Tag Archives: fiction

Jackaroo

One evening, when we were having drinks with our friends Julie and Zane, we started talking about good books we’ve read. I always take note of book recommendations, especially when they come from the mouths of old college buddies whose taste I trust. Julie mentioned a few–The Coast of Chicago (a fantastic collection of short stories), Sabriel, and finally Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt. I immediately requested all of the above at my library.

As far as Jackaroo goes, at first I thought the title sounded kinda goofy. Then, when I picked it up from our library’s bookmobile, I thought the cover looked kind of creepy (I couldn’t find an image of that specific cover to share with you guys, but it shows a weirdly masked figure with possibly villainous eyes).

But the actual book is neither goofy nor creepy! A novel for young adults set in something like the Middle Ages in something resembling England, the book centers around the story of the Innkeeper’s daughter, Gwyn, a sensible and hard-working young woman. The innkeeper is the head of the most well-to-do and influential family in their small town, and as his eldest child, Gwyn shoulders a lot of responsibility. With a sickly and lazy younger brother (who is nonetheless destined to inherit the inn), Gwyn struggles with her place in the world. Should she marry? Publicly declare her intent to remain single and celibate? Stay in the service of her younger brother once he takes over the inn? There don’t seem to be any options that promise a fulfilling life for her.

Times are tough for the people–the yearly taxes collected by the Lords are always cause of great distress for those struggling to make ends meet, and as winter descends on the land, bands of thieves start targeting isolated holdings, stealing and killing. Amidst all the uncertainty of life, the people take comfort in legends of Jackaroo, the highwayman cum Robin Hood figure who protects the poor in their time of need. The old stories take on that much more significance as the people are hard pressed by the Lords and their soldiers.

One day, a  mysterious nobleman and his son come to stay at the inn, and after a winter storm, Gwyn is snowed into a shelter with the nobleman’s young son. As the two of them are forced to live in close quarters for a stretch of time, they begin to talk and learn about one anothers’ lives, circumstances, and struggles. An unlikely friendship and a certain degree of trust springs up between the two. As Gwyn tries to stay busy by cleaning out an old cