Hyeonseo Lee’s courageous escape from North Korea started as a teenage thrill. Her family lived along the river that borders North Korea and China and the tantalizing glimpses into China, apparent land of plenty, became too much to resist.
One night, she crossed the shallow frozen river intending to spend a few days sightseeing with distant relatives. In her memoir, The Girl with Seven Names, she tells about that fateful crossing and the years of hardship and fear that followed.
The book is chronological, so we first meet her when she is a happy child, living with her family in a land where relatives are most important. Her parents, well versed in the bribery and illegal trade necessary for survival, provide a comfortable living. As she gets older she starts to question the omnipresent political indoctrination; she sees the hunger of so many North Koreans and notices the well fed Chinese. She wants to look closer. When she does, fate intervenes, and she is trapped in China.
The harrowing journey from North Korean defector through China to safety in South Korea goes on for years with one setback after another. There is a lot of information about the different countries, their rules on immigration, the behavior and plight of the illegals. Lee’s imagination and tenacity get her out of trouble many times.
Since her book was published in England, we know how the story ends. But does it really end? In the final chapter, she talks about the present time and how she feels about herself, her family, and the things she has done.
The book provides insight into a certain kind of immigrant. I’ve read several books about the immigrant experience, but I don’t think there has been another where the characters worried about being apprehended and executed by their mother country because they dared leave.
Sometimes a reader just wants to relax and enjoy. No deep symbolism; no unpleasant information. In The Paris Novel, Ruth Reichl provides just such a thing, a Cinderella story complete with a fairy godmother, prince charming, and happy ending.
Stella’s mother (almost an evil stepmother) dies and leaves her a small inheritance with the caveat that she must go to Paris and spend it there. Mousy Stella, having barely survived the uncaring mother, abusive boyfriend, and absent father is afraid to do something so daring.
When she finally finds the courage, the trip changes her life. First, she meets the mysterious shopkeeper who declares the gorgeous Christian Dior chiffon dress, with accompanying slippers, to have been waiting for her – and allows Stella to wear it for a day. But there are rules. She must go to a magnificent restaurant for lunch, order oysters and Chablis, visit a particular Parisian art gallery, have a dinner that only Paris can provide.
Thus, Stella is propelled into a sensuous world beyond her self-imposed restrictions. Dressed in the couture dress, she looks – beautiful. As she is introduced to some of the great art of Paris, she develops an admiration for one painting in particular and finds a mystery waiting to be solved. This leads her to the literary world of Shakespeare and Company and the “tumbleweeds” who live in the English language bookstore.
Most of all, she discovers a talent for and appreciation of food and cooking. Reichl was a food editor, restaurant critic, and editor of Gourmet for years. She draws on her experiences of unforgettable meals for the mouth-watering descriptions found in the novel.
At the end, we’re happy for Stella who, as a modern Cinderella finds not just the prince, but her own special talent as well.
A thriller without murder or violence! I like it. In The Runaway Jury by John Grisham, all the action is in the courtroom. Although published in 1996, this was a timely read about a trial that has the nation’s attention, one with a verdict that would long be remembered.
A widow is suing a tobacco company for causing the lung cancer death of her husband. Others have tried this, but the tobacco companies have always won. Will this time be different? Both sides will spend whatever is needed to win, but the actions of the tobacco company are the more egregious. If they can’t buy the juror directly, there is a spouse’s business to purchase or a doctor to bribe for embarrassing private information.
Maybe a comeuppance is at hand. A quiet unassuming young juror insinuates himself into the confidence of the other jurors. Suggestions are made. Outside the jury, there is a mysterious young woman calling the “fixer” of the defense with information about what the jury members might do on a particular day. How does she know?
Grisham does his part in the anti-smoking campaign by having his characters detail the damage that smoking causes and the actions of big tobacco to keep people puffing.
The story is a bit farfetched and we’re not too surprised by the ending. But getting there is well worth the trip, and it does have a satisfying little twist.
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