THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON by Sarah Addison Allen

Title: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2010

After reading The Sugar Queen I decided I wanted to try other books by Sarah Addison Allen; I chose this one because I liked the girly cover the sample was really cool. It’s a romantic, magical realism novel, which is characteristic of the author. I like it, I think she's a good writer but this book has two parallel stories that could easily not be related. One is really good, the other is... not.

This is the tale of two women. The first is Emily, a recently orphaned teenager who moves to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather. The other is Julia, who has moved back to Mullaby to take care of her father's business and hopes to go back to her normal life in Baltimore soon. Julia will have to face her own past to settle matters she thought she had already left behind while Emily will have to deal with her mother's past, one which will make a whole town judge her without her knowing.

Emily and Julia become friends from the beginning and share a lot together, but neither of them is crucial in the other's story. I loved Julia's tale, but Emily's tasted a bit too much of paranormal teen romance. It's not that bad, really, but I'm gonna let myself whine and rant this off my chest.

There were too many fantastic elements surrounding Win, the guy Emily ultimately gets with. Yes, yes, it's called magical realism for a reason, but there was too much magic and not enough credible human reactions (Let's lock ourselves up in a closet so you can see me glow in the dark-Okay!). Yet, it was not the magic what bothered me the most, it was the constant similarities with certain series of popular books that made me want to slap the author book shut (someone's been reading too much Twilight).

First off, there's Emily's passiveness in reaction to everything. I understand she's the new girl in town who wants to blend in, so I didn't let that bother me, but then lo and behold! Paranormal Boy appears. This boy, Win, posseses a lot of information Emily desperately needs, but he denies it to her even though he tells her he knows a big deal about Emily's mother. Not only that, he flaunts it in her face, claiming they have a history together she can't even begin to imagine. And then he disappears, as misteriously as he arrived.

Later on, as Emily finds out Dulcie (her mother) was a cruel person who shamelessly led Win's uncle to suicide, Win finally gives her a detailed version of the story and points out how his family hates Dulcie and now that she's dead they hate Emily as well. Yet, he does not blame Emily for her mother's sins and agrees to be friends with her. But being friends is not enough, because a supernatural, overwhelming and uncontrollable force attracts the two of them, making them say and do things they never thought they would. No, it's not just love. Love is for ordinary humans and Win is no ordinary human, bitchplease, he glows in the dark. Actually, he glows under the moonlight, thanks to a genetic feature passed down for generations in his family. And to top things off, there are no ghosts in Emily's bedroom, that's just Win stalking watching her sleep at night. Ugh.

Ok, ok, maybe it's not that bad... truth to be told it's a nice story with enough drama to be credible and enough amount of fantasy not to make it OVERLY extraordinary. Plus it has an uncomplicated, rational ending with a twist that made me smile

On the other hand, Julia's story rocks and is completely different.

Julia is determined, hardworking and tough as nails. But she was not always like that, Mullaby remembers her past as as a moody, troubled teenager that had to leave for a reformatory because of self-destructive behaviour (though that's not the official story). What I like about Julia is that no fairy godmother changed her into who she is with the flick of a wand, it took her years of therapy to get her there and she says so herself.

But even now, there are parts of her past that she eventually can't keep ignoring and put her in a vulnerable situation, one of which is Sawyer.

Now Sawyer is a confident, proud and charming young man the term "archetype of southern men" describes well. (Note: Southern as in from the southern states of U.S.A.) He's extremely cavalier and I love him for that. And I guess so does Julia. They are just meant for each other, you can just picture him holding her still while she whines and throws her tantrum- cause she’s learned to show her anger and emotions a little too well in therapy.

Sawyer was Julia's high school crush. Back then she thought  he could save her but she learned the hard way that only herself should carry the weight of her future. She has to save herself.

Both characters changed in the years apart, Julia learned through tough personal experience and Sawyer... just grew up. This is a big theme in the book: change. The reason why Emily couldn't believe her mother had been such a horrible person so long ago was because she had known a competely different Dulcie. Emily's mother was a selfless, devoted woman who fought for making the world a better place, whereas Dulcie the teenager was a selfish, spoiled, cruel girl.

Other themes are forgiveness, prejudice and redemption. Other characters are Stella and Hollly, who may have been mean back in school, hanging out with Dulcie, but that doesn’t make them evil. Julia herself couldn't believe how Stella was so eager to become friends with her and help her out- in her own way.

Even though Emily gives Sawyer and Julia something in common to care for, she is not a crucial puzzle piece for their getting together. Julia's story is strong and awesome by itself and, in my humble opinion, the main one- she's the girl who chases the moon afterall, which, as she told Sawyer, stands for happiness. Although you could say the moon is Win and Emily chases him but oh well.

More than a tale of two women, this book could be the tale of a town, bringing together two (or more) women. All in all, thumbs up for this one!

Other books by Sarah Addison Allen:

- Garden Spells
- The Sugar Queen
- The Peach Keeper

LAS ORQUÍDEAS ROJAS DE SHANGHAI de Juliette Morillot

Título Original: Les Orchidées Rouges de Shanghai
Autor: Juliette Morillot
Idioma: Francés
Año: 2001 - 2003 (Español)

Basado en una historia real, Morillot presenta el testimonio de una mujer coreana que es forzada a trabajar como prostituta para el ejército japonés. Es una historia bastante fuerte, es trágica pero a la vez conmovedora. Tiene personajes, escenas e imágenes (generadas por mi imaginación hiperactiva) que probablemente nunca olvide. Es un libro un poquito denso pero bastante bueno, vale la pena.

