Tag Archives: Drugs/Alcohol/Addiction
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
Allow me to start with two immediate thoughts about content and delivery. Content: Today’s Mexican narcos, the Colombian cartels, the Afghan/Pakistani smuggling rings utterly pale in comparison to the British and American opium runners demanding access to 19th-century China. You might have studied the distant Opium Wars via textbook facts and figures, but you probably didn’t have the sort of visceral, being-there experience as Amitav Ghosh provides here.
Delivery: Read, do not bother listening to either of the two Ibis Trilogy titles (hope springs eternal for #3). Phil Gigante who voices Sea of Poppies gives the strangest accents to the characters, including an inexcusable ‘ching-chong’ for Baboo Nob Kissin. Thankfully, the man gets to speak fluently as narrated by Sanjiv Jhaveri in River of Smoke. BUT Jhaveri’s recitation of Robert Chinnery, the illegitimate mixed-race son of George Chinnery (the English painter, a historical figure, although Robert is seemingly Ghosh’s creation), is SOOOO riddled WITH (!!!) non-existent OVERpunctuaTION and flamBOYant OVERemphasis in his cadence as to make the young man sound like a grating stereotype on some failing teen drama. So really, get the books only and let your own voice give breath to Ghosh’s brilliant characters, unaided!
River begins “in a far corner of Mauritius,” where a now-elderly Deeti resides over her sprawling clan, telling stories from her adventurous life. Backtrack to 1938, when Sea of Poppies ended with a daring five-man escape from the Ibis. Of the Sea cast, Ah Fatt reunites briefly with his father, Bahram Modi, the shrewd merchant son-in-law of a powerful Bombay Parsi family; Ah Fatt manages to get the former Raja Neel Rattan Halder hired as Modi’s munshi (writing secretary) aboard his ship Anahita headed to Canton. Meanwhile, on Mauritius, Paulette finds both an employer and mentor in botanist Fitcher Penrose who was an admirer of her late father. She joins Penrose on his ship Redruth as he sets course for China to collect rare plant specimens.
Convergence happens in Canton’s foreign quarter, Fanqui-town, a lively cosmopolitan enclave (although no foreign women allowed). River‘s narrative follows Bahram Modi’s journey with a loaded cargo that should be enough to buy his freedom from his greedy in-laws, and the lively experiences of Paulette’s childhood friend Robert Chinnery who is sent to Fanqui-town in Penrose’s employ to track down the mythical “Golden Camellia.” The foreign traders are most anxious about their overstocked opium, awaiting permission to unload. What’s illegal in their own countries demands to be dumped in China in the name of free trade … but the Chinese government has had enough and are finally ready to reclaim their addicted country. Let the war begin … literally.
Ghosh combines history and fiction here with seamless grace as he meticulously weaves actual documents, people, and events with his own unforgettable characters. The result is entertaining and astonishing … and will surely leave you impatient for more. Yes, book 3 is coming … although it can’t here soon enough for some!
Readers: Adult
Published: 2011 Continue reading
Filed under ..Adult Readers, .Fiction, Chinese, Indian, South Asian
Toxicology by Jessica Hagedorn + Author Interview
Eight years have passed (far too quickly) since I last saw the inimitable Jessica Hagedorn. Her 2003 novel, Dream Jungle, was about to come out and we were in desperate search of boba tea in New York’s East Village. Faced with a closed tea salon (one of her favorites), Hagedorn met my disappointment with a comforting hug and we settled instead on a nearby Japanese restaurant. Noshing with a legend, I can’t remember a thing I ate … it was all about the stellar company, after all.
Born and raised in the Philippines, arriving in the United States in her early teens, Hagedorn entered the literary world fully formed: her now-classic coming-of-age debut novel, Dogeaters, garnered a highly coveted National Book Award nomination in 1990. In the two decades since, Hagedorn has been recognized as both a leader and a mentor at the forefront of Asian Pacific America with her compilation of Asian Pacific American writings, Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction and Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home in the World: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction, both of which she edited, in addition to her various other novels, poetry, films, plays, multimedia performance pieces, and a musical.
