Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

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Jamie Ford, Quirky Girls Read

Name of Book: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

By: Jamie Ford

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Copyright Date: 2009

Number of Pages: 303 (Nook edition)

Format: Adult Fiction

Rating: A+

Reason for Reading: Lin suggested it at the first Quirky Girls chat!

“Oh-I-decky-tay …”  The words rolled off his tongue like a Mack truck. He felt a wisp of perspiration on his forehead. The words? What was the rest?  “Ooh ree she day … sue.”

Keiko’s face froze in a smile of surprise, interrupted only by her occasional wide-eyed blinking. “What did you just say?”

Breathe, Henry. Deep breath. One more time.

“Oai deki te ureshii desu!” The words came out perfectly.  I did it!

Silence.

“Henry, I don’t speak Japanese.”

 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet goes back and forth between 1942 and 1986 Seattle. In 1986, the old Panama Hotel finds a stash of Japanese artifacts that were stored in its basement when the Seattle Japanese were sent off to the internment camps in World War II.  Henry, a widower, finds what he is seeking for in those old boxes and suitcases, and his life changes forever.

Ford tells the story beautifully. You get a strong feel for the difficulties in the relationships not only with Henry and Keiko, but Henry and his parents, Henry and Sheldon (a jazz musician who relocated to Seattle from the deep South, and who deeply resents being ordered to the back of the bus), Henry and his son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Henry and his identity as an American-Chinese, and Henry and his past.

I can’t recommend the book highly enough. It’s absolutely lovely.

The Quirky Girls will be chatting at Bumble’s blog on Friday, 4/22, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  If you’ve read the book, come join us. If you haven’t read it but don’t mind spoilers, come join us. 

You don’t need any special software or gadgets to join us. Simply log in as a Guest or with your Facebook ID at any time between 8:30PM – 10:00PM ET on 04/22 and join the conversation with your fingers on your keyboard.

Hope to see you then!

Go Read This Book

You must. It’s an imperative. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, by Elizabeth Berg, is a collection of short stories. It’s imminently quotable, and very moving.

“I love Cheetos so much it kind of makes my butt hurt.” (p. 10)

“And then I took a wooden mallet and I beat the shit out of my scale. I wanted springs to pop out like they might in a cartoon but all that happened was it didn’t work anymore and it had a few dents. Still.” (p. 12)

“No harp music–who could bear to listen to harp music unless you were having high tea at the Palm Court? No, the music would be jazz, Diana Krall style. And endless trays of fried foods floating by, garnished with pink magnolias, with white peonies, with deep purple orchids slashed by lines of gold and freckled with black. A million house-trained pupplies who stayed puppies and children who never got older than five. That was heaven.” (p. 16-17)

“You know, Earl, it’s like you live your life opening doors. One after the other. You open a door onto a hallway, which leads to another door, which leads to another hallway But then one day you open a door and it’s to a closet. It doesn’t go anywhere. And it’s dark in there.” (p. 47)

“Janey often has night terrors, where she wakes up from a sound sleep with her heart racing and her breathing all but impossible. The idea of her own death seems to assume wretched form, and it sits on her chest, pries open her eyes, and mashes foreheads with her. The walls close in and the ceiling lowers. Darkness deepens. She does not hear but feels the words:

YOU    WILL    BE    NO    MORE.” (p. 60)

And on it goes. Berg’s language is evocative of all the things you’ve thought and felt and wondered but might not have put into words.

Go. Read.

Breaking Dawn at Midnight

It’s the day. The day a lot of people have been waiting for. The day when, at midnight, the bookstores will start selling copies of Stephenie Meyers’ last book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn.  In the spirit of the series, I’d like to leave you with this cartoon.

Now, if you’re Mormon, you already know about CTR rings. Lots of Mormons wear them to remind themselves to Choose The Right. So here’s a little twist on the CTR ring theory to amuse you Twilight fans. Enjoy! I’ll be back with a book review sometime Saturday.

Book Review: 660 Curries

Whether you’re a novice or expert at Indian cooking, you’re bound to love this thick cookbook that just bursts with flavour. Raghavan Iyer describes his first attempt at cooking with the generic American spice called “curry powder,” and his subsequent disappointment at its failure to evoke the spicy heritage of his home. His book 660 Curries is both an homage to the great foods of India and a guide to making those foods for people who have perhaps always thought of curry as something blazing hot that’s seasoned with a can of curry powder.

But just what is curry? If you had asked me before I read this cookbook, I’d have responded that it’s a dish consisting of vegetables, perhaps meat, cooked in a fiery sauce and served with rice. Very nondescriptive. Here’s what Iyer says about curry:

In England and the rest of the world, “curry” describes anything Indian that is mottled with hot spices, with or without a sauce, and “curry powder” is the blend that delivers it. In keeping with my culture, I define a curry as any dish that consists of meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables, or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy, or other liquid that is redolent of spices and/or herbs (p. 3).

