In Fond Remembrance of Me: A Memoir of Myth and Uncommon Friendship in the Arctic
11 journalers for this copy...
From the back of the book:
In the fall of 1977, Howard Norman went to Churchill, Manitoba, to translate Inuit folktales, and there he met Helen Tanizaki, an extraordinary linguist translating the same tales into Japanese. In Fond Remembrance of Me recaptures their intimacy, and the remarkable influence that she, and the tales themselves, would have on the future novelist. Through a series of overlapping panels of reality and memory, Norman evokes with vivid immediacy their brief but life-shifting encounter, and the earthy, robust Inuit folklore that occasioned it.
From my pen :
This is a beautiful little book.
In the fall of 1977, Howard Norman went to Churchill, Manitoba, to translate Inuit folktales, and there he met Helen Tanizaki, an extraordinary linguist translating the same tales into Japanese. In Fond Remembrance of Me recaptures their intimacy, and the remarkable influence that she, and the tales themselves, would have on the future novelist. Through a series of overlapping panels of reality and memory, Norman evokes with vivid immediacy their brief but life-shifting encounter, and the earthy, robust Inuit folklore that occasioned it.
From my pen :
This is a beautiful little book.
This book is now available.
hold for memoirs vbb
in the mail to geishabird
Thank you very much! This looks like a very good read.
A very sweet little memoir. Howard Norman's fondness for Helen Tanizaki is evident in the portrait he creates of their brief friendship. She sounds like someone I would like to have known. I particularly liked the way Norman describes Helen's attitude towards her illness - she's very human, not unrealistically heroic, about the fact of her impending death. I felt very privileged to have spent some time with her.
The Inuit Noah stories were hilarious! A terrific example of the particular Inuit sense of humour. They are a fascinating people and I wish they'd fared better at the hands of "civilization." That's one chapter in Canadian history we can't be particularly proud of.
The Inuit Noah stories were hilarious! A terrific example of the particular Inuit sense of humour. They are a fascinating people and I wish they'd fared better at the hands of "civilization." That's one chapter in Canadian history we can't be particularly proud of.
Offered this up in the Live Swap we held tonight at Spring Rolls...I believe HoserLauren wound up taking it home.
Got this tonight from Geisha in a swap. Sounds very interesting! I haven't read much Canadian non-fiction so I'm looking forward to it. Thanks Geisha!
As a side note - Hi ThymeWaits!! Hope to see you again in the summer when we travel to Buffalo :D
As a side note - Hi ThymeWaits!! Hope to see you again in the summer when we travel to Buffalo :D
Howard Norman is employed by a museum to travel to Churchill, Winnipeg, Canada to transcribe Inuit folktales into English. There he meets Helen, who is essentially doing the same thing, except translating into Japanese. Helen has a better command for the language and gets along much better with Mark, the person who they are hearing the folktales from. From the beginning we learn that Helen has stomach cancer and Norman uses the book to explain the impact Helen, Mark, and the folktales have made on his life.
Throughout the book are about 10 Inuit folktales that Norman has translated. Each of them have to do with Noah's ark and what happened when Noah sailed into Hudson's Bay. While I found the first one very interesting, all of them were very similar, making me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Perhaps for the sake of not boring the reader, Norman could have cut down the number of tales he wrote in.
I have no doubt that some people may love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I was having troubles following Norman because he was delving too deep and getting too philosophical for me. Furthermore, I found some of the exchanges between him and Helen just plain weird.
Throughout the book are about 10 Inuit folktales that Norman has translated. Each of them have to do with Noah's ark and what happened when Noah sailed into Hudson's Bay. While I found the first one very interesting, all of them were very similar, making me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Perhaps for the sake of not boring the reader, Norman could have cut down the number of tales he wrote in.
I have no doubt that some people may love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I was having troubles following Norman because he was delving too deep and getting too philosophical for me. Furthermore, I found some of the exchanges between him and Helen just plain weird.
Mailed today to Krin as part of the Non Fiction swap.
Arrived today - thanks!
This was an interesting look at an Inuit culture and their retelling of the Noah story set in the Arctic. I liked how Norman reflected on his conversations with Helen and her maintaining a sense of dignity in spite of adversity.
Journal Entry 13 by krin511 at BookObsessed.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, March 7, 2009
Released 15 yrs ago (3/7/2009 UTC) at BookObsessed.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases
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Mailed to msjoanna for the Biography/Memoir swap!
Mailed to msjoanna for the Biography/Memoir swap!
This has arrived in Brooklyn (safely forwarded from my prior address). Looking forward to it -- looks very interesting.
I've never read anything else by Howard Norman, but I quite enjoyed this quirky little memoir telling the story of his brief by intense friendship with Helen. Both Howard Norman and Helen arrive in a remote part of Canada to translate some Inuit folk tales: Helen is translating to Japanese, while Howard is translating to English. Translations of the folk tales, all telling the story of when Noah and his ark accidentally landed in the Hudson Bay and encountered the Inuit people living there, are interspersed through the narrative. A nice, light book with interesting meditation of the meaning of friendship and the terminal illness of Helen.
