100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do by Kim Stafford

A few weeks ago I expressed my love and appreciation for this book on the elegant art of listening.  I was so impressed by the author's love of words and writing that I thought I would check out his new memoir  100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared.  It was not readily available at the bookstore, so I asked my public library if they would order it, and it showed up in about two weeks.  (Love the public library!)

This is such a fine and exceptional book that I can't stop thinking about it.  Stafford makes everything seem effortless yet profound. His writing is smooth and creamy and makes me want to eat it at every meal.  He is writing about his beloved brother who committed suicide 20 years earlier.  Mr Stafford remembers his brother in a series of stories from their youth together, their short adulthood together and the aftermath of living with such a tragic end to someone you loved.

Every week I sit in the company of great writers who pour their hearts out in short poems, and memoirs of their lives.  Word upon word, each writer is building a series of stories and vignettes not unlike these.  I loved this work.  All the stories individually and as a collective quilt of stories, were without question true and beautiful: honesty that cut to the bone of life.  My fellow writers and I can and do easily write this beautifully and could piece our pieces together to form a grand story, but something about the way he did it seemed profound and unreachable.  He has left something tugging at my heart. Writing that is worth emulating in its candor and vulnerability.

God Bless my library for buying this for me, but  I will have to buy my own copy.  There are many writing lessons to be learned here.

For my reader that lives in Portland. This man runs the Northwest Writing Institute.  You should check it out and take a class from him.  Better yet, I'll come visit and we can both take a course from him.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

"Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese.
"'Someday you will see,' said my mother. 'It is in your blood, waiting to be let go.'"
--The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I first got the idea to re-read The Joy Luck Club when considering what books to send to Catherine.  This book is a long time favorite, but I read it so long ago I could only remember bits and pieces.  The Joy Luck Club is  a modern classic about Chinese mothers and their Chinese-American daughters and how they make sense of their lives outside of China. I think Catherine will enjoy it.

Four mothers and four daughters tell their stories which are connected only by the Joy Luck Club: a regular social gathering of the four mothers to eat and play Mah Jong.  I remembered each story, especially the mother's stories rooted in Chinese custom and lore, to be particularly fascinating.

After reading for a few minutes I realized with some sadness that the second reason for reading this book was to understand the wisdom of Chinese mothers which my daughter will never have the opportunity to hear.  I felt a little weepy when I realized that she would really be missing something important and perhaps those Chinese women scolding me in the park were really trying to tell me something besides put more clothing on your daughter.

The Chinese mothers portrayed in Ms. Tan's novel were full of stories of ancient times and proverbs to teach their American born daughters lessons about life.  I have often wished I had those tales at my disposal, ready to launch a life lesson at a moments notice.  Tessa would benefit from the wisdom of a Chinese mother.   They try to teach through story and metaphor.  Although I am romanticizing a bit, it felt a little like living and leading like a poet.

I don't mean to say she will be settling for me and my wisdom, I have plenty to go around, but there is something about the way these mothers approached life that made me think I need to start channeling my Chinese mother more.

The Joy Luck Club was fun to re-read, and I am going to pack it up today for Catherine.  Sometimes it is hard to keep track of the 8 different characters and their stories, but in total they do paint a picture of a complex emotional tension between mothers and daughters.  The first story in the book which is concluded at the end is easily the best and most bittersweet, but all the complexities of life for women and girls in China is very lovingly portrayed.

It is worth reading or reading again.  The movie is slightly different but also very good.