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spiralnode 's review for:
informative
tense
fast-paced
Nature writing, history and investigations and Taiwan? Sign me up!
There is no doubt in my mind that Jessica J. Lee is a competent writer. In this book she managed to create a convincing picture about the flora in Taiwan, from its surrounding seas to its breathtaking mountains. I could feel the pressure of the humidity on my skin, the almost struggle to breathe when it announces rain. And her talent doesn't stop there - she has managed to give me a sense of how she feels about her countries, whether that is Taiwan, the one of heritage, Canada, the one of growth, or her current Germany of reflecting upon herself as an adult (which I understand he expands upon in 'Turning'). She expresses how it is a lot easier to find the right words to describe the landscape before her eyes, to speak about the urbanism, the rice fields or the rivers, than to put words into how she feels about what she associates with the concept of homeland.
And I get it. Though our lives are very different, I connect with multiple places claiming parts of you, rather than one claiming your entire identity. While she doesn't put her finger on this complexity, quite the opposite, delves into its vagueness, I get it.
The book is a collection of thoughts and observations as Jessica attempts to piece together her family's past. Her grandparents have moved from mainland China to Taiwan and with her growing up in Canada, this is a past that has very much remained unknown to her. Her weak Mandarin has only added to difficult communication with her grandparents, and with them passing away she wants to overcome this regret by going through their correspondences together with her mother, and understand more of where they come from, who they are.
The book jumps from this investigation into a troubling family history due to political tensions such as Communism or the Second Sino-Japanese War to focusing on the nature in Taiwan today. I found both themes fascinating, but the truth is that in such a short novel she was unable to dive as deeply into either of these topics as I would have liked. As much intrigue as the blurb provided is also how much the first chapters offered. But to me the developments were never satisfying, something seemed to be missing.
I wish there was more on the nature, and the biggest part that I'd improve here is having more of an understanding of where we are, what we're doing, what are we confronted with. Sometimes the lyricism and esthetique of the writing took precedence over clarity, and in a nonfiction book that attempts to educate and foster a curiosity over an emerging culture with a relatively unknown and unusual landscape, that's a risky choice to make, that takes away from what I perceive to be the mission of this book.
Similarly on the family history segments, I wish there was more than just the observations. They were expressed almost stoically, and I wasn't left with much emotional impact or reflection. Things happened on an external level, but I didn't find what the internal consequences were. This could be in her family's personality, but I wouldn't know with that being neither confirmed nor denied.
I also have to mention that moving from one of these themes to another, the nature writing of the current trip versus the delving into her family's past, was done very roughly. There was no transition between the two, and it made for a structure that felt inconsiderate, firstly on their joint significance, secondly for the reading experience. She pulled me out immediately of the passages I was reading.
If the author were to come out with something else that I found interesting, I would read it for sure. But this felt lacking with such a wonderful subject matter.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jessica J. Lee is a competent writer. In this book she managed to create a convincing picture about the flora in Taiwan, from its surrounding seas to its breathtaking mountains. I could feel the pressure of the humidity on my skin, the almost struggle to breathe when it announces rain. And her talent doesn't stop there - she has managed to give me a sense of how she feels about her countries, whether that is Taiwan, the one of heritage, Canada, the one of growth, or her current Germany of reflecting upon herself as an adult (which I understand he expands upon in 'Turning'). She expresses how it is a lot easier to find the right words to describe the landscape before her eyes, to speak about the urbanism, the rice fields or the rivers, than to put words into how she feels about what she associates with the concept of homeland.
And I get it. Though our lives are very different, I connect with multiple places claiming parts of you, rather than one claiming your entire identity. While she doesn't put her finger on this complexity, quite the opposite, delves into its vagueness, I get it.
The book is a collection of thoughts and observations as Jessica attempts to piece together her family's past. Her grandparents have moved from mainland China to Taiwan and with her growing up in Canada, this is a past that has very much remained unknown to her. Her weak Mandarin has only added to difficult communication with her grandparents, and with them passing away she wants to overcome this regret by going through their correspondences together with her mother, and understand more of where they come from, who they are.
The book jumps from this investigation into a troubling family history due to political tensions such as Communism or the Second Sino-Japanese War to focusing on the nature in Taiwan today. I found both themes fascinating, but the truth is that in such a short novel she was unable to dive as deeply into either of these topics as I would have liked. As much intrigue as the blurb provided is also how much the first chapters offered. But to me the developments were never satisfying, something seemed to be missing.
I wish there was more on the nature, and the biggest part that I'd improve here is having more of an understanding of where we are, what we're doing, what are we confronted with. Sometimes the lyricism and esthetique of the writing took precedence over clarity, and in a nonfiction book that attempts to educate and foster a curiosity over an emerging culture with a relatively unknown and unusual landscape, that's a risky choice to make, that takes away from what I perceive to be the mission of this book.
Similarly on the family history segments, I wish there was more than just the observations. They were expressed almost stoically, and I wasn't left with much emotional impact or reflection. Things happened on an external level, but I didn't find what the internal consequences were. This could be in her family's personality, but I wouldn't know with that being neither confirmed nor denied.
I also have to mention that moving from one of these themes to another, the nature writing of the current trip versus the delving into her family's past, was done very roughly. There was no transition between the two, and it made for a structure that felt inconsiderate, firstly on their joint significance, secondly for the reading experience. She pulled me out immediately of the passages I was reading.
If the author were to come out with something else that I found interesting, I would read it for sure. But this felt lacking with such a wonderful subject matter.