The Ginger Tree (Fiction - Crime and)
2 journalers for this copy...
The Ginger Tree follows the life of Mary Mackenzie from 1903 to 1942 through her letters and diary entries. I must say, I love fictional accounts (non-fiction, too) written in this format; (and this is a work of fiction.)
In 1903 Mary Mackenzie was a young Scottish woman who is sailing to China to meet with her fiance. Her letters and diary entries describe all her new experiences, and we begin to surmise that she is a rather bold young woman with a mind of her own.
The story actually focuses on the seemingly insurmountable obstacles facing Mary when she becomes the center of a roiling scandal after she becomes pregnant by a Japanese nobleman/ military officer.
In the wake of the scandal, and given very few options, she chooses to resettle in Tokyo under the protection of her lover.
As her story continues, she carves out a life for herself in Japan.
I'd love to give more details, but I'm afraid they would spoil the book for those who've not yet read it. That's why my review probably seems a bit choppy - there is just so much that I wanted to say and couldn't. I'm sure that left a lot of gaps.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very insightful look at Victorian (o.k, post-Victorian) morals, at colonialism, and at the Japan of that era. This was not a gushy, romantic saga. It felt more like a tale of survival and of this woman's determination as well as her acceptance of the ostracism and judgement accorded her.
Journal Entry 2 by MissTree at Panera Bread, 401 Vista Village Dr. in Vista, California USA on Sunday, July 2, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (7/2/2006 UTC) at Panera Bread, 401 Vista Village Dr. in Vista, California USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Left at the OBCZ.
Left at the OBCZ.
I got this book from the BookCrossing bookshelf in Panera Bread in Vista. It sounds like a fascinating read, and I'm looking forward to getting started!
July 7, 2006--What a great story; I couldn't stop reading! I, too, enjoy the fact that the story is told in the form of journal entries and letters.
"In 1903, a 20-year-old Scots girl sailed to the Far East in order to marry a British military attache in Peking. She soon horrifies the British community by having an affair with a Japanese soldier, Count Kurihama. As a result she is rejected by her husband and ostracised by her family. The Ginger Tree is the story of her survival in an alien culture."
After reading this description from the back cover, as well as the first journal entries and letters of Mary Mackenzie, I couldn't imagine how a woman of her strong personality could allow herself to get into such a situation, especially considering the time period and her upbringing.
As I read further, however, I began to see why Mary makes the choices she does. Her affair with Count Kurihama was entered into without innocence; she knew what she was doing and was prepared to live with any consequences, though she couldn't have guessed exactly what these would be! She certainly has need for her strong personality and intelligence in her future life.
What I take from this story (besides a very enjoyable read) is best expressed in Mary's own words:
"Sometimes I think of the little, unimportant-seeming accidents that have changed my life, like going to stay with Margaret Blair and meeting Richard, one chance in ten thousand really. Then there was a morning walk up a path through a clump of Chinese bamboo to Kentaro. Because such slight things can swing me completely off into another way of living, am I some special kind of fool? Do other people, too, make their lives from little accidents like these? I suspect that those who really succeed in living are the ones who don't let accidents happen to them, who plot their days like a ship's course on a chart, and never take their eyes off the compass" (137-8).
It's amazing how seemingly unimportant events can change the course of each of our lives; I wonder how many people actually succeed in not allowing accidents to happen to them!
July 7, 2006--What a great story; I couldn't stop reading! I, too, enjoy the fact that the story is told in the form of journal entries and letters.
"In 1903, a 20-year-old Scots girl sailed to the Far East in order to marry a British military attache in Peking. She soon horrifies the British community by having an affair with a Japanese soldier, Count Kurihama. As a result she is rejected by her husband and ostracised by her family. The Ginger Tree is the story of her survival in an alien culture."
After reading this description from the back cover, as well as the first journal entries and letters of Mary Mackenzie, I couldn't imagine how a woman of her strong personality could allow herself to get into such a situation, especially considering the time period and her upbringing.
As I read further, however, I began to see why Mary makes the choices she does. Her affair with Count Kurihama was entered into without innocence; she knew what she was doing and was prepared to live with any consequences, though she couldn't have guessed exactly what these would be! She certainly has need for her strong personality and intelligence in her future life.
What I take from this story (besides a very enjoyable read) is best expressed in Mary's own words:
"Sometimes I think of the little, unimportant-seeming accidents that have changed my life, like going to stay with Margaret Blair and meeting Richard, one chance in ten thousand really. Then there was a morning walk up a path through a clump of Chinese bamboo to Kentaro. Because such slight things can swing me completely off into another way of living, am I some special kind of fool? Do other people, too, make their lives from little accidents like these? I suspect that those who really succeed in living are the ones who don't let accidents happen to them, who plot their days like a ship's course on a chart, and never take their eyes off the compass" (137-8).
It's amazing how seemingly unimportant events can change the course of each of our lives; I wonder how many people actually succeed in not allowing accidents to happen to them!
