I loved this story. Being the daughter of an American GI who married a Japanese woman, this story hit far too close to home. But outside of the emotional resonance on a personal level, the writing is elegantly compact like a well designed flower arrangement.
Oh wow, that is a personal story! I'd be curious to see your thoughts to this story: At the Foot of the Lighthouse (Todai Moto Kurashi). The link goes to my review, which has the link to the story itself.
Hey, it's a fair and feminist interpretation. I can see it. Don't apologize for that!
I wonder whether or not a person's personal "mother-issues" have any bearing on how they connect to this story or not. For me it was universal, because even though I'm female, I know what it's like to be embarrassed by your mother and not want anything to do with her. And unfortunately, in her case, there's neither magic nor tragic history that makes me understand her and sympathize.
So I guess what I'm asking is this: do you have mommy-issues of any sort? ;)
You reminded me I've been meaning to do some more research on this guy (trying to find out if he has a short story collection or a book coming), and I found this post about his Nebula win: http://kenliu.name/blog/2012/05/19/nebula/
It's worth reading, because it's amazing, to me, how a story on its own can incite fury in readers and yet when you look at the author's intent, you know that was never meant to be the case.
Of course, sometimes things are lost in translation. That happens. It also doesn't make your reading any less valid, but I was curious about your thoughts after reading that short post. :)
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But yes, the Liu story is just beautiful. :)
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I wonder whether or not a person's personal "mother-issues" have any bearing on how they connect to this story or not. For me it was universal, because even though I'm female, I know what it's like to be embarrassed by your mother and not want anything to do with her. And unfortunately, in her case, there's neither magic nor tragic history that makes me understand her and sympathize.
So I guess what I'm asking is this: do you have mommy-issues of any sort? ;)
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It's worth reading, because it's amazing, to me, how a story on its own can incite fury in readers and yet when you look at the author's intent, you know that was never meant to be the case.
Of course, sometimes things are lost in translation. That happens. It also doesn't make your reading any less valid, but I was curious about your thoughts after reading that short post. :)
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(The comment has been removed)
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