Sangmi, la protagonista, es aún una niña cuando es raptada y obligada a servir al ejército japonés como prostituta ("esclava sexual" sería un término más preciso). La historia se desarrolla a principios del s.XX, cuando Japón tomó Corea. Toda la historia gira alrededor de la guerra, tanto de manera política e internacional como personal.

La invasión japonesa (como toda invasión) fue bastante radical y sus inicios marcaron a Sangmi. De niña, le prohibieron usar el idioma que había aprendido y le cambiaron el nombre a uno japonés (Naomi Kawamoto). Toda expresión de la cultura coreana (su casa, su ropa, sus costumbres) fue prohibida.  A través de la historia vemos también como los coreanos fueron esclavizados y masacrados si es que ponían resistencia (y también si no).

Si bien los padres de Sangmi aceptaron estos cambios, muchos coreanos no, como sus abuelos y la misma Sangmi. Ella es bien patriota desde chiquita; se identifica con sus abuelos pero no con sus padres, quienes siempre la trataban con cierta indiferencia. La razón es bastante obvia cuando menciona que el verdadero padre de Sangmi es francés. Sin embargo, al inicio del libro esto no preocupa a la protagonista y el tema, aunque presente en todo momento, no es de gran importancia para Sangmi hasta mucho después.

Sangmi fue raptada cuando tenía 14 años y su lucha, con constantes escapes y reencuentros tanto con aliados como enemigos, persiste hasta cuando ya es adulta. El libro concluye en paralelo con la liberación de Corea, el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y el bombardeo de E.E.U.U. a Hiroshima- en el que Sangmi se encontraba presente. El último capítulo y el Epílogo condensa mucha información bastante interesante de lo que fué su vida después.

Esta historia está basada en el testimonio de una señora coreana con quien la autora, periodista francesa especializada en Corea, compartió una larga en intensa noche conversando. Como es de esperarse, el resentimiento que siente frente a los japoneses es inmenso. En todo el libro Sangmi lucha de manera personal contra los japoneses, guardando especial odio hacia Fujiwara, el primero que la viola y que incesantemente reaparece en su vida.

Sin embargo, es gracias a Fujiwara que Sangmi conoció a Oki, una mujer que también padeció los abusos de Fujiwara aunque de manera más glamorosa distinta. Se volvieron amigas y amantes, pero eventualmente las separaron, como con todos los demás en la vida de la protagonista.

Otros personajes que me llamaron la atencion fueron Mikiko, Kinu y Kaneko. Compañeras de Sangmi desde el principio, seleccionadas por Fujiwara. En los días previos a su violación y subsiguiente vida como esclavas (aunque Kinu sufre un destino diferente) las cuatros compartieron una breve paz al llegar a Machuria juntas... solo el ojo de la tormenta, ignorándo lo que les esperaba.

Otro personaje con el que Sangmi tiene un romance, hasta incluso un hijo que nunca llegó a nacer, es Nagata, el profesor de inglés. A pesar de que Nagata tenía familia en Japón (que Sangmi conoce al final de la guerra) se envuelve y se escapa con ella... pero esta no es una historia romántica.

No puedo decir mucho del estilo literario de la autora, siento que no tengo derecho porque lei la versión en español - prefiero leer libros en su idioma original, en la medida de lo posible... esta vez no fue posible. Aún así, me parecio algo denso, pero claro, es una historia bastante... densa. Tiene escenas repugnantes donde la autora usa comparaciones que causan impacto. Lo que parecía una enorme flor multicolor resultan ser vísceras sobre un kimono en medio de la nieve y así. Me hizo releer varias de ellas (aunque admito que también por morbo).

No es tan largo (400 pags.) sobretodo considerando la cantidad de hechos y largo recorrido por Corea, China, Tailandia, Japón, etc. Pero es bueno, en verdad es dificil dejar de leerlo. Es bastante indignante, trágico, triste y uno llega realmente a odiar a ciertos personajes, querer a otros y sentir mucha mucho lástima por la mayoría. A pesar de ser denso, eso lo hace un muy buen libro. Lo recomiendo.


Para considerar:
- Que Broten Cien Flores, de Feng Ji Cai

DOG SENSE by John Bradshaw

Title: Dog Sense
Author: John Bradshaw
Language: English
Year: 2011

This one's giving me a hard time... and by that I mean I haven't finished it yet. But since this is no novel and has no plot, I feel I can write a review now.

The book's about dog behaviour and (partly) dog training. It has a very different approach compared to most showed and employed by popular trainers (it specifically points out and criticizes Cesar Millan).

There's not much to say about the contents (unless I summarize the whole book). Bradshaw enlightens you on dog behaviour history and current beliefs (his beliefs, at least). It has very useful information but I gotta point out there are different opinions on the subject. No matter how many Ph.Ds the author has, Bradshaw's point of view is only one... a good, solid one, but still.

The information provided in the book is very interesting, but the author's writing skills (and his editor's work) are awful. The guy keeps going around the same idea over and over again, making it an exasperating read. It's not that it's unclear, it's just redundant, he repeats the same information so much that I get bored and eventually put the book aside and not pick it up again for a few days.


To consider:
- Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
- Animals Makes Us Human, by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
- Tell Me Where it Hurts, by Nick Trout
- We Bought a Zoo, Bejamin Mee
- The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes, Ted Y. Mashima