Shanghai Girls, A Novel by Lisa See

I read this book this weekend during my two 4 hour long plane rides - pretty quick read but in my opinion, not that interesting.

I kept waiting for SOMETHING big to happen, but it was just following the girls' lives from China to the US during the '30s. I guess just because of the nature of the content, I just kept thinking of the "Joy Luck Club" - sad story that jerks at the heart but pretty predictable throughout.

Aside from the obvious Chinese story line, it reminded me of JLC because of the relationships between the parents who immigrated and their children they forced to become as American as possible. The parents want their children to have every opportunity so they push them into fully embracing this new culture but then a division occurs when their American children can't, or won't, relate to them anymore. I know on some level, its the same way for all parents but I can certainly see the wide divide that a culture clash within a family would bring.

The one part that I did really enjoy was towards the end (I don't really think this is a spoiler) when the two sisters who have spent 40+ years together get into a fight and rehash all the grudges and injustices they have felt for each other over the years. In the course of this fight, they begin to discuss the completely different way that they each have percieved different events over the course their lives. The reader is just from the older sister's perspective so it was really interesting to hear how the little sister had seen all the events - gave a very unique perspective to everything you had just read.

Chinese zodiac signs are a very big part of this book - the main character Pearl tries to be "modern" and dismiss her mother's superstitions but in the end she finds herself embracing them and she thinks they dictate the events in her life. I personally don't believe in any astrology but thought it could be fun to find out what I am in Chinese. I've always thought I was a rat but according to http://www.chinesezodiac.com/index.php I am a pig -- oink oink.

What is everyone else?

"Loving Frank" - Wrap Up

** SPOILER ALERT ON "LOVING FRANK" **

So I finished "Loving Frank" and needless to say, I was completely SHOCKED at the end! Everyone referred to Mamah as a tragic figure so I guessed something bad had to happen to her but to be killed in such a gruesome way and with her kids was just beyond anything I could have ever guessed!

It made it all the worse because it's real. Its so easy to read a novel like that and dismiss the tragedy as fiction but its a whole new level when you think about the fact that it was a real life that was ended and on the cusp of really discovering herself and her own talents.

Living with Frank had to be a trial (especcially that whole not paying this bills thing) but I guess we all know that you take the good with the bad when you are in a relationship like that and for what its worth, I'm glad that they ended on a good note with each other.

Discussion Question:
One of Ellen Key’s beliefs was that motherhood should be recompensed by the state. Do you think an idea like this could ever catch on in America? Why or why not?

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

Several of us have read this one. It's about the Chicago World's Fair which had far-reaching impact on many levels, including many things we take for granted today. It's also about a mass murderer who was in Chicago at the time. That part is chilling.

The book is incredibly well researched. I can't image how long it took Larson to research and synthesize it into the book (which is quite long).

Quote Controversy - Should Love be Taken for Granted?

When Edwin and Mamah are married he says to her "Take my love for granted and I shall do the same for you."

I can't decide what I think about this idea of fully taking for granted that you are loved, especially by a significant other. I think I've always thought that it is dangerous to take love for granted, it seems a) arrogant to assume that no matter what you do this one other person will always love you and b) ungrateful to brazenly expect that person to give you that level of unquestioned security. Things you take for granted are easily forgotten about and that sounds like a terrible marriage/relationship. Who would want to be with someone who took no notice of the ways your love for them is expressed - breakfast in bed, listening to problems, a random hug?

On the other hand (being recently married and still quite giddy), I can see the comfort in knowing there is someone who will always love and support you no matter what you do. I suppose in this line of thought, it is the foundation for everything else you do - I think rather than ignoring it, it is nurtured by both people as a security net for expanding wings with your partner's support.

I suppose it also is the model for a mutually unselfish relationship -- both partners unquestioningly relying on the other, knowing that their complete acceptance of their partner will be met with the reciprocal response. But said in that sense it sounds very naive because people are selfish, no matter how much we may not want to be and I would think we all hold back a little, just in case the other person starts going crazy...(or sleeping with a famous, but broke, architect in your drawing room).

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

I'm currently in the middle of "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan, another enthralling recommendation by Mom3. The book is a fictionalized account of the affair architect Frank Lloyd Wright had with Mamah Borthwick Cheney in the early 1900's. So far I love the way Horan describes FLW's views on architecture - the "prairie" house and how nature can be interwoven into a home - rather than having to distinguish between the two. I love to be outdoors so the houses being described - right off cliffs in Italy, rooms with trees growing through the middle of them - all sound like heaven and take me far from the concrete jungle I currently live in.

Mamah (pronounced MAY-muh) is an interesting character to follow. Because this is a work of fiction, I'm uncertain how many liberties Horan has taken Mamah's opinions and social work. I don't want to research that right now though because I'm afraid of a spoiler... If this is the real Mamah however, she is absolutely fascinating and a woman well ahead of her time. It's so frustrating to read about the social constraints of the day and think about how people (women in particular) were expected to ignore their shot at happiness if it wasn't in the original cards they were dealt.

The book discusses at depth that parents must be happy before they can make a happy home for their children and I tend to agree with that sentiment. This whole "staying together for the children" thing seems depressing and something for martyrs, not those who want to take life by the horns and use the only one they have. As a divorced kid, I can say that the kids will forgive and forget in due time and may even sympathize once they are adults. I can't wait to see if Mamah's kids published any reactions to these events once they were grown.

My only hope for the end of this book is that its not another "Awakening" and Mamah doesn't kill herself as the only way out of her bad situation..

Has anyone else read this book? Any thoughts to share?

An Introduction to The Card Catalogue

Hello Bookworms,

Right now this blog is a place for me to discuss my thoughts on the books I read. I like a lot of different types of books - biographies, historical fiction, adventure, classics, Oprah recommends, beach reads, Harry Potter and everything in between. The hubby bought me a fun new Kindle so I've been going through books like wildfire lately so hopefully I can put up posts pretty regularly.

Disclaimer: Don't expect the posts to be works of art, or maybe not even terribly insightful, but just my train of thought as I make my way through the books that come my way.

If you'd like to join the Card Catalogue Book Club please feel free to send me your own ruminations /thoughts /opinions on any books you are reading and I will be happy to post them alongside mine! New book suggestions are always welcome and hopefully we can all expand our reading repertoire.

Happy Reading!
CurlyGirl