Han Suyin - Birdless Summer

@Jonathan Cape Books
+Putnams
@Blossoms Book Store, Bangalore

I have been looking for books by Han Suyin for quite a while now.  They are out of print mostly and not available on kindle.  My only hope is to come across her books in second hand book store; I depend on serendipity there.

I found some books by Han Suyin at Blossoms, the famous second hand book shop in Bangalore.  It was a treat for me.

The name Birdless Summer invokes a cheerless feeling.  It is a chronicle of a particularly bleak period in the life of the author.  She was pursuing her medical studies in Belgium in 1938 when she ran into an old neighbor from her childhood days, Pao. She was struck by nostalgia and marries him.  Not just that, she abandoned her studies and returns to war torn China to be by her husband's side.

Pao had just completed his military studies in London and is an officer in the Army.  He was full of idealistic zeal and ready to fight for his country alongside his beloved leader Chiang Kaishek.  Suyin too is full of patriotism for China and wanted to do something to serve her country.

They returned to find China in shambles.  The Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kaishek was losing badly to the invaders, the Japanese.  As is always the case, the poor people were the worst off.  They were living in sub-human conditions and things were getting worse and worse.  The people in power did all they could to live comfortably and avoid the ravages of war.

Suyin was appalled. China was sinking in dirt.  It was not just the state of China that was horrific.  She found Pao extremely conservative and narrow minded.  He abused and beat her routinely.  Suyin tried to justify Pao's behavior and tried to do as he wished of her.  But her spirits refused to be quelled.

She worked in a maternity clinic for a while, tried to do something useful.  Later, when Pao was sent to London as an attache, she went along and resumed her medical studies.  She was on a path to self-fulfillment. But her marriage was in shambles, just like China.

She found herself sympathizing with the Communist ideology and Mao TseTung.

The book chronicles the tumultuous decade in the history of China, 1938 to 1948 with vividness.  The horror of war is very realistically painted.  The fear, the maiming, the extreme poverty of those times, people scrounging for food, battling with diseases are well etched.

Han Suyin also writes about her bestselling first book, Destination Chungking.  She describes the circumstances in which she wrote that book.  It wasn't the correct chronicle of the time.  Birdless Summer is an honest re-write of that book, according to her.  It is hard to figure out the truth, as autobiographies are rarely brutally honest.  Anyhow, the political happenings cannot be denied.

Despite the book being a cut and dried account of war-torn China, it is not boring.  It is a gripping account of the time. 

Anne Tyler - Digging to America

@Knopf publishers
+Amazon India
+Kindle Store
+Kindle Ebooks Daily

One fine day the airport at Baltimore witnesses the arrival of two little baby girls from Korea.  There are two families present to welcome the girls into their family. Brad and Bitsy Donaldson are there in full force with their families and are busy taking videos of the event.

Sami and Ziba Yazdan are also there with Sami's mother Maryam.  They get talking with the Brad and Bitsy at the airport and become friends.  Soon they are swept into Bitsy's social circle.  They are having dinners together, comparing notes on bringing up the children and becoming close.

This intimacy brings joys to both the parties and also the attendant problems which are mainly to do with the different cultural backgrounds that the families belong to.  Ziba feels intimidated by Bitsy's directives on how children should be raised.  Bitsy wants Jin Ho, her baby, to stick to her Korean roots.  Sami's mother, Maryam, notices all the goings on between the family.  She is often invited to the parties and reciprocates the gesture by inviting them all to her place for Iranian dinners.

Things get complicated when Bitsy's father, Dave becomes interested in Maryam.  Maryam has been living alone for a long time and does not like the way her life is rearranged because of Dave's intrusions.  She likes having him around but does not want to change for him.

This seemingly simple story about the lives of two families reveals many layers.  Maryam had come over to America from Iran after marrying Sami's father.  This story is also about how she assimilated into American life and also managed to hang on to her identity as an Iranian woman, mainly through food and language. She visits her cousins from time to time and observes how they are getting along with their life.

Ziba and Sami, being second generation US citizens, are more anxious to live like Americans.  They call their adopted daughter Susan and don't want to foist any other identity on their child.

This novel brings out the essence of America; how it accommodates to include various immigrants.  It celebrates differences and celebrates the richness that differences bring into our lives.

The writing style is quintessential Tyler.  A quiet unassuming prose, seemingly busy in just describing everyday events to the readers until they are drawn into the story and living the lives of the characters.

