Bookathon - T

 Today's Titles for T authors

The Joy Luck Club. Sisters. The Hobbit.

I'm talking Amy Tan, Raina Telgemeier and J R R Tolkien.

Amy Tan's first novel The Joy Luck Club really did become that touchstone story of immigration and relations between mothers and daughters for a great many Asian Americans - a group and culture as distinctive as African Americans, or even European Americans, not that anyone ever calls them that! While it's been many years since I've read it, it still resonates even now, and when I talk with Asian children of the diaspora it's like we have this thing where we just KNOW...yes this is what Asian parents are like. (Even with fathers and sons) it's like this thousand generation ancestor filial piety thing that you can never really explain to an outsider. We (especially the Chinese) are caught between two worlds and A LOT is expected of us. 

The Joy Luck Club itself can be confusing as it's narrated by four daughters and three mothers, the fourth mother has died so its more a collection of interlocking stories than one narrative.  Like many family sagas has its share of tragedy and triumph. One of the stories in it I remember is the one of the proud mother of a chess champion, and what happens when her prodigy daughter fails a competition. Or, taking from Amy Tan's actual life, how she feels when she fails her piano recital. And then..what about all the other things in life we fail to do? 

I know mum's can't live through our daughters though physically us daughters did live inside our mums for approximately 9 months. But we have to pay them back somehow. And so it is. Amy Tan has written more on Chinese mothers (my favourite was The Kitchen God's Wife) but  for more detail on this phenomenon try reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. 

Sisters is about the bond between sisters this time in a  European American (?) family which is pretty much based on Raina Telegemier's own life. The mum and dad are actually on the verge of breaking up as is quite a common occurrance these days particularly at a vulnerable time for young children and the mum is taking them on a road trip to meet up with the dad, Raina's younger sister sharing the back seat with her and being, as younger sisters can be - completely annoying. 

This is a graphic novel in full colour so it's like reading a storyboard for a potential movie anyway. (Are you listening Disney/Pixar? )  Otherwise, it's just a regular family story but the sisters relationship is front and centre. Raina wants to love her sister, but how can she when she's so different and just doesn't understand? 

This graphic novel/memoir, along with Smile (about Raina getting braces) and Guts (about Raina having IBS) are THE top reads amongst tweens. Raina Telgemeier also illustrated the first few books of the Baby-sitters Club series by Ann M Martin, which had spawned over 250 volumes and sold millions of copies, and are most beloved among the readers who grew up in the late 80s and 90s. Even over Francine Pascale's Sweet Valley High book series which was a precursor to tv shows like Beverly Hills 90210. 

As we now know for girls the most important things in life are relationships. Ok forget about boys, (far too complicated)  let's concentrate on the familial relationships that are more intimate and long lasting than it will ever be between a husband and wife - those between mothers, daughters and sisters. Read  these authors books for understanding and empathy. 

This is not something you will glean from The Hobbit, which really has no girls in it whatsoever...or Americans. As it's set in Middle Earth which is somewhere near New Zealand I believe.  I just wanted to put it out there because J R R Tolkien starts with T and if you looking for escape its probably just the ticket, none of the hobbits actually have relationships or parents they all just seem to live happily barefoot in their hobbit holes and defeat a taniwha/dragon once in a while. And also, ok, there has been several movies but READ the book because the book was original while the movie took liberties which for me ruined it! 

Keep going with the Great Kiwi Bookathon I promise more good books to come..thank you if you've already made a donation.