Just finished this one and I'm pretty frustrated with it. It's a bit of egg-on-the-face situation for me because I nominated this one in a Goodreads gJust finished this one and I'm pretty frustrated with it. It's a bit of egg-on-the-face situation for me because I nominated this one in a Goodreads group and ended up disliking it.
Lady Tan's story is incredible and the historical figure was one intelligent, courageous woman. Lisa See's research was incredible but that unfortunately got in the way of the narrative. Infodumps are not the best way to get me interested in a story and I found myself skimming through the pages. The characters were distant and unremarkable. I don't necessarily have to like fictional characters but I think I never understood them well....more
3.5 stars. I always knew there was nothing holy about her. The crooked and immoral dealings of the Catholic Church disappoint but do not surprise.
As 3.5 stars. I always knew there was nothing holy about her. The crooked and immoral dealings of the Catholic Church disappoint but do not surprise.
As a woman, Teresa's campaign against abortion and birth control is beyond repugnant. Religion simply cannot leave people to their own devices. It must interfere in their most private spheres. Teresa, for all her fake modesty and apolitical behaviour, knowingly consorted with mass murderers, dictators, and utter criminals.
But her treatment of the sick and the dying was an assault worse than I could have conceived. Letting people die despite having the funds to save them is nothing short of cruelty, justified in the name of Jesus or not. Then again, the Church has a terrible record on human rights violations and women's health in particular. Symphysiotomies in Ireland, anyone?
Unfortunately, Hitchens, in his razor-sharp analysis, was right. The woman was canonized as a saint and it seems like everyone has decided to conveniently ignore her frauds....more
I read this as part of my effort to read more German literature concomitant with studying the language and so read Deutschland, ein Wintermarchen in GI read this as part of my effort to read more German literature concomitant with studying the language and so read Deutschland, ein Wintermarchen in German. Heine is at his best with political poetry like Die Schleschien Weber and his stinging critique of German society resonates here as well. The German is surprisingly easy to follow, however, I would recommend having a working knowledge of the erstwhile political events to understand his work better.
Heine describes his journey from France to Hamburg, a return to his homeland after Napoleon's death. The narrative at Hamburg sagged somewhat since it delves into the more personal aspects of his life. Furthermore, the dialogue with Hammonia, the manifestation of Hamburg as a goddess, left me disgusted. Criticism of middle-class indifference, aristocratic arrogance, and solipsism is where Heine shines and there's plenty of it from attacking the Three Kings at the Cologne cathedral to ridiculing Frederick Barbarossa as a remnant of antiquity itself.
“Sir Barbarossa”, I cried out loud, “You belong to an old fable-kingdom; Go back to bed, we shall succeed, Without your help, to gain our freedom.
The republican would scoff at us If a ghost with sceptre and crown Marched at the head of our ranks. There’ll be much laughter in town!
He never pretends to be balanced in his opinions but it would be foolish to say that Heine didn't care about Germany. Patriotism made him want his country to do better. I particularly loved the ending where he invokes the might of poets and writers:
Have you ever heard of Dante’s hell, With its frightful verses and rhyme? Whoever the poet imprisons there, No God can ever free on time.
No God, no Saviour can deliver him From those flames that burn. Beware! O king and better behave, For soon may well be your turn!...more
When Los Angeles was a sun-blown pueblo waiting for the movie to begin, San Francisco was the city, a fabulous metropolis by the bay—straight streets When Los Angeles was a sun-blown pueblo waiting for the movie to begin, San Francisco was the city, a fabulous metropolis by the bay—straight streets driven reckless up her seven steep hills of yellow sand; tall buildings perched on the turbulent slopes like exclamation marks; humming docks and bursting warehouses nestled on landfill like smug frogs on a lily pad. She held back the ocean with a sieve. San Francisco, dancing on her hilltops for less than sixty years, was Queen of the West. Her people, immigrants from all nations of the world, were drawn to her by gold and silver, by adventure and open space, by the trade of a deepwater port second only to New York—by easy pickings, by land grabs, and by greed.
It was the end of the line, the edge of the world; it was as far as a man could go without falling off. The hustling bawdy city by the western sea opened an eye on the April dawn, totted up the odds on a new day, snuggled back against her soft sand hills, then fell out of bed with a bang. San Francisco was surprised.
Chinatowns have always fascinated me. Immigrant Chinese survived and thrived in any and every corner of the world they could find and their story of persistence, grit, brilliance, and talent in the face of systematic discrimination is astounding. Some then, had little choice but to turn to organized crime to realize their dreams of getting rich quick. Enter Li Kwan Won. I have a soft spot for deeply flawed women who try to make sense of the world around them and struggle against an unfair system. Enter Dido, Rose St Lorraine, and our stupid heroine Lizzie Stafford. Do I also have a weakness for talented-and-interesting-but-lazy reporters in a messy romantic situation? Enter Kit. Add a backdrop of the Roaring Twenties in America and I'm more than interested.
Ki Longfellow writes beautifully. Sometimes she sketches characters in great detail and at other times, a single line is enough to devastate. Every character, no matter how small a role he/she plays, is well-crafted and unique be it the thuggish and loyal Ike or the mean and despicable hitman Murray Blinn. Her rich descriptions of San Francisco, especially the Barbary Coast, bring the city and its glittering rot to life.
However, I think that certain events in the story moved too fast for my taste. We never really get a glimpse of Li Kwan Won's inner workings, we can only guess and conjecture at his true intentions and I wished he could have been a better-rounded character. If the language seems stereotypical and faintly smacking of Orientalism, I think Longfellow wanted to accurately depict the Chinese and Chinatown from a white, fairly racist 1920s perspective. It took me a while to get used to it though.
The love affair between Lizzie and Li Kwan Won (view spoiler)[ ends in tragedy, (hide spoiler)] a fact apparent from at least the middle of the novel and a fate all too common for interracial relationships then. But Lizzie's transformation is worth the perhaps predictable romance.
The seven hills of the city shivered. Sleek and jumpy San Francisco, grand and glittery city, waited, poised for a leap into the vast blue Pacific. Maybe not now, maybe not for a hundred years—but she would jump. What is a hundred years to the patient sea? ...more
This is the first-ever German classic I read without an English translation. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach is skilled at transporting you into the 19th-cThis is the first-ever German classic I read without an English translation. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach is skilled at transporting you into the 19th-century Austrian countryside. Admittedly, I struggled with the language since there are quite a few archaisms no longer used. However, the struggle was worth it.
In true Realist style, the author describes the surroundings, the ranger, the dog Krambambuli, and the ranger-turned-poacher. The scene where the dog and the ranger converse is perhaps one of the best emotionally-charged scenes written, precisely for its sparseness and economy of emotion.
Eagerly looking forward to discovering more of her work....more
Well, this was disappointing. Wahab mixes personal memoirs, religious apologism, and present- and past-day politics. Unfortunately, it creates a disorWell, this was disappointing. Wahab mixes personal memoirs, religious apologism, and present- and past-day politics. Unfortunately, it creates a disorganized mess. While the parts about the Deobandi and Barelvi sects are informative (just how rotten and fundamentalist they are in their outlook is shocking), Wahab whitewashes Islam to an unacceptable degree. She excuses far too many brutalities and evils by means of relativism....more
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