Introductory review
I am the one that is going overseas. I'm looking forward to swapping titles while I'm on the road.
I'm not really sure how to introduce myself, so I guess I'll start with a book suggestion: Hopeful Monsters, by Hiromi Goto. Goto is a Japanese-Canadian woman, and this book is a collection of her short stories. She also has a novel, Kappa Child, which I've also read and recommend. Her writing style is poetic and insightful, and clever. Her stories in Hopeful Monsters are outwardly simple, but essentially complex and revealing of her characters. It's the kind of collection that I can read again and again, finding new elements with each read.
Some of the stories in Hopeful Monsters touch on similar themes in Kappa Child, but in very unique ways, so that Goto's writing is not redundant. Some of these themes include: lesbianism, childbirth, post-partam depression, alienation, mother-daughter relationships, miscommunication, fear, love, and family tension.
Despite these themes, the stories in Monsters are not all bleak: many of them offer room for growth and expansion; new lessons are learned, and the feeling is positive. Not everything can end happily, however, and some of her stories reflect that reality, as well.
Anyway, I hope you ladies enjoy these books, and enjoy Goto's work as much as I do.
I'm not really sure how to introduce myself, so I guess I'll start with a book suggestion: Hopeful Monsters, by Hiromi Goto. Goto is a Japanese-Canadian woman, and this book is a collection of her short stories. She also has a novel, Kappa Child, which I've also read and recommend. Her writing style is poetic and insightful, and clever. Her stories in Hopeful Monsters are outwardly simple, but essentially complex and revealing of her characters. It's the kind of collection that I can read again and again, finding new elements with each read.
Some of the stories in Hopeful Monsters touch on similar themes in Kappa Child, but in very unique ways, so that Goto's writing is not redundant. Some of these themes include: lesbianism, childbirth, post-partam depression, alienation, mother-daughter relationships, miscommunication, fear, love, and family tension.
Despite these themes, the stories in Monsters are not all bleak: many of them offer room for growth and expansion; new lessons are learned, and the feeling is positive. Not everything can end happily, however, and some of her stories reflect that reality, as well.
Anyway, I hope you ladies enjoy these books, and enjoy Goto's work as much as I do.
posted by VB at 10:34 AM
2 Comments:
Way to sound eruditer than the rest of us...
Do you have a copy of either of these books, and if yes, can I borrow them first?
yes of course. I only have Hopeful Monsters; I got Kappa Child from the Trent library.
Post a Comment
<< Home