Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman

In the interests of jump starting some discussion on other titles, here's a review I wrote of Shen of the Sea for my blog and later uploaded to LibraryThing.

It's pretty general, as it's hard to discuss plot in a collection of short stories, but it'd be great to discuss that aspect as well with anyone else who's read the book.

Trismegistus: the link to Shen of the Sea takes us to our own copy of the book, not to your copy with your review. Here's a link that (I hope) will take us to the reviews page...

Shen of the Sea reviews

edit: I checked, and this link takes you to reviews (scroll down to bottom).

Second edit: Actually, it's a combining problem; I'm working on it...

Trismegistus--

It's been awhile since I read Shen of the Sea, so I cannot recall any objectionable parts. Can you give some specific examples of your objections?

I'd also like to see whether there's a better alternative currently in print (or available out of print). Do you have any recommendations?

Last, I wonder how you'd rate Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze.

Michelle

pdxwoman: The link I posted still takes me at least to the reviews page. This must have something to do with being logged into my specific account, and thus web expertise I don't possess. Thanks for going to the trouble of tracking down a better way to do it!

Michelle: I remember being left with the distinct impression that Chrisman had written the stories himself and then fitted them with "Chinese" trappings. This in itself may or may not be objectionable depending on one's heritage and point of view, but will definitely confuse young readers and that might cause problems given the modern educational emphasis on cross-cultural understanding.

My copy of Shen is in storage in another state, but if you'll give me a day or two to track down a copy, I'll can offer some concrete examples.

ETA: I've not read Young Fu, but I'll add it to my list!

Hi Trismegistus!

I love your blog! I don't understand what is meant by The Shen of the Sea not being authentic. I am not sure that you wrote that particular review but you do seem to the the person in the know about all things Newbery so I would love to read your thoughts.