Tag: Canadian author

Denise Chong’s — The Concubine’s Children *****

This is a fascinating tale of Chan Sam who left his wife in China to find gold in British Columbia. In Vancouver, he bought a concubine who worked in Chinatown to support both families.

The memoir gives a deep insight into the early lives of Chinese immigrants to Canada—the hard work they endured, the loneliness they faced, and the deep prejudice they suffered from both the government and the European community.

Ami MacKay’s — The Virgin Cure *****

When Moth escapes the cruel servitude of Mrs Wentworth, she ends up in a brothel where the madam sees her as an innocent prize. Although she is warned of the dangers, she is anxious to escape from the hard life she has endured.

I couldn’t help see a parallel between this story and the skewed belief in some countries that a virgin will cure someone of AIDS.

If you enjoy this book, don’t miss MacKay’s The Birth House which is equally as good.

Kathy Page’s —The story of my face *****

Natalie lives in Finland and researches Envall—the founder of an extremist Protestant sect that she came into contact with thirty years earlier. As a thirteen year old, she had met Barbara whose family was sect followers. This community not only changed her life, but her face.

Kim Echlin’s—Speak, silence*****

Gota, a journalist, leaves Canada and travels to Bosnia in the hope of reconnecting with Kosmos—the man she had a whirlwind romance with in Paris that resulted in a daughter. After a night of lovemaking in Sarajevo with Kosmos, he introduces her to the love of his life—Edina who still pines for her dead husband. On a visit to Edina’s law office, Gota learns of the thousands of files Edina has collected from women who were raped during the Bosnian War. She’s drawn to Edina and the testimony her mother, herself, and her daughter are about to give in The Hague when a trial against Dragic, an officer who in his village, ordered the capture, rape, and torture of Muslim women.

Speak, silence is not an easy read, but the believable characters and court proceedings are an eye opener for those who have never experienced how many men behave in war and what ethnic cleansing really means.