A discerning historical journey that could use more context.
A Westerner recalls his journey into China’s interior in the late ’80s.
Schwartz’s 1987 journey into China’s interior balances “a China of the mind against the stirrings of a culture hungry for modernization.” It’s clear from the outset that his trip is no vacation. In addition to partaking in the calming meditative practice of zazen, he documents the political and economic discord of a nation in transition, while also exploring his own psyche on the 10,000-mile unescorted trek. The excursion, pursued with academic vigor, is a culmination of his early fascination with China. His intense studies also provide a reprieve from strained relations with his father and struggles with sexuality. He achieves varying degrees of success with his objectives: spending a night in a Chinese monastery, ascending a Buddhist holy mountain and a pilgrimage to Lhasa, Tibet, all against a backdrop of dao (the way), te (innate power) and wu wei (effortlessness). In his earnest writing, Schwartz describes people who have often lost their connection to history in favor of consumerism. The lamentation is mostly detached as he insightfully recognizes sociological and cultural constructs, such as an escaped pet bird symbolizing flight from oppression. Refreshingly, Schwartz doesn’t sermonize; readers will be presented with frustrating travel minutiae—he fibs to obtain a better train ticket and gets annoyed with temporary travel companions—rather than arcane lessons in philosophy or religion. The detailed descriptions of frustrating ticket purchases help illuminate the difficulty in reaching the ultimate destination, geographically and psychologically, yet some details, such as the items on food menus, aren’t as intriguing. Other times, Schwartz’s account is (perhaps unintentionally) humorous when it diverges into seemingly mundane observations, as with the amusing anecdote of Schwartz helping robed monks sweep while he wears his Tang Dynasty T-shirt. (The monks recognize that they’ve got “a live one.”) The 25-year-old account could have benefitted from comparisons to China today. As it stands, the scant one-page afterword is hardly sufficient for giving this journey a broader perspective. Still, the astute religious survey and portrait of Chinese–Tibetan relations will make the book useful for historians, travelers, natives and cultural explorers.
A discerning historical journey that could use more context.Pub Date: April 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-1470094898
Page Count: 260
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
