The Distant Land of My Father
by Bo Caldwell
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Book Reviews of The Distant Land of My Father
Book Review: A good read on so many levels
Summary: 5 Stars
After finishing Bo Caldwell's more recent novel, City of Tranquil Light, I wanted to read more, so checked this out of the library--good move!
There is a similarity in the format of the two books, with each including details from long ago journals. The fascination in Distant Land of My Father is that we are given insight into the life of a man whose daughter had not really known him while he was alive. He leaves her his journals as a kind of atonement for the mistakes and lapses he made that profoundly affected her life and we learn of the events and life experiences that led to his decision to choose country (Shanghai) over family. However, the journals do not really reveal the man himself and his deeper thoughts, emotions, and motives. This is to Caldwell's credit. Rather than sewing up the man's mystery by making the journals a kind of tell-all psychological catharsis, she provides us a matter-of-fact relating of the incidents in his life, and that is what we would expect of Joseph Schoene.
Caldwell understands how often our own lives are like this. We long to *know* someone close to us and to understand why they have acted as they have, but we never really see inside their minds and motives. As Anna reads through the journals and relates her father's story to her own life, she gradually comes to see that this beloved parent will always remain just a little beyond reach in her understanding of him. The goodness of this novel is that we are left with a sense that Anna will be alright even as she knows there will never be final answers to her many questions.
Caldwell's style of detail piled upon detail is almost hypnotic in providing a setting that we can become involved in with all our senses. Truly worth the read--and if you haven't also read City of Tranquil Light, move on to that as soon as you have finished this. One only hopes that these are just the first of a long series of more offerings from a writer who should become far more well-known.
Book Review: Like being transported to 1930's Shanghai
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book in one day; I could not put it down. I felt as if I couldn't read it fast enough; it was like being on a train whose momentum I could not stop, and didn't wish to stop. The author's exploration of bustling, commercial Shanghai in the 1930's and the Japanese invasion of Shanghai from the perspective of the child narrator (Anna) rendered it very real; I had read hardly anything about Shanghai during this historical period, and the writing made me feel as if I were there. I could picture the buildings on the main street, as described by Anna's father and memorized by the young Anna; I could taste the food sold by vendors; I could feel the fear gripping the city as the Japanese invaded. As the narrator grows, the story takes the reader to California, where Anna and her mother settle after escaping Shanghai at the time of the invasion. The story is a poignant exploration of the relationship between Anna and her father, who decides to remain in Shanghai despite the invasion, and cannot bring himself to permanently return to his wife and daughter, even after his imprisonment later in the novel. As a child, Anna is almost awed by, and worships, her father; he is the pinnacle of a handsome, successful businessman. As she grows older in American, Anna is discouraged by her father's seeming disinterest in her and her mother, and grows resentful toward and emotionally closed off from him. Anna's father ultimately returns to California in an effort to renew his relationship with his estranged daughter. It is a tribute to the author's abilities that the reader cannot help but sympathize with Anna's father when he realizes that his life's decisions and hopes have been delusions, and that Shanghai never brought him what is truly important in life. I was truly moved at several points in this novel, by the author's exploration of relationships and the sweeping nature of historical forces. The ending was also very powerful.Book Review: distance is not just miles
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a book to be savored for the struggles of its characters but also for its history lesson. The narrator is Anna, a child who lives in Shanghai with her American parents in the late 1930s. Her father, Joseph, was born in China to American missionary parents and loves Shanghai, much to the detriment his family life, for its ambience as well as its business opportunities. When the Japanese begin to invade Shanghai, Anna and her mother, Eve, get out while they can, fleeing to Eve's mother's home in Pasadena. Thus begins the slow passage to Anna's and her mother's realization that the three of them may never be a family again. Meanwhile, Joseph, who repeatedly underestimates the effect of the volatility in China on his way of life, leads a precarious existence that includes poverty, imprisonment and torture. He is truly the main character here, even when the story centers upon Eve and Anna in California. The more his wife and daughter try to oust him from their thoughts, the more they focus on their loss of a husband and father. One could argue that the distant land in the title is the U.S., from which Joseph is estranged by miles and by culture. Shanghai itself is also a central character, as its destruction and suffering somewhat parallel Joseph's path through life. More so than many wartime novels, this book made me appreciate not just my health but also our relatively safe democratic society.
Book Review: Rich and Textured
Summary: 5 Stars
This story is so rich and textured I knew it had to be a labor of love. I was riveted to it in every spare moment for two days so I didn't take the time to check out the author. After I finished, in a quick internet search I found that Joseph Schoene is loosely based on the author's uncle. Her grandparents were missionaries in her mother's brother loved Shanghai. The book was too intimate and personal to have been a glimpse of her own father, but intimate and personal enough to be based on someone close and dear.
Bo Caldwell takes care to color the times correctly. Popular books, music and events are mentioned in their periods, as are styles and dialogs. On the darker side I presume there is accuracy about life in Shanghai's prisons Japanese and, later, communist, prison camps.
From the internet site I learned that a prequel is in the works. It will be called Distant Land and it will be a novel on the lives of the Joseph's missionary parents. I eagerly await the next novel.
I highly recommend this book. Readers of the novels of Lisa See (especially Shanghai Girls: A Novel ) will want to read this book.
Book Review: STARED HARD
Summary: 2 Stars
I got 1/2 way through this book and started to skip pages, which is a sure sign the book's in trouble and so am I for buying it. The beginning was somewhat interesting, but then I found myself not really caring about anyone in the book, nor the story line. The writing itself was elementary and ho hum. Mostly, I found myself wondering who edited this book because the author used the words 'STARED HARD' ABOUT 100 TIMES in this book!! I noticed this pattern about 25 pages in and thought it odd. Then as it continued it really started to annoy me. She sometimes used it twice on one page! And then again on the next page! STARED HARD. I STARED HARD. SHE STARED HARD. HE STARED HARD. THEY STARED HARD. How could no one notice that? I actually started to ear mark the pages where she used it and the book wouldn't close! I am sorry I didn't keep track from the get go with a highlighter so I could give an accurate count and maybe run a contest like counting jelly beans in a jar. Anyone out there who will ignore my review and buy this book, do me a favor? Highlight "STARED HARD" and keep count. Then get back to us. LOL.