I remember once making a curry for dinner, and later meeting up with a friend. “You had curry for dinner tonight, didn’t you?” she asked me, and I stared blankly at her, wondering if my telltale breath had given it away. It turned out that she had already seen my husband, who told her the news. That curry, like every other curry I’ve ever prepared, was seasoned with a curry powder blend that I purchased at the grocery store. Now, however, thanks to Iyer, I’ll be preparing my own blends. He gives you a variety to work with, tells you where to find ingredients that may not be readily available at your grocery store, tells you the best ways to prepare and store them, and provides a variety of useful tips.

Many of the recipes in the book relate back to the section about “spice blends and pastes,” as those are the essential ingredients in preparing the other dishes. Iyer recommends–and I wholeheartedly agree with him–that you carefully read the entire recipe before you begin preparation, and make sure you have everything in place and at hand. If your recipe includes a spice blend found on page 28 (Sesame-Flavored Blend with peanuts and coconut–Maharashtrian Garam Masala), prepare the blend, if you haven’t already, and make sure it’s ready for use.

This book has curries and side dishes to tempt any appetite, including appetizer curries (did you ever think of having a curry dish as an appetizer?), meat curries, paneer curries, legume curries, vegetable curries, contemporary curries, and biryani curries. There is also a section on curry cohorts, in case you were wondering what to serve with the Cauliflower and Potatoes in a blackened red chile sauce (Alur Phulkopir Jhol) on page 481, for example.  I like a good naan, and on page 729 there is a recipe for Salt-Crusted Grilled Flatbread with ghee (Naan) that I will be trying out before I get very much older.

The recipes are laid out step-by-step so that they can be easily followed, and tips about techniques, alternatives, etc., frequently follow the recipes. The recipe section is followed up with a very useful guide that includes metric conversion charts, a thorough glossary of ingredients, the basic elements of curry, mail-order sources for spices and legumes, and a good bibliography for the chef who wants to learn more.

If you’re interested in learning more, visit Iyer’s website.

Publisher: Workman Publishing, New York. ISBN 978-0-7611-37870-0. $22.95

Buy it now!

Book Review: In Search of Molly Pitcher

You may have heard the legend of Molly Pitcher when you were in elementary school. She was the angel of the battlefield during the U.S. Revolutionary War, bringing water to the thirsty men. And when her husband was killed in action, she took charge of his cannon. Her name wasn’t really Molly Pitcher, of course; she was given the nickname after flitting around with a pitcher slaking the soldiers’ terrible thirst.

So just how true is this legend? Linda Grant De Pauw’s charming protagonist Peggy McAllister researches the story of Molly Pitcher not only for an 8th grade research paper, but for a chance to win to win the first ever Rattletop Award. Peggy’s teacher is annoyed with her choice, pointing to the scarcity of information about Molly Pitcher and basically saying that it will leave her with no possible way to win the award. Undeterred, Peggy forges ahead with the capable assistance of her great-grandfather, a former private investigator, and a local historian. They do not do the research for her, but give her tips on how to organize her material, where to search for resources, and serve as her guide to the nearby historic sites.

De Pauw has written a story that works as a story and as a guide to how to perform and organize research. While I was in college, I frequently saw many people who did not have any idea how to organize their thoughts into a cohesive research project and subsequently did not make the grades they otherwise would have earned in their classes. When I tutored friends in writing, I taught them the index card technique that Peggy uses with such success in the book.

I enjoyed Peggy’s story, and truly appreciated learning so much more about the available facts behind the Molly Pitcher legend. I think De Pauw has hitten a home run with this one, and I definitely plan to read more of her fiction and non-fiction. This is a great book for middle-grade children. I think it might appeal more to girls than to boys because of the nature of the topic and the character, but a wise teacher could use it as a springboard for getting students involved in research projects and papers.

Publisher: Peacock Press of Pasadena, Pasadena, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-4357-0607-1. $12.00

Buy this book now!

Historical Fiction?

I just finished reading Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent.  I was filled with such utter loathing that writing much of anything on my books read page was incredibly difficult.  Even here it’s going to be difficult, so bear with me.

When I was much younger, I really enjoyed reading historical fiction, particularly when it pertained to Tudor England. I devoured the works of Jean Plaidy and Philippa Gregory and their comrades. As I grew older, however, I found that I much preferred reading history and trying to puzzle out for myself what happened.

I chose to read this book in part because I had heard a lot of good things about it. And in all justice, many of those positive comments were spot on. Diamant has a knack for drawing the reader into the story. She’s a very good writer. I honestly have nothing to complain about regarding characterization, plot, etc. As far as all of that goes, I would say that it is a good book. If the characters bore different names, I might not feel as strongly as I do.

And therein lies the rub.

