The Mountains Sing".
Enjoyed by all, it was hard not to contrast it with another recent memoir read, Qian Julie Wang's "Beautiful Country", which was clunkier, more difficult. "The Mountains Sing", a novel, was deftly crafted to encompass the last century of Vietnamese history, illuminating events that seemed both familiar and newly understood. The chapter titles alone formed a lyrical line from "The Tallest Mountains", "Red on the White Grains", "The Fortune Teller", to "The Great Hunger", "My Father's Gift", and "My Grandmother's Songs". Here are a few of the proverbs tucked into the narrative, which I loved:
* "Good luck hides inside bad luck"
* "Soft and persistent rain penetrates the earth better then a storm"
* "Difficulty gives light to wisdom"
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| 'The Mountains Sing' |
Make a cup of tea and please, please listen to this interesting event with Ngyuen Phan Que Mai reading her poetry (and more):
https://podcast.lannan.org/2015/03/05/nguyen-phan-que-mai-with-bruce-weigl-1-march-2015-video/
Terrie's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"The Happiest Girl in the World" Alena Dillon *chosen
"Very Cold People" Sarah Manguso
"The Sentence" Louise Erdrich
Up next:
Happy reading,
LK
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