Wouldn't this be fun? A Literary Tour! I like the title of these two: Mystery and Manners in Savannah and Wigs and Words: Dickens' London.
An article about H.P. Lovecraft; one of many articles on the above site.
At first, Wild Swans was reading very quickly. Not that even in the beginning, you can avoid being grateful not to have lived in that time and place where women have little or no value. Now, however, the horror of events under the Japanese (although I've read much on this before) has slowed the reading down because contemplating what man can do to his fellow men can only be taken in small doses.
Although the Japanese Occupation was only a small part of this film, Farewell My Concubine is a fascinating look into
the Peking Opera and the lives of two boys who also lived through this period and much of the chaos that followed with the Cultural Revolution. Informative and visually stunning. A friend from my Tai Chi class lends me Chinese movies, and I watched this one several months ago. Thanks again, J. L.
An article about H.P. Lovecraft; one of many articles on the above site.
At first, Wild Swans was reading very quickly. Not that even in the beginning, you can avoid being grateful not to have lived in that time and place where women have little or no value. Now, however, the horror of events under the Japanese (although I've read much on this before) has slowed the reading down because contemplating what man can do to his fellow men can only be taken in small doses.
Although the Japanese Occupation was only a small part of this film, Farewell My Concubine is a fascinating look into
the Peking Opera and the lives of two boys who also lived through this period and much of the chaos that followed with the Cultural Revolution. Informative and visually stunning. A friend from my Tai Chi class lends me Chinese movies, and I watched this one several months ago. Thanks again, J. L.
Any one of those literary tours would be wonderful. Can you even imagine what fun?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are reading other things along with Wild Swans. Do you find yourself comparing what your parents and grandparents were doing at the same stage in the book? And then as it gets into the 1950's and so on, what we were doing? I did that a lot.
Thanks for suggesting Farewell My Concubine. It will be another stop in my journey in the Cultural Revolution.
Booklogged - Life in the States (in general) seems so quiet compared to what has gone on in the last century in China. The security of living in a country that has never been invaded or undergone the kind of political and cultural upheaval China has makes the lives of my parents and grandparents seem pretty tame. My life has certainly been (thank goodness) quite tame. I feel immense gratitude, and when about to complain about something stressful, I have to pull up short and realize how little stress is involved when you have a place to live, food, and security.
ReplyDeleteBack in college, I was able to do a literary tour of quite a few neat places in England.. actually, it was a choir tour, but we were able to take a Brit Lit class on the side as well.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a memorable experience!
Angela - What a wonderful way to do a tour of any kind! Love the idea of adding a lit or history class to the agenda. Before going to England once, I checked out a book about Literary England, a huge monster of a book, and found it fascinating, but would prefer to have an available professor on tour.
ReplyDeleteJenclair, we are very blessed aren't we? I think reading books about other cultures helps us to be more compassionate and more grateful. I appreciate sharing part of our reading 'journey' in China together.
ReplyDeleteBooklogged - We certainly are lucky. Reading about other cultures does open our eyes.
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