Shirley Jackson - We have always lived in the castle

+Penguin Books USA
+Amazon.in
+Kindle Ebooks Daily

Mary Katherine Blackwood lives with her older sister Constance and uncle Julian in a large house set in a large ground.  They live in isolation from the village nearby.  Only an acquaintance of their mother's visits them once a week.

Only Merricat (Mary Katherine) walks to the village from time to time to shop for groceries.  These visits are a form of torture for her as she has to put up with mean comments by the people living there.  Little children chase her and sing nasty songs about her family.

The Blackwoods have so long lived in isolation that the people of the village look upon them as freaks of some sort.  Later something happens that reinforces their impression.  Four members of the Blackwood family are poisoned.  Constance is arrested on suspicion of murdering them but is acquitted later.

Merricat loves the fixed routine of their lives.  She cannot bear to see any change in their life patterns. When a visitor talks to Constance about boyfriends and normal life, Merricat feels terrified.  She gets her hackles up when cousin Charles comes calling.  He insinuates himself into their life and Constance makes space for him.  Merricat finds his intrusions ominous and must do something to eject Charles.

This a story that is written with great delicacy. The secrets of the Blackwood family are revealed gradually, tantalizingly.  Uncle Julian is a cripple and obsesses with his notes about the Blackwood poisoning and the subsequent trial.  Constance is seemingly calm and normal, but she is obsessed with cooking and cleaning.  She cannot abide any change in their routine. Merricat likes to work up talismans and spells to keep their lives unchanged.

I read this book years ago during the 1970's.   I remembered nothing but the incident of poisoning, not the name of the book, not the name of the author.  Armed with this information, even google could not help me.  Then I happened to read a book list about Wicked Women in fiction. The synopsis of the book was exactly the one I remembered.  I ordered the book right away and fell to reading it.

What a marvellous bit of fiction this is.  These days books need to portray a twisted protagonist and a plot that has several twists and turns.  In such times, it is such a treat to come upon a book like this which is so beautifully written.  It is almost as if the story is whispered out.

Larry McMurtry - The Desert Rose

+Simon & Schuster Books
+Amazon.in
+Kindle Store, Kindle Books & More

More than a decade ago, I decided to restart my library subscription.  One of the books I drew out was Larry McMurtry's The Late Child.  I was so taken by the book that it remained in my mind.  I returned the book and forgot the author's name with the passage of time.  Luckily, I retained the name of the book in my memory.  Armed with that, I was able to hunt out the name of the author and look for other books by him on Amazon.

It was a bit of a struggle.  Larry McMurtry's books are plentiful but expensive if you want them shipped all the way to India. Not many of his books are available on kindle. For instance, after reading this book, I wanted to re-read The Late Child.  But it is not available on kindle, not even in paperback.  It is out of stock.

Harmony works as a showgirl in Stardust, one of the hotels on the Strip in Las Vegas.  She started work when she was 17.  She has been called the most beautiful girl in Vegas.  Fielding compliments and dealing with admirers has been a part of the job for her.  Now, she is nearing 39.  She has a sixteen-year-old daughter, Pepper, who is much more beautiful than she was.

Harmony and Pepper do not get along.  Pepper prefers to confide in Harmony's friends.  She criticizes Harmony's taste in clothes and men.  Granted, Harmony has not been able to pick good boyfriends. Her husband abandoned her years ago when Pepper was but a baby.  She has since had a string of boyfriends, mostly useless wastrels who have only ruined her life further.

Harmony tries to be sweet and hopeful always.  It is this quality of hers that keeps Gary, a friend, always to her side. Along with Jessie, Myrtle and Gary, Harmony tries to keep her life as happy as she can.  She raises peacocks and tries to deal with poverty, her tiffs with Pepper, and sundry other knocks that life deals her with as much equanimity as possible.

The story, however, is not just about Harmony.  It is also about Pepper.  Pepper is growing up beautiful and is surrounded by admirers of her own.  There is Mel, a rich man who is besotted by her.  Then she gets an offer to star in the very show her mother is a part of. Should she take it or turn it down?

If you like quiet little novels that are not flashy but allow you an insight into various interesting characters, you will love this one. A lot happens here.  A lot is going on in the lives of Pepper and Harmony.  I was so engrossed in the novel that despite being extremely busy at the moment, I finished it in record time.

The characters are completely human.  They are replete with flaws. A bit crazy even.  Take Harmony's obsession with peacocks, or the way Myrtle is deeply in love with her goat, Maud.  Jessie loves her little dog more than her boyfriend. Mel loves Pepper to distraction, but not sexually, which frustrates her.  All these characters and their quirks perk up the novel no end.  It makes them memorable and interesting.

