Thursday 17 March 2016

Mothertalk: appendices etc.

We've worked our way through the main part of Mothertalk, but I wanted to dedicate one post here to the other sections of the book we didn't actively discuss: the intro, the section of family photos and captions in the middle, and the appendices at the end. By now, we know the themes of Mary's story pretty well, and I want to know what you think about what these other parts do to enhance the story. So here's some free-form questions about the overall structure of the book - feel free to share your thoughts on any or all of them in the comments:

How does reading "Papa's version" change how you think of Mary's story, and her description of her husband, if at all? Does the different circumstances of their interviews affect this?

What did you think of the inclusion of Roy's poetry before each section of his mother's story? Did it add to your experience, or shape your understanding of Mary differently?

What about Roy's writing in the second and third appendices - how do they affect how you understand Mary's story, especially considering that this is Mary's story as written by Roy?

Why do you think Daphne Marlatt chose to include the photographs and their commentary all together in the middle of the book, instead of scattered throughout?

Who is most the author of this book, if you have to choose just one: Mary Kiyoshi Kiyooka, Roy Kiyooka, or Daphne Marlatt? Why? What roles do the others play in your mind? Who else had a hand in the shaping of the story?

What else do you want to talk about?

While this is the week for us to have our sum-up discussion online, remember that everyone is also invited to discuss the book in person at Nikkei Centre in Burnaby (6688 Southoaks Crescent, at the corner of Kingsway and Sperling) on April 2 at 2pm in the tatami room. I look forward to seeing some of you there! And don't forget to pick up a copy of Chorus of Mushrooms to start reading for April!

-Carolyn

Thursday 10 March 2016

Mothertalk, part 6: Landscape-of-the-Heart

Already we're at the end of the book! I hope you've been enjoying Mothertalk and are planning on picking up a copy of our next book club book, Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto, in time to start discussing it in April. It's available at our museum shop, or you can look for it online or at your favourite bookstore or library.

This week, we're looking at the final section of Mothertalk, "Landscape-of-the-Heart". Since the previous section took us more or less to the "present day" of Mary's life at the time that she was interviewed, this final section feels a bit like an epilogue to me - some final reflections after the story has been wrapped up. Mainly what we see is that Japan is still front and centre in Mary's heart and mind, as was the case for many of her generation. She goes from telling us stories from her father's youth as a samurai, to what became of her nephew in Japan, and mentions many visits she and her children have made over the years. Each of the Kiyookas seems to have their own, in different ways conflicted, relationship to being Japanese and being Canadian. In particular, Mary has always described her husband "Papa" as rather Westernized, and wanting to leave Japan behind, but in his old age, he reverts to speaking his Kochi dialect of Japanese rather than English, and even before that urges Mary to make sure that a monument in honour of her father is erected in Japan, despite refusing to take up his legacy many years earlier. What do you make of this change of heart? In what ways is it similar to or different from Mary's relationship to Japan, or their children's? How have all these different attitudes towards Japan influenced each other - for example, Mary wanting her children to visit Japan?

Other things I'm thinking about:

What do you think of Mary's friend who died in Tosa with the word "Boston" on his lips? Do you think he was happy in the end?

Why do you think there is one last ghost story included in this section, this one set in Canada? How is it related to the other stories in the section, and to the other ghost stories in earlier parts of the book?

What other parts of this section did you find interesting and why?

I'll make one more post about Mothertalk next week, to give us a chance to discuss the appendices and assorted "other" sections of the book. And remember that April 2 is our in-person discussion at Nikkei Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC, at 2pm in the tatami room. I hope some of you are able to join us for some real-time discussion, as there's a lot of things to talk about in this book that I wasn't able to touch on in my prompts! I look forward to seeing some of you then.

-Carolyn

Thursday 3 March 2016

Mothertalk, part 5: A Bitter Pill to Swallow

This section covers the years starting from Mary and her family's experiences of the Second World War and the backlash against Japanese Canadians, and covers most of the years after that as well. It's very interesting to me to read about the Kiyooka family's experience during the war, because unlike most Japanese Canadian families, they had been living outside of BC for years prior to the forced relocation away from the coast. So while they weren't legally ordered to leave where they were, they still experienced severe discrimination which led them to leave Calgary for a farm in Opal, Alberta. In the end, though, much of what Mary describes sounds very familiar to those who know about Japanese Canadian history - having to leave their home behind, learning to farm from scratch, and even seeing her children grow up and marry non-Japanese women and men. How does the Kiyooka family's story fit into the overarching narratives of Japanese Canadian experience? What sounds familiar, and what is unusal or unique? How does your prior knowledge of Japanese Canadian history, whether it's a lot or a little, change the way you look at Mary's story?

For anyone who is newer to Japanese Canadian history, or wants a bit of a brush-up for this comparison, find a useful, quick overview here: http://www.japanesecanadianhistory.net/the_war_years.htm

Other things I'm thinking about:

What do you make of Mary's summary of each of her children's marital lives?

This section is the one that has the most endnotes with interjections from Mary's children, explaining their side of the story and insisting on the inaccuracy of Mary's version. The strongest instance of this is the story Mary tells about Frank slipping his dying father some fake brandy, which Frank flatly denies. How do you look at the conflicting versions of the stories? Do you have an opinion on whose version is closer to the truth? 

What other parts of this section did you find interesting and why?

A reminder that our in-person discussion is coming up next month, on Saturday, April 2 at 2pm, in the Nikkei Centre tatami room. And our next book, for April and May, will be Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto. Chorus of Mushrooms is a novel about storytelling, identity, and intergenerational connection, through the story of a Japanese Canadian girl and her grandmother living on a mushroom farm in Alberta. I'm very excited to be (re)reading this beautiful book with you!

I hope you'll join in the discussion on Mothertalk again next week, when we'll be discussing the last section of the book. Until then, I look forward to reading your thoughts about this one!


-Carolyn