Eight years after Dream Jungle—in which Hagedorn intertwines the alleged discovery of an ancient “lost tribe” in the remote hills of the Philippines with the problematic filming of Apocalypse Now – Hagedorn’s much-awaited new novel, Toxicology, hit shelves earlier this year in April. Populated with her usual cast of unpredictable characters, Toxicology opens with the spectacular death of a beloved young actor. Separately joining the multiplying crowd of shocked mourners outside the actor’s apartment are Mimi Smith – a filmmaker with a minor cult slasher hit who is suffering through a rough patch both creatively and personally – and her estranged, 14-year-old daughter Violet. Across the East River, Mimi’s older brother Melo is trying to stay sober, and is convinced that their cousin Agnes has met a sinister end at the hands of her wealthy New Jersey employers. Down the hall from Mimi, her neighbor Eleanor Delacroix – once a famous writer, now an eccentric octogenarian addicted to cocaine and alcohol – has effectively shut herself in while mourning the death of her long-time lover and partner, the renowned artist Yvonne Wilder. Brought together by loneliness—not to mention the flowing booze and drugs – Mimi and Eleanor’s disparate lives dovetail one into the other, as both find a strange comfort in their acerbic exchanges and desperate binges.
Always fascinated by Hagedorn’s writing, I recently caught up with her by phone (“some things never change,” she assures me about her phone number). We laughed, sighed, cackled, debated, and generally plotted to take over the universe … [... click here for more]
Author Interview: “Jessica Hagedorn,” Our Own Voice Literary eZine: Filipinos in the Diaspora, September 2011
Readers: Adult
Published: 2011 Continue reading
Author Interview: Jessica Hagedorn
When I first met the inimitable Jessica Hagedorn eight years ago – her 2003 novel Dream Jungle, in which Hagedorn intertwines the alleged discovery of an ancient “lost tribe” in the remote hills of the Philippines with the problematic filming of Apocalypse Now, was just about to come out – we bonded over fiery bums. I confessed to her how my mother always told me that my backend was on fire because I did too many things at the same time, her warning that I would burn out and die young. Hagedorn – who remains eternal – admitted that she, too, thought she might die young, “but it’s all turned out fine,” she assured me, “I had nurturing people who took care of me along the way.” She also wisely cautioned, “…that urge – to have your bum on fire – it never ends. That fire never goes out.”
Hagedorn’s personal flame has certainly kept her creatively fueled, involved in countless projects in various media. She entered the literary world fully formed: her now-classic coming-of-age debut novel, Dogeaters, garnered a highly coveted National Book Award nomination in 1990. In the two decades since, Hagedorn has been recognized as both a leader and a mentor at the forefront of Asian Pacific America (she was born and raised in the Philippines and arrived in the United States in her early teens) with her compilation of Asian Pacific American writings, Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction and Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home in the World: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction, both of which she edited, in addition to her various other novels, poetry, films, plays, multimedia performance pieces, and a musical.
Eight years after Dream Jungle, Hagedorn’s much-awaited new novel, Toxicology, hit shelves earlier this year in April. Populated with her usual cast of unpredictable characters, Toxicology opens with the spectacular death of a beloved young actor. Separately joining the multiplying crowd of shocked mourners outside the actor’s apartment are Mimi Smith, a filmmaker with a minor cult slasher hit who is suffering through a rough patch both creatively and personally, and her estranged 14-year-old daughter Violet. Across the East River, Mimi’s older brother Melo is trying to stay sober, and is convinced that their cousin Agnes has met a sinister end at the hands of her wealthy New Jersey employers. Down the hall from Mimi, her neighbor Eleanor Delacroix, once a famous writer, now an eccentric octogenarian addicted to cocaine and alcohol, has effectively shut herself in while mourning the death of her long-time lover and partner, the renowned artist Yvonne Wilder. Brought together by loneliness – not to mention the flowing booze and drugs – Mimi and Eleanor’s disparate lives dovetail one into the other, as both find a strange comfort in their acerbic exchanges and desperate binges.
Always fascinated by Hagedorn’s writing, I recently caught up with her by phone (“some things never change,” she assures me about her phone number). We laughed, sighed, cackled, debated, and generally plotted to take over the universe…
Of course, I have so much to ask you, but we’ll start with Toxicology. We always have to start with a book! In the last couple of your major works, a factual death sparked your fiction: the passing of Manuel Elizalde Jr. for Dream Jungle, then Andrew Cunanan’s multiple murders and suicide for your musical Most Wanted. Toxicology also opens with death, the possible suicide or accidental overdose of a bad-boy Hollywood star. Dare I say, Heath Ledger came immediately to mind. Any chance that this “you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up” event ignited what became Toxicology?
I so remember that day [Ledger's death] happened, how fascinating it was that such a wide range of people were affected by his passing. For a lot of us, he wasn’t just another movie or pop star who died too young. Something about Heath Ledger and his vulnerability and great talent moved people. That day, I heard from writer friends who only watch artsy fartsy movies, from my kids and my colleagues at work, a really wide range of people, and the solemn mood was the same for all. The country was already in a deep funk over dirty politics, dirty wars, the recession, and all that, and this sudden, intimate, human tragedy seemed to bring folks together. It was also a very New York City event. And yes, Ledger’s unfortunate death jumpstarted the opening chapter to Toxicology. [... click here for more]
Author interview: Feature: “An Interview with Jessica Hagedorn,” Bookslut.com, September 2011
Readers: Adult Continue reading
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
With very good reason, Jennifer Egan‘s fifth title, A Visit from the Goon Squad, won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, announced earlier this month. As with most major award winners, I try to take a look or a listen (forget the cat; curiosity broadens the mind, right?) … but I confess that I don’t always finish what I start. Not so with this one!
With Roxana Ortega’s narration shoved into my ears, I even ran extra miles to keep the story going … truly, Goon Squad is that addictive. The only regret I might have about listening rather than reading is missing Chapter 12 in print. But I won’t spoil that for either listener (which has sound effects added!) or reader. The book just came out this week in paperback, available for the cost of about two cups of good caffeine, so no excuse not to literally imbibe now!
Goon is another title best enjoyed without too much prior knowledge. Although, it also proves to be such an inventive time warping romp by book’s end that all you want to do is talk about it … So allow me a moment of minimal indulgence, oh please.
The book opens with Sasha on her therapist’s couch, reliving her first and last date with Alex and confessing to yet another kleptomaniacal incident – or two, actually, by date’s end. Sasha is music executive Bennie Salazar’s assistant, who has lusted for her always from a distance, although he also relies on her to be his virility meter (which is currently less than zero).
Sasha and Bennie’s employee/boss relationship make up the exact point of intersection for this inventive, uniquely over-under-multi-layered story of diverse lives that wanders in unpredictable directions from decades past to sometime in the future. Egan’s ability to effortlessly bend time requires careful recall of details from chapters past: for example, Bennie’s ex-wife’s ex-boss’s daughter eventually marries the Columbia University-robotics-PhD-ed grandson (one of 63 grandchildren) of the Kenyan warrior who dances with Bennie’s mentor’s teenage daughter one moonlit African desert night. Sound complicated? Not in Egan’s delightful, teasing, enlightening prose.
Each new character, each unexpected intersection is another invitation to witness the surprising shifts of everyday lives that somehow come together to create this magical odyssey. Forget the coffee for a couple of days; don’t miss this adventure … its adrenaline comes complete with eclectic soundtrack.
Readers: Adult
Published: 2010 Continue reading
Filed under ..Adult Readers, .Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
Becoming Naomi León by Pam Muñoz Ryan
“I always thought the biggest problem in my life was my name, Naomi Soledad León Outlaw, but little did I know that it was the least of my troubles, or that someday I would live up to it.” So opens Pam Muñoz Ryan‘s swiftly moving coming-of-age tale of missing parents, dual cultures, and the meaning of family.
As in many of her novels, Ryan deals sensitively and honestly with the sometimes harsh realities of even the youngest lives. Naomi and her younger brother – physically challenged, but brilliant – live with Gram, their great-grandmother, because seven years ago, their mother abandoned the children in terrible condition. Thanks to Gram’s consistent nurturing (not to mention some serious medical care), the children and she have become a cozy family, living in a trailer named Baby Beluga, beached in Lemon Tree, southern California, surrounded by supportive friends.
Unannounced (of course), Terri Lynn – now calling herself Skyla Jones – is back, this time with a tattoo artist boyfriend named Clive. Saccharine-sweet Skyla decides she wants her kids back, and thinks she can buy their affection with Clive’s money. Naomi is initially desperate to get to know her long-missing mother, who gently braids her unruly hair and buys her trendy new outfits (so different from the polyester-remnant clothing Gram makes for both kids). But Skyla’s flimsy demeanor quickly begins to crack, and Naomi learns that her mother is still the troubled, trouble-making woman she always was … and she will stop at almost nothing to fulfill her selfish goals. Gram is not willing to risk the children’s well-being … and she will fight her own grandchild with everything she has, including deep-held secrets that will change Naomi and Owen’s lives forever. Let the wild ride (in Baby Beluga!) begin …
Reading Naomi León from a parent’s perspective will no doubt jerk the heart-strings. While much of the story is familiar – divorce wreaks havoc especially on the children, bad parents do exist, scam artists come in all shapes and sizes – Ryan’s novel is reassuring comfort that unbreakable family bonds can grow from overwhelming challenges. With encouragement from loved ones – whether family, teachers, caring friends – a child’s voice can sometimes be her strongest asset as Naomi comes into the power of her hapa Mexican name, Naomi the Lion, and ultimately learns to roar.
Readers: Middle Grade
Published: 2004 Continue reading
Filed under ..Middle Grade Readers, .Fiction, Hapa, Latino/a
Buddha’s Orphans by Samrat Upadhyay
First off, Samrat Upadhyay is one of my favorite short story-tellers. His debut Arresting God in Kathmandu remains one of the most memorable collections I’ve ever read, and a quote from the review I wrote for Christian Science Monitor about his most recent collection, The Royal Ghosts, actually appears on the back cover of this, his latest novel. [What a surprise that was to find!]
Last week, my book group hens (my mother likes to refer to my book clubbing in humorous onomatopoeic Korean as ‘gathering in the chicken coop’) came over to discuss Upadhyay’s second novel. Although I attempted to post my comments before we met, the day just whooshed by, not the least of which because I read the book on and off during the 24 hours that led up to the meeting (me? procrastinate? never!). Perhaps I’m also in a cloud of denial: if I don’t say this out loud, then it just won’t be true …
Alas, full disclosure: Buddha’s Orphans was a disappointing read. While the jacket flap promises “Nepal’s political upheavals as a backdrop,” what I missed most, ironically, was exactly that: Upadhyay’s complementary, signature ability to weave the intricacies of recent Nepalese politics and history with unobtrusive, seamless precision into his narratives as he did in both short story collections. Certainly the looming politics cannot be ignored in this novel, either, but here the effect feels haphazard and disjointed.
That said, Orphans is not a ‘bad’ book … one of my hens remarked she thought it was an ideal ‘beach read.’ At its core is a love story: the foundling Raja and the privileged Nilu meet as the young children of servant and employer, are reunited in high school through Nilu’s elaborate machinations and, except for a brief period of separation, more or less live happily ever after.
Raja never gets over the loss of his birthmother; her suicide when Raja is an infant is noted on the novel’s first page, so no spoilers here. He conveniently (and heartlessly) dismisses the mother who initially, devotedly raised him until he was ‘legally’ stolen by a kind-hearted though weak man and his deranged wife. A few neighborhoods away, Nilu grows up a neglected only child of a wealthy widow. Nilu is left rather orphan-like by her mother’s alcohol and drug addictions, further fueled by a younger man whose lecherous greed extends to nubile Nilu; ironically, the two house servants, one of them being Raja’s discarded second mother, nurture and protect Nilu as best as they can until she makes her own life with Raja.
Through over half a century, the couple’s story navigates through deaths, births, friendships, loss, not to mention a few reincarnations and ghosts. Nilu remains the heroine through it all, although why she holds on to the self-absorbed, self-pitying, self-deceiving Raja seems contrary to her own resilient strength. Yet their bond survives all those decades, even while Raja is ready to risk it all again –”his back to her” – in his middle age as he claims the novel’s final sentence.
In an accompanying interview, Upadhyay admits to being “completely exhausted” after completing an almost 800-page first draft of Orphans. Perhaps that exhaustion is most evident near title’s end (p. 415) when Ranjana refers to her “younger brother” – a fellow hen also noticed the impossibility as Ranjana was not even born when that brother passed away. But errors or not, Upadhyay’s titles are still something to look forward to … and his next short stories, especially, will certainly be well anticipated.
Readers: Adult
Published: 2010 Continue reading
Filed under ..Adult Readers, .Fiction, Nepali, Nepali American
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, art by Ellen Forney
I’m not so sure about my tween son reading this sooner than later (it’s part of his English curriculum this school year) … but if nothing else, we’re in for some eye-opening discussions.
Winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Sherman Alexie‘s first (and so far only) young adult novel is a pound-your-heart-wrenching, laugh-out-loud funny testament to the sheer will of a desperate boy trying to hang on to his identity as he stakes his claim on his future.
Junior, also known as Arnold Spirit, was born with “too much cerebral spinal fluid inside [his] skull,” 10 extra teeth, with “lopsided” eyes in his enormous skull. He has seizures; he stutters and lisps. With an alcoholic father, a long-suffering mother, and an older sister who hides 23 hours a day in the basement, Junior realizes early that “we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams.”
Junior wasn’t supposed to live, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to grow up to be the smartest kid in his school. He survived the ‘retard’ taunts and the “Black-Eye-of-the-Month-Club by drawing cartoons and sticking close to his best friend Rowdy, an abused, violent, angry boy who “might be the most important person in [Junior's] life.”
When high school starts, in a fit of frustration, Junior throws a textbook that inadvertently breaks his math teacher Mr. P’s nose. He gets suspended, goes to apologize to Mr. P who confesses to Junior that teachers like him were hired to “kill Indian culture.” It’s Mr. P who’s sorry, and Mr. P who tells Junior he “deserves better,” that he must leave the reservation forever: “.. you have to take your hope and go somewhere where other people have hope … away from this sad, sad, sad reservation.”
With his parents’ blessing and sometimes help (when they have the gas money, when they’re sober), Junior gets out … and is labeled a traitor by everyone else, rejected even by Rowdy. Junior commutes 22 miles each way to Reardan High School, where he’s the only Indian. Poor, isolated, and lost, the price Junior pays for hope is extremely high … but he learns through new friendship, a possible first-love, and the whole basketball team, that “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.” Helps that Junior is so amazing himself.
You’ll probably want to buy, borrow, beg for both the printed and audible versions of this title. The pen and ink book includes Ellen Forney‘s not-to-be-missed drawings … what Junior couldn’t write, he draws with gleeful abandon and unflinching honesty. The audible version has Sherman Alexie himself reading his words, giving just the right amount of squeak, bravado, mourning, and ultimate hope to his unforgettable, ‘absolutely true’ creation. Neither version should be missed … REALLY.
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2007 Continue reading
Filed under ..Adult Readers, ..Young Adult Readers, .Fiction, Native American
How I Made It to Eighteen: a mostly true story by Tracy White
Tracy White’s graphic sort-of-autobiography is “only mostly true because I skipped over things, moved events around, embellished, and occasionally just plain made things up,” she explains on the first page. “The technical term for this is dramatic license. I used it,” she adds in the same dry, detached tone she uses so effectively throughout her chilling, starkly-drawn, memorably startling debut.
She tells her “mostly true story” – very cleverly, rather frighteningly – as Stacy Black, complete with commentary from four friends from various stages of her young life, doctors’ files, and clinical and therapy records.
At 17, Stacy has a mental breakdown. Depressed, lonely, drug-addicted, bulimic, living with her musician boyfriend, she looks out the window one morning and decides hurting herself is better than just going on. After her “little incident,” she finally realizes that she needs professional help and admits herself to Golden Meadows – “restoring mental healthy since 1938.”
Even as she has hit rock-bottom, somehow she knows that she wants to be happy again. Dividing her chapters into random chunks of “length of stay,” she begins a slow, gut-wrenching journey toward recovery – one slow day, one tiny achievement at a time. She finds fellow friends including a boy who might actually care about her (unlike her useless and abusive boyfriend she can’t seem to let go), a shrink who listens even when she refuses to speak, and even endures the grave difficulty of confronting her seemingly self-absorbed mother.
Parents will certainly shudder reading this. But read it they should: White/Black (she is so very clever!) can certainly offer some life lessons for both teenagers and their parents. While reading this, I was also iPod-listening to Leonard Sax’s Girls on the Edge (I ordered the actual book so I can quote from it accurately which I can’t do from the audible.com download … yes, it’s that good to buy twice!) and chapter after chapter, I kept thinking, ‘if only White and her mother had had access to Girls on the Edge, so much heartbreaking suffering might have been alleviated!’ Actually, having finished both, I’m even more convinced …
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2010 Continue reading
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