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Bound, by Donna Jo Napoli
May. 3rd, 2007 05:46 pmGenre: Fiction/Historical/Fairytale
186 pages (hardcover)
Another quick read, but this one is touching. Just the cover will tell you that--a Chinese brush painting on the left, half of an Asian girl's face on the right with her black eye staring at you. For those who don't know, I was originally born in China and am of pure Chinese ancestry--either first- or zero-generation, depending on how you count. So this book has a special significance to me. For one, I've always loved Cinderella stories, and I looked forward to reading a unique interpretation of the traditional carp version. For another, I understood all the references to Chinese language puns and tones, which was nice--actually being one of the informed readers instead of a clueless reader! It may be a bit confusing to Westerners, but nevertheless I think everyone with any inclination for fairytales should give this story a try. It's not long, and it's lovely--yes that's the word. Lovely.
In terms of style, Napoli writes beautifully, infusing her words with Chinese culture and that elusive storytelling quality so important for short fairytale adaptations. I especially admired the poems, though the rhyming is sometimes forced (it's much easier to rhyme in Chinese than it is in English). The verse has a distinctive "nature" tone similar to translated Japanese haiku. I only wish I could read the poems in Chinese with all the lilting, lyrical tones. (Though chances are I'd need pinyin to read it properly.)
186 pages (hardcover)
Another quick read, but this one is touching. Just the cover will tell you that--a Chinese brush painting on the left, half of an Asian girl's face on the right with her black eye staring at you. For those who don't know, I was originally born in China and am of pure Chinese ancestry--either first- or zero-generation, depending on how you count. So this book has a special significance to me. For one, I've always loved Cinderella stories, and I looked forward to reading a unique interpretation of the traditional carp version. For another, I understood all the references to Chinese language puns and tones, which was nice--actually being one of the informed readers instead of a clueless reader! It may be a bit confusing to Westerners, but nevertheless I think everyone with any inclination for fairytales should give this story a try. It's not long, and it's lovely--yes that's the word. Lovely.
In terms of style, Napoli writes beautifully, infusing her words with Chinese culture and that elusive storytelling quality so important for short fairytale adaptations. I especially admired the poems, though the rhyming is sometimes forced (it's much easier to rhyme in Chinese than it is in English). The verse has a distinctive "nature" tone similar to translated Japanese haiku. I only wish I could read the poems in Chinese with all the lilting, lyrical tones. (Though chances are I'd need pinyin to read it properly.)