I remember learning about Joseph when I was young. He was the oldest son of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, and he was chosen by Heavenly Father to be a ruler over his older brethren. He had a coat of many colours and his brothers were envious. His brothers trapped him in a pit and were going to murder him, but ended up selling him as a slave instead. They ripped his coat and smeared animal’s blood on it, and took it back to their father as proof that he had been slain by a wild beast. When Joseph was brought to Egypt, he was purchased by a man named Potiphar. Potiphar loved and trusted Joseph and promoted him to a high position in his household. Potiphar’s wife lusted after Joseph and tried to seduce him, but he ran from her, unknowingly leaving a scrap of his robe in her hands. She cried rape, and Potipher had Joseph cast into prison, where Joseph was able to interpret the dreams of several men and ended up being brought before the Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. He did so, and Pharaoh put him in a position of great responsibility. He had two children, Manasseh and Ephraim. During the time of the famine, his family who were starving went to Egypt to purchase grain. They did not recognize him, but he recognized them and laid a few traps to see if they had changed. They had changed; there was a happy reunion; and all was well with the world.

Sound familiar?

Diamant’s Joseph has little in common with the Joseph I met in the book of Genesis. A servant in his house tells Dinah, “he was set above the other servants in the house, for Po-ti-far loved the Canaanite boy and used him for his own pleasure. But Po-ti-far’s wife, a great beauty called Nebetper, also looked upon him with longing, and the two of them became lovers right under the master’s nose. There is even some gossip about who fathered her last daughter. In any case, Po-ti-far finally discovered them in bed together and he could no longer pretend not to know what was going on. So in a great show of anger and vengeance, he sent [Joseph] to prison” (p. 286-287).

The nature of historical fiction is such that the author takes what is reported to have happened, and fills in the gaps with inventive narrative that pulls the reader into the story. And in cases where there is but a brief mention of an historical figure, the author can be much more creative in approaching that figure’s story. I can deal with that. Had Diamant told the exact same story she put into Dinah’s mouth, without changing the nature of such people as reported in what little history we have of them, I wouldn’t be objecting right now. But that’s not what she did. And that’s why I didn’t like the book.

Book Review: The Cornbread Gospels

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Book Reviews

The mailman brought me a lovely, lovely package today. It’s so fun getting things in the mail that are neither bills nor catalogues nor other advertisements. A few weeks ago I posted the recipe for the cornbread I made the previous night, and mentioned how Joe steadfastly refused to eat it because–gasp!–it was Southern style cornbread, grainy and not sweet.  Crescent Dragonwagon e-mailed me not only with an offer to review her cornbread cookbook, but also provided a pithy quotation from Chaucer! (No, not about cornbread, but gingerbread, and I’ll get to that in just a sec.)

The Cornbread Gospels is a dream of a cookbook. It is beautifully laid out and organized, and has plenty to satisfy the cook, the reader, the historian, and anyone else who should be so fortunate as to lay hands on a copy. In the introduction, Dragonwagon tells us some of the experiences she had in the almost six years it took her to complete this book. The first chapter, entitled “Southern Cornbreads: Soul in a Skillet,” gets to the heart of the debate between Yankees and Southerners as to what constitutes a proper cornbread. She doesn’t take sides though, which is probably wise.

There are recipes for any kind of cornbread you can imagine, and you’re virtually guaranteed to drool while you read through them. A sampling of the recipes: Truman Capote’s Family’s Cornbread; Land of Milk and Honey Custard-Layered Cornbread; Seriously Spicy Main Dish Cornbread; Bobota (Greek Cornbread, with orange juice, currants, and orange-honey syrup); High Desert Blue Corn Muffins with Sage and Toasted Pine Nuts; Herb-Scented Corn Whole Wheat Bread; Dixie Spoonbread; George Washington’s Favorite Corn Cakes; Indonesian-Style Corn and Eggplant Fritters; Golden Gazpacho; Old South Style Greens (to eat with your delectable cornbread); and Very Lemony Cornmeal Pound Cake.

Along the way, you’ll find quotations and snippets of verses about cornbread; you’ll learn the difference between a jonnycake and a johnnycake; and you’ll learn how to make your own corn tortillas. Wondering what to serve with your cornbread? The book is sprinkled with suggested menus. There’s a recipe for any palate here, as well as a feast for the mind.

The Cornbread Gospels, Crescent Dragonwagon, illustrations by Andrea Wisnewski. Workman Publishing, New York. ISBN 9-780761-119166. $14.95. Find it here.  Visit the author’s website here.

Oh–and are you still wondering about the Chaucer quotation?  Chaucer writes, “they sette him roial spicery and gyngebreed.”  And Dragonwagon does, in fact, include a recipe for Dark, Extra-Gingery Gingerbread, with Darra’s Hot Citrus Sauce. I think Chaucer would approve.