THE SHANGHAI ITEM & Other Stories

by Mona Gardner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 1959

Short stories that weave a many patterned, multi-colored fabric, which carries its message from East to West. Here is China,- at war, under the heel of tyranny, in the process of transition; here are Bali and Celebes, resisting change, clinging to the old traditions and superstitions, preserving a way of life, an island culture, despite changing masters; here India, with the forces of nature doing more to alter a way of life, to bring a degree of prosperity when water comes to a thirsty land; here Java and Sumatra and Malaya, finding ways to make adjustment, to redefine a mode of living- while remaining basically untouched- the hate of the masters, the love of the land, underlying their thinking and actions. Finally, here is Japan, chiefly rural and village Japan, accepting the toll of war, the changes made in the families, the poverty, the throttling superstitions- and the drive to accent Western ways. The stories are exquisite, finished bits of the mosaic, fragmentary only in their brevity- 26 in all. One thinks of Mona Gardner as needing a big canvas. Here she proves her gift is greater in small compass.

Pub Date: March 19, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1959

Categories: FICTION