Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2005)
winter reading SISTERS OF THE HEART The Secrets of Jin-shei by Alma Alexander. HarperSanFrancisco, 2004. Hardcover, $24.95. T he Secrets of Jin-shei would be terrific even if it didn’t have roots in Chinese histo- ry, but, by basing her novel on a real language and a cus- tom of sworn sisterhood associated with it, Alma Alexander has brought something lit- tle-known and profound to readers’ attention. Her novel is a great achievement. In the book’s historical note, the author explains that the language we think of as Chinese is actually a complex web of more than 500 dialects, among which is a secret written language passed from mother to daughter for more than 500 years. Such rich history brings alive the world Alexander has created. Tai is the founder of the circle around which the novel centers. Nine years old as the story begins and a grandmother as it comes to its conclusion, Tai possesses a capacity for happiness that inspires all those around her, including a warrior, scholar, dancer, sage, philanthropist, healer and empress. A city with market, temple and palace in a land of mountains, lakes and changing sea- sons exists beyond the circle of women sur- rounding Tai. The denizens of this country and their faith, customs and struggles can be found in all these places. The novel’s greatest strength is in metic- ulous details such as the “hideous little effi- gy” of a mysterious lesser deity whose “altar was always overflowing with offerings,” yet no one has ever been observed actually plac- ing anything on the altar. The book is also relentlessly realistic. Some wonderful characters meet dreadful ends and some mysteriously disappear, while others change for the better. Looking back, Tai remembers the sisters of her heart and marvels, “Oh, how rich my life was with all of you beside me.” Readers’ lives, too, will be enriched. — Josephine Bridges GRIEF & REDEMPTION The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich, HarperCollins, 2005. Hardcover, $25.95. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year 2005. I reviewed for Eugene Weekly Louise Erdrich’s first novel, Love M e d i c i n e (5/16/85), and her second, Beet Queen (1/15/87). I’ve read many of the subsequent eight novels, which include her best-seller, The Master Butchers Singing Club. It is a real pleasure to review Erdrich’s latest, The Painted Drum. The book begins with a conflicted romance 2005-6 between a sculptor and a woman, Faye Travers, who works with her part-Ojibwe mother appraising estates in New Hampshire. Travers is asked to look at the estate of a former Indian agent, where she discovers a hidden cache of treasures, includ- ing a painted drum she immediately recog- nizes as a rare ritual instrument. The drum head is three feet across, and she imagines the buffalo or moose skinned for it was a giant. “[the drum] is intricately decorated, with a beaded belt and skirt, hung with tassels of pulled red yarn and sewn tightly all around with small tin cones, or tinklers. Four broad tabs are spaced equally around the top. Into their beaded tongues of deep indigo four white beaded figures are set. They are abstract but seem to represent a girl, a hand, a cross, a running wolf. On the face of the drum, at the very center, a stripe is painted in yellow. That is all.” The novel follow Travers’ stormy relation- ship with Kurt Krahe, his rebellious daughter, Kendra, a neighbor called Davan Eyke, and Faye’s mother, Elsie. Elsie has told Faye that the drum is the universe, a living thing, which must be fed and always covered with a quilt. “No two are alike, but every drum is related to every other drum. They speak to one another and they give their songs to humans,” Elsie says. Later, Faye and Elsie take the drum to its home on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. There the storyteller becomes Bernard Shaawano, whose grandfather made the drum. The parallels between Traver’s life and that of the drummaker becomes evident as Bernard’s story unfolds. A compassionate, forgiving history. — Lois Wadsworth CHALLENGING TRADITION Bodies in Motion short stories by Mary Anne Mohanraj. HarperCollins, 2005. Hardcover, $22.95. M ary Anne Mohanraj’s rich debut collection, Bodies in Motion, shadows two Sri Lankan families over multiple generations, exposing their chal- lenges, changes, triumphs and failures as each character struggles to make their way. Described in 20 stories spanning 63 years and told through a multitude of voices, the book takes the reader on a journey with char- acters who bravely step outside tradition to paint their family portrait. The desperate story of Thani in “Oceans Bright and Wide” addresses this man’s love- less marriage, his compensatory relationship with a nun and his frustrations parenting five teenage daughters. I like the author’s use of a vulnerable male character in a largely male- dominate society. DECEMBER 8, 2005 21
