To the phantom media specialist…
I went to the conference room – cupcakes but no people. I went to the media center – lots of books but no people. I looked high and low and found book club members hard at work in their rooms but the phantom media specialist remained elusive. I went back to the conference room. No cupcakes, no books, no people – just a lonely empty table. Sometimes meetings are like that.
The good news is – I read a book that is not professional literature! The title is Still Life With Rice. It is a biography/memoire written by Helie Lee (Scribner 1996, 320 pages). She has written the life story of her Korean grandmother. I love the book because of the amazing story it holds. It is a story of a common woman in common times who lived an extraordinary life. However, if her granddaughter had not written this story no one would have ever known Hongyong-yah. On the surface her story is reminiscent of the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan but it doesn’t dwell as tediously with minutia and although there is hardship and tragedy, Hongyog-yah takes life with her instead of life taking her. She is an amazing woman with an amazing family who survived war and political persecution and lived life. She is not anyone famous or politically important – just valuable and fascinating. It is a marvelous story. It is well written and a great read.
Mary Verbick
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1 comment:
Sorry about the lost book club meeting! I was out at track. I stopped by the conference room, but you must have been in the media center. This is a crazy time of year! Thanks for sharing your title. It sounds gorgeous.
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