Book Reviews/A Writing Journey
Category: Non-fiction 5 out of 5s
This is a fascinating biography of Anna Leonowens who pretended to be British, covered up her past, even from her children, and became the nanny to the King of Siam’s children. She travelled the world, then settle in Canada to raise her family during the Victorian era when women stayed at home.
Continue reading “Susan Morgan’s — Bombay Anna *****”
Forgiveness is a memoir to two Canadian families — the Sakamotos from Vancouver and the MacLeans from the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence. When war breaks out, Ralph MacLean enlists, and not long after he arrives in Hong Kong he is captured, and spends most of the war in a prison camp. Meanwhile, the British Columbian government is eager to remove the prosperous Japanese community from Powell Street and expels them from their homes into the B.C. interior as farm labour. A generation later, these two families come together when their children marry.
This is an emotional journey, beautifully written that I didn’t want to end.
Five Japanese girls were sent by their government to the U.S.A. in 1871 to learn Western ways. While they were raised traditionally at home, they grew up as typical schoolgirls in their new country. Three of the girls: Sutematsu, Shige and Ume; returned after ten years to try to change women’s education. Continue reading “Janice P. Nimura’s — Daughters of the samurai *****”
During my travels I was desperate for something to read and was handed Finlay’s book. I’m not a lover of jewels so I approached the book with low expectations. How wrong I was.
This book deals with the history and intrigue behind searching and acquiring jewels from amber, jet and opals to the more expensive emeralds, rubies and diamonds. I was hooked from the first page and fascinated by every fact from this non-fiction gem.
Read and Write 
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