Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.
Chargement... Lester Higata's 20th Century (Iowa Short Fiction Award)par Barbara Hamby
Aucun Chargement...
Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Cette critique a été écrite dans le cadre des Critiques en avant-première de LibraryThing. Lester Higata's Twentieth Century was a book of revalation for me. My recently deceased father-in-law was second generation Japanese and grew up in Hawaii. His most common comment concerning the weather was , "I should've stayed in the Islands." So many similarities between Lester's and my father-in-law are in the stories that Lester is nearly a biographical sketch of his life. The similarities go from being in WWII (same brigade), injured in the legs, marrying a 'haole' girl and many others. The major difference was that he stayed in the cold Midwest and Lester stayed in Hawaii. Incredible similar stories. At first then, I had a difficult time attaching to the stories, as I saw someone else as Lester. After a few of the stories though I began to see Hawaii, the warmth, the people and, towards the last several stories I became totally engrossed with a "is that what it was like?" sensation. Lipona Street became a neighborhood with different people, cultures and ways of seeing the world. The end of the stories left me wanting to see the Islands, meet the people (especially the family still in the Islands) and feel that warmth. I can't help but give 5 stars to this book - it took me to a place I always wanted to experience. Cette critique a été écrite dans le cadre des Critiques en avant-première de LibraryThing. I don't usually read short stories. I like to sink into a book and live it for a while. That said, I really do love intertwined short stories - separate tales with both new characters and characters from other stories in the book. It allows the author to tell us lots of stories but to still have character development of those in the book, even when they are not at the forefront. The author is very adept at this and the collection is a pleasure to read. The characters are interesting and real. Hamby writes beautifully about Hawaii - giving the reader a taste of how wonderful the place is and how living there can be, about how even in the most picturesque places, life is still very real and messy. It was interesting to have the stories go backwards in time - an unusual approach perhaps but it works very well. A great read that I would recommend to anyone who likes beautiful prose, short stories or is dreaming about a trip to Hawaii. Cette critique a été écrite dans le cadre des Critiques en avant-première de LibraryThing. This collection of linked short stories was such an interesting journey. Barbara Hamby clearly knows and loves Hawaii, and she uses this setting to explore themes of diversity, intergenerational conflict, love and family, and mental illness. The short-story format allowed Hamby to cover a huge amount of time with the narrative while, at the same time, focusing on the minute details of the most important events. Very enjoyable overall. Cette critique a été écrite dans le cadre des Critiques en avant-première de LibraryThing. Lester Higata’s 20th Century is a collection of linked short stories that share many narrative events and characters. Each story takes place at an earlier point in time than the preceding story, giving the overall effect of a narrative moving backwards through time. I thoroughly enjoyed this innovative structure, and, by the end of the book, I felt involved in the lives of the primary characters. I also enjoyed the novel's Hawaiian setting. Hawaii has a rich and diverse culture that I've rarely seen explored in fiction. Overall, Lester Higata's 20th Century is a rewarding read. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Prix et récompenses
Starting in 1999 with his conversation with his father, continuing backward in time throughout his life with his wife, Katherine, and their children in Hawai'i, and ending with his days in the hospital in 1946, as he heals from a wartime wound and meets the woman he will marry, Hamby recreates not just one but any number of the worlds that have shaped Lester. The world of his mother, as stubbornly faithful to Japan and Buddhism as Katherine's mother is to Ohio and conservative Christianity; the world of his children, whose childhoods and adulthoods are vastly different from his own; the world Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Critiques des anciens de LibraryThing en avant-premièreLe livre Lester Higata's 20th Century de Barbara Hamby était disponible sur LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
Est-ce vous ?Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing. |
As I read, I found myself comparing this to another of my favorite short story collections: the Pulitzer Prize winner: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Lester Higata and Olive Kitteridge have much in common. They are involved in many different aspects of their communities, they are aging, the stories in the collections give us a beautiful and fully developed character, and an insight into the life of those in the settings. Hamby's linked stories include a look back to Lester's wounding in the war and his marriage to a haole (white) woman of whom his mother dusapproved, and give us a sense of community among the other inhabitants of Lipona street. A truly rewarding reading experience.