Journal Entry 16 by msjoanna at Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (7/28/2009 UTC) at Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases
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Sent to VeganMedusa as part of the wishlist relay on bookobsessed.com. Enjoy!
Sent to VeganMedusa as part of the wishlist relay on bookobsessed.com. Enjoy!
Journal Entry 17 by VeganMedusa from Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Thursday, August 6, 2009
Thanks msjoanna, I look forward to reading this. A well-travelled little book already.
Journal Entry 18 by VeganMedusa from Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A lovely little book. I got a little bored with the Noah's ark stories, but getting to know Helen was rewarding. I hope she did indeed become the bird of the sea and cliffs that she wanted.
This is going to azuki next, unless she's managed to get a copy already.
This is going to azuki next, unless she's managed to get a copy already.
Journal Entry 19 by VeganMedusa from Invercargill, Southland New Zealand on Sunday, February 14, 2010
Posted to azuki.
I remember wishing for this at a BookObsessed swap, and am really glad that this book did find its way to me afterall. Thanks all my dear friends for passing it on!
Shortly after I started reading, I realize I've read Norman's novel, The Haunting of L, in the past, and I don't know if it skews me to see the similarity.
The book is an unusual memoir, it gives me a peek into Helen's philosophy and into Inuit life and folklore. I don't mind the different versions they are all kind of fun, but I am curious about the origin of the Noah stories though. I wonder if it starts with a real event of some lost traveler arriving in an Inuit village a long time ago, or if the people heard about the Noah Ark story from missionaries and started their own spin on it.
This is now reserved for the Native American bookbox.
The book is an unusual memoir, it gives me a peek into Helen's philosophy and into Inuit life and folklore. I don't mind the different versions they are all kind of fun, but I am curious about the origin of the Noah stories though. I wonder if it starts with a real event of some lost traveler arriving in an Inuit village a long time ago, or if the people heard about the Noah Ark story from missionaries and started their own spin on it.
This is now reserved for the Native American bookbox.
Journal Entry 22 by 
Azuki
at Erishkigal's Native American Bookbox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Azuki at Erishkigal's Native American Bookbox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (8/20/2013 UTC) at Erishkigal's Native American Bookbox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Putting into the Native American bookbox. Hope the next reader enjoys it too.
This book enjoyed a brief stop in Boulder, UT before continuing its journey in Erishkigal's Native American bookbox.
This will be a keep-to-read~~it looks fascinating, and I love seeing so many journals/previous readers. Thanks for including it, azuki!
This one's now being packed in a box marked tbr. It has been and still is crazy here....still moving, still sorting thru 40 years of Mom's living here, and it's taking much longer than I expected....I go to bed, and when I wake find all the "stuff" has had wild sex while I slept, and multiplied like rabbits! And my books....omg, I can't believe how many boxes....trying to be ruthless and sending many (non registered) to the thrifts... :( ...tbr boxes will be accessed randomly once I'm at least semi-settled.....
Putting this well-travelled book in AlterEgoZoe's Indigenous Peoples Bookbox. May the next reader enjoy as much as I did!
edited to add:
oh, no~ I see I didn't journal when I unearthed and read this! And this long after, I'm unable to give specifics....I do recall being fascinated, by the various versions, and wondering about the christian influences...
edited to add:
oh, no~ I see I didn't journal when I unearthed and read this! And this long after, I'm unable to give specifics....I do recall being fascinated, by the various versions, and wondering about the christian influences...
Wow! This did a lot of traveling. Came home in the indigenous peoples bookbox. Looks like an interesting read.
Ditto to HoserLauren’s review of this book (who said it better than I could, and a copy paste):
“Throughout the book are about 10 Inuit folktales that Norman has translated. Each of them have to do with Noah's ark and what happened when Noah sailed into Hudson's Bay. While I found the first one very interesting, all of them were very similar, making me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Perhaps for the sake of not boring the reader, Norman could have cut down the number of tales he wrote in.
I have no doubt that some people may love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I was having troubles following Norman because he was delving too deep and getting too philosophical for me. Furthermore, I found some of the exchanges between him and Helen just plain weird. ”
“Throughout the book are about 10 Inuit folktales that Norman has translated. Each of them have to do with Noah's ark and what happened when Noah sailed into Hudson's Bay. While I found the first one very interesting, all of them were very similar, making me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Perhaps for the sake of not boring the reader, Norman could have cut down the number of tales he wrote in.
I have no doubt that some people may love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I was having troubles following Norman because he was delving too deep and getting too philosophical for me. Furthermore, I found some of the exchanges between him and Helen just plain weird. ”
Put in the Intentional Variety box
Journal Entry 30 by freezone at -- Bookbox, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Thursday, June 22, 2023
Am choosing this from the book box.
