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Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Forfatter af Blu's Hanging

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Om forfatteren

Lois-Ann Yamanaka is the author of Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (FSG, 1996), Blu's Hanging (FSG, 1997), and Heads by Harry (FSG, 1999). Recipient of a 1998 Lannan Literary Award and the 1998 Asian American Literary Award, she lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the name: Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Værker af Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Blu's Hanging (1997) 193 eksemplarer
Name Me Nobody (1999) 95 eksemplarer
Heads by Harry (1999) 78 eksemplarer
Behold the Many (2006) 77 eksemplarer
The Heart's Language (2005) — Forfatter — 60 eksemplarer
Father of the Four Passages (2001) 41 eksemplarer
Snow Angel, Sand Angel (2021) 29 eksemplarer

Associated Works

On a Bed of Rice (1995) — Bidragyder — 78 eksemplarer
Dream Me Home Safely: Writers on Growing Up in America (2003) — Bidragyder — 38 eksemplarer
Asian-American Literature: An Anthology (2000) — Bidragyder — 30 eksemplarer
Bold Words: A Century of Asian American Writing (2001) — Bidragyder — 19 eksemplarer
Coming of Age in the 21st Century: Growing Up in America Today (2008) — Bidragyder — 17 eksemplarer
Other Nations: Animals in Modern Literature (2010) — Bidragyder — 3 eksemplarer

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Anmeldelser

Finally sat down and read this cover-to-cover, instead of nibbling on all the short pieces.
 
Markeret
grahzny | 3 andre anmeldelser | Jul 17, 2023 |
When Claire draws winter as the season she must write a report on, she's disappointed. After all, in Hawaii, it's not like she imagines it to be in much of the world. When her father takes the family to the top of Mauna Kea after a snow storm, the experience isn't what she expected. As she and her family try making a snowman, snowballs, and try sledding on an inner tube, she can't help but imagine what 'real' snow in winter would be like. Later that day, the family enjoys time at their favorite beach where Claire helps make a sand man, throws sand balls at her brother, and realizes how fortunate she is to live where she does. This book is very nicely illustrated, makes the point that appreciating where you live, while respecting the environment, is important, and highlights plants and creatures native to Hawaii. I'm sharing it with my eight year old granddaughter who takes snow for granted.… (mere)
 
Markeret
sennebec | Feb 19, 2022 |
Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s novel, Blu’s Hanging, begins most appropriately with a description of hunger satisfied in meager portions – the narrator Ivah Ogata feeding herself and her little siblings, Blu and Maisie, only with bread covered in mayonnaise, while their father feeds his hunger for his dead wife by playing “Moon River” at the piano (3). The atmosphere of hunger and want, told and highlighted by Ivah’s lilting pidgin, appears in moments of sweet sorrow throughout the book even in its final chapters, reflecting the reality of a world where hunger never ceases, even in death.

Yamanaka’s story, a source of controversy for its depiction of sexuality and incest (primarily in the form of the Ogata family’s neighbor, Uncle Paolo - a depiction that later caused the rescinding of an award from the AAAS), is sometimes alienating and sometimes cringeworthy, but I cannot deny that it is well-written and that the characters are presented so vividly that they are often too real. Racism and poverty also have center stage here, as the family copes to deal with the death of their mother.

The children’s need for belonging is often heartbreaking. Ivah dreams of being Betty from the Archie comics, while Blu tries to place himself in every Clint Eastwood cowboy scene he can think of, despite his corpulence and his not being white. Within the family unit, the desire for acceptance is fueled by fear. As the children’s father slips deeper and deeper into his grief, the rare moments where he is at the house and not working multiple jobs are accented by his tiredness and his unwillingness to deal with the children except in the most practical of terms. Any emotion Bertram may have felt outside of this tiredness is as silenced, a reflection of his daughter Maisie, whose silence overtook her and rendered her mute upon their mother’s death. The relative absence of both of their parents causes the children, particularly Ivah, to grow up very quickly in order to mother each other.

Yamanaka’s novel is certainly not for everybody, and even I venture to think twice before reading it again. Still it is a well-written novel even when some of the characters are unlikable, and stories often too in touch with the reality of what they are depicting.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
irrelephant | 2 andre anmeldelser | Feb 21, 2021 |
The Heart's Language hit home for me as I know and love many people who are non-verbal. I can relate to the parents struggle to connect with their child, as we rely heavily on spoken language to communicate. I can relate to hearing those around judging for what they don't understand. Yamanaka did a good job of portraying the message that our deepest connections can be found in seeing others for who they are and going out of our comfort zone to meet people where they are and listen to their heart.… (mere)
 
Markeret
cblanco | 18 andre anmeldelser | Feb 26, 2020 |

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Statistikker

Værker
9
Also by
11
Medlemmer
819
Popularitet
#31,142
Vurdering
3.8
Anmeldelser
38
ISBN
24
Sprog
1
Udvalgt
2

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