Madhulika Liddle - Crimson City

+Hachette India
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+Amazon.in

Delhi has turned into a Sin City. First, a cloth merchant, Aadil, has been brutally murdered for no apparent reason.  He had no enmity with anyone.  His stock of expensive cloth has been mauled but not stolen.  His clerk, Suraj Bhan, is puzzled over the sudden murder of his boss. Then, the family next door to Aadil suffers a similar misfortune.

As usual, Muzaffar is intrigued by the murders and rushes in to help.  He is brought up short by his brother-in-law, Khan Sahib, the kotwal of Delhi.  He is asked not to interfere in no uncertain terms. Muzaffar is pained by this edict and he tries not to meddle with the course of law.  But things keep happening right in his path and he cannot just look away.

Our beloved Muzaffar is now happily married to Shireen.  A partner more perfect than Shireen would be hard to find.  He should be enjoying domestic bliss in peace.  But he cannot help being in the eye of the storm.  Far from resenting his preoccupation with crime, Shireen encourages him and even helps him.

Will Muzaffar be able to figure out who is committing the spate of crimes?  Will he be able to mend fences with Khan Saheb?

The new Muzaffar Jang mystery is engrossing.  What makes it all the more interesting is the era it is set in.  This is Shah Jahan's Dilli. We are led through bazaars and darwazas that are still familiar to us.  Little bits of historical information is slipped in to make the book rich in detail.

I was glad to see all the old characters here, Akram is my favorite. He is Muzaffar's cousin.  He is a dandy nawab and utterly lovable. There were plenty of new characters who are equally interesting. Suraj Bhan, Aadil's clerk is one.  Ameena bibi, the servant of the family that lives next door to Aadil, is another.  Then there is Nilofer Begum.  Is she just the wife of a merchant or something more?

There were just two little bumps in the story.  The author pauses a couple of times to put in a historical detail.  When the story is trotting along at a quick pace, a pause for a historical detail trips up the narrative.  

The story moves at a brisk pace.  The detailing is magnificent.  I just love Muzaffar Jang and cannot have enough of him.  I am already waiting eagerly for the next.

Erica Jong - Sappho's Leap

+Amazon India
+Kindle Store
+WWNorton

Sappho lived in Lesbos, Greece in 320 BCE and precious little is known about her life.  Very little of her work has survived.  Most of her poems come down to us in fragments, bits of papyrus that survived somehow the ravages of time.  Whatever that has survived, however, has amazed many of the poetry aficionados of this era.

stars around the beautiful moon

hide back  their luminous form

whenever all full she shines

on the earth

silvery

-translated by Anne Carson in If not, winter

SAPPHO

Precious little is known about the life of Sappho.  What survives from all those ages ago is more legend than certified truth.  Erica Jong calls it a blessing, as it allows her to weave a story more imaginatively.

In her tale, Sappho is the daughter of a soldier, Scamandronymus and Cleis.  She has three younger brothers, all fine lads.  Her father dies in a battle when Sappho is still a child.  Her mother becomes the mistress of Pittacus, their ruler.

When grown, Sappho finds love in the arms of Alcaeus, a poet philosopher and a soldier who has lost favor with Pittacus.  Sappho runs away with him, but is brought back and married to an older man.  Her mother says it will keep her safe.  A rich older man will not worry her much for sex and be pliant to her wishes.  Sappho finds herself pregnant and is sure that the child is Alcaeus's.

Sappho has a merry time in Syracuse with her husband, enjoying riches and freedom.  She is very attached to her slave Praxinoa and often makes love to her, to compensate for her loveless marriage.
She is sought after greatly as a poetess and performs often at symposia.

Her husband's death jolts her out of her complacency and she finds all the riches slipping away from her hands.  She follows her brothers to Egypt along with Praxinoa.  There she meets and befriends Aesop who is famed at coining fables.

In short, she meets every famous name of her day.

Erica Jong also has her go on a very Odysseus like journey, fraught with dangers and visits to islands filled with fantastic people, centaurs, amazons, snake goddesses etc.

It is this part of the book that made me weary.  An account of Sappho's everyday life is lovely.  When Sappho returns from her journey back to Lesbos, the island of her birth, the story becomes a little better.  

I found the first few chapters quite engrossing and unputdownable. The later parts not so much.

If you want to read Sappho's poetry, the best place to look is Anne Carson's translations of her fragments, "If not, Winter".  They are simply fabulous.  Anne Carson does not try to embellish or interpret the fragments into something more.  She is lyrical and faithful to the original.