The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

The Many Daughters of Afong May by Jamie Ford 384 pages 

Like millions of other readers, I fell in love with Jamie Ford’s writing with his first novel, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.” What a wonderful story. Now Ford has written his most complex novel yet; one that I am not sure that I understand. 

At the root of this novel is a burgeoning science, epigenetics. It is “the transfer of the memories of trauma through generations, or inherited trauma.” I’m not sure that I fully understand it epigenetics, and therefore did not fully understand the novel. I read this book about two months ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I try to understand that if some of my trauma’s haven been handed down; but I’m not sure. 

Anyway, Daughters is told via seven narrators, all descendants of Afong Moy, who is a historical figure. She was the first known Chinese woman to step foot on American soil back in 1834. She traveled across the country as an oddity and was part of P. T. Barnum’s circus for a while.  

In real-life, it is not known of Afong had any descendants, but Ford gives us six. Each of his characters can trace a direct lineage to Afong. The timeframes for those six characters are 1942, 2045, 2014, 1927, 1892 and 2086. 

The most dominate narrators is Dorothy in 2045. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Louis, and daughter. Annabel. She is Washington State’s poet laureate. A tropical storm is battering the West Coast, and Seattle is in its eye. The winds are so strong, that she can feel her apartment building sway. Annabel is a creepy little girl, and I think she is the one suffering most from the inherited traumas of her ancestors. 

Plus, and I’m not sure if this is correct, Dorothy can time travel. It is she who goes back to those other times and sees/participates in the events. I think; I’m not sure. 

Thankfully, Ford only delved into the science once. It was rather dull. However, the transitions between narrators are seamless. I did enjoy the different characters’ plotlines. If I am ever asked if I recommend “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy,” I would say that it “is complicated, but I enjoyed it.” Therefore, “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy,” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Blackberry Winter

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio    290 pages

A blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in the Southern and Midwest sections of North America. It refers to a cold snap in occurs in the later spring when the blackberries are in bloom. To me, it seemed odd then that this story takes place in the state of Washington, and Google was no help in researching if the tasty fruit grows in the Pacific Northwest or not. It’s of little consequence since the title is one of the main reasons I picked up this novel. The other reason is one that always captures my attention: dualing timelines.

In this novel the story vacillates between 1933 and current time. On May 1, 1933, a snowstorm rattled Seattle. In contemporary times, another snowstorm blankets the city on May 2.

In 1933, the Great Depression is strangling America. Vera Ray is lucky. She has a job as a night maid at one of the local hotels. The downside is that she’s forced to leave her three-year-old son, Daniel, home alone.

In present day, Claire Aldridge is a feature writer for the Seattle Herald. Her editor assigns her the task of writing a 6,000 word piece on the blackberry winter in two days. She isn’t thrilled and is wondering where she is going to find enough interesting info to create a piece of that magnitude. Not only is she face with a seemingly impossible task, her marriage is on the verge of collapse.

Digging through the archives, Claire discovers that Vera’s son disappeared without a trace. The only thing she ever found was Daniel’s teddy bear, Max, face down in the snow. There were no reports of is ever being found. Having recently lost a child, Claire is eager to learn what happened to Vera and Daniel. And so the hunt begins.The story weaves back and forth across the decades.

Blackberry Winter isn’t the best written novel I’ve ever read. However, it kept my attention, and I didn’t want to put it down. Jio’s third novel receives 5 out of 5 stars for those reasons.