Book Reviews/A Writing Journey
Tag: prejudice
Silvio returns to his French village after years away losing his land bit by bit because of its neglect during his absence. He’s soon drawn into the family’s secrets when he stumbles on the real reason for Colette’s husband’s drowning.
Continue reading “Ireme Nemirovsky’s — Fire in the blood *****”
Set in Africa, this futuristic fantasy focuses on the life of Onyesonwu. After her mother is raped, Onyesonwu’s mother escapes to the east away from the genocide of the Nuru tribe against the Okeke. In Jwahir, Onyesonwu is born but she is of mixed blood and the Okeke avoid her. But something is changing. Strange powers begin to develop — her singing attracts owls, she can change into a vulture and soar above the landscape. She goes to the town’s sorcerer and begs him to train her, but he turns her away because she’s a girl. Her destiny is written in the Great Book, but how will she accomplish these tasks to stop the bloodshed happening in the west that will eventually catch up with the Okeke living in the east?
After Michelle’s Japanese mother leaves and returns to the U.S., her father takes her to the States in search of her mother. Soon she is left with her grandparents in a mid-west town where everyone is white. While her disappointment increases with the absence of her father, she discovers the joy of her grandfather’s love. Soon she is sent to school where she endures the bullying and harassment of everyone. When a negro substitute teacher comes to the school, Michelle discovers that although her grandfather is sympathetic to the bruises and black eye she suffers from other students, he is just as racist as the rest of the town. But what happens when he learns of the flaws of his best friend will change Michelle’s life forever.
A powerful and important story that grabbed me from the first page to the last.
When the Fong’s estate near Shanghai is sold and the Yangs arrive, Jialing’s mother disappears and Jialing becomes a bond servant to the new family. Through her friendship with the spirit fox and Anjuin, the Yangs oldest daughter, she survives. A group of teachers rent a section of the estate and Jialing is given an opportunity to go to school. But even with her education and perfect English no one will employ her because she is zazhong— half Chinese, half Eurasian. How will she survive once the Yangs move to Shanghai leaving her behind?
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