Don’t you love a book that has the power to pull you out of your seat and drop you in a whole other setting? These three novels do that! (And they’re really good!)
“Tartufo” by Kira Jane Buxton absolutely sets you down in a rural Italian village in the Tuscan hills, with “colluding clusters of hazelnut and cypress trees. Olive orchards, vineyards, lemon groves. Cascading terraces and the lovely blossoms of pastel pink and yellow houses.” The colorful descriptions paint pictures in the reader’s mind, the tiny details really building the sense of place. It’s a treat for the senses. It’s also funny.
We become familiar with the inhabitants of the village of Lazzarini Boscarino and are immersed in the atmosphere of the countryside. “This beautiful medieval village where a sunset turns the stone walls pink. Where a labyrinth of lovely cobblestone streets are patrolled by old-age pensioners and an inordinate number of cats.” We journey with a honeybee through the woods, down the halls of a medieval castle, and through the rustic farmer’s market (“The bee can smell every great wheel of parmigiano, diaphanous petals of prosciutto, each warm wave of roasted chestnut”); follow dogs deep into the woods on a hunt for treasured truffles; and go on a chaotic car chase to find a lost puppy. We meet a beloved 22-year-old donkey who ran for mayor; a cat “best described as a cross between a crumpled tuxedo and a toilet wand”; and maybe a ghost or two.
The mayor wants to encourage tourism, but the poor village has nothing to entice visitors. When a giant truffle worth thousands of euros is found, however, the whole world becomes interested. People go crazy. It’s fun! “There are those who would commit any crime to know where the secrets buried under the soil hide. … Stalking. Thievery. Murder.” But time is short. “Every second that truffle is out of the ground is a diminishing. … Within five days, it will lose its enthralling spell completely.”
Don’t miss this marvelous book. Let yourself travel to a little Tuscan village filled with eccentric and passionate Italian characters. I was happy I read it on my Kindle so I could look up the Italian words and celebrities — who are real, by the way.
“The Lotus Shoes” by Jane Yang brings the reader to 19th century China, where ancient customs and modern Western ideas clash. It’s narrated alternately by two characters: Little Flower and Linjing.
Foot binding is a huge deal. The Chinese believe no man will marry a girl with big (unbound) feet, but times are changing. Western nations consider the practice barbaric. Little Flower has had her feet bound since age 4, to give her “perfect four-inch golden lilies” so that she can acquire a good marriage when older. But at age 6, her poverty-stricken mother sells her to a family as a muizai, a slave, with the understanding that she can marry when she comes of age. Her mom tells her to suck it up: “Life is easier for those who can swallow bitterness and accept their lot.” She becomes the personal maid to seven-year-old Linjing.
Linjing is a piece of work, spoiled and demanding, and she’s jealous because Little Flower is often praised for her unique and beautiful embroidery. Linjing brags that she’s a kind, generous mistress. Ha! According to her slave, “She was a pedigree horse wearing blinkers, only able to see the safe, privileged path she trod.” After 10 years, a number of soul-shattering incidents force Little Flower to realize she can no longer stand being a slave. “Life as a muizai was full of hunger, suffering and humiliation.” She endures draconian rules, cruelty and betrayal. Slaves are treated “like tools – a teacup or a comb. Useful but not important. They can always buy another slave.” Later, because of a scandal, the two join the Celibate Sisterhood, where “the punishment for losing your maidenhead is execution by drowning.”
I loved this book, which completely took me to old China. It reminds me of the books of Pearl Buck, Lisa See or Amy Tan. The author was inspired by her grandmothers’ stories of old China. A helpful glossary is provided.
“White Mulberry” by Rosa Kwon Easton begins in northern Korea in 1928. Miyoung is 11 years old. “Miyoung climbed her tree again to look at the stars. Tiny lights in the sky twinkled to the tune of cicadas buzzing, lulling the village to sleep for the night. As Miyoung crawled about, the branches made a scraping sound on their thatched roof. … [Below, her sister’s] silhouette moved across the rice-paper screen door as she unfolded their blanket roll in preparation for sleep.”
There is cultural and military conflict between the Japanese and Korean people. The Japanese took over Korea almost twenty years previously and stole Miyoung’s family’s farm, leaving the family poor. Her mother sends her older sister to Japan to marry a man she’s never met. Miyoung knows the same fate awaits her but really doesn’t want to marry; she wants to become a teacher, but her father thinks girls don’t need an education. He arranges a marriage for her, but instead, her mother sends her to Japan, where school is free and she can live with her sister. Now she has “a chance to carve a new path for herself.”
Her sister explains to her that life in Japan is hard. “Koreans live in slums and have dirty jobs.” They are despised and bullied just because they’re Korean. Also, “In Japan, some Koreans change their names because they’re looked down on.” So Miyoung takes a Japanese name, dresses and acts Japanese, and works on her accent until she can pass as a local. Although she’s a Buddhist, she interacts with Christians and goes to their church.
Her life in Japan has its ups and downs, as she tries to find work, falls in love with nursing, marries and deals with unpleasant in-laws. Soon after World War II begins, she decides to escape back to Korea, which becomes a real adventure.
This is another book that immerses the reader in a foreign setting. I especially enjoyed the contrast in cultures. The story was inspired by the true story of the author’s grandmother.
All three books get five out of five stars from me.
Happy reading!
Mary Louise Ruehr is a books columnist for The Portager. Her One for the Books column previously appeared in the Record-Courier, where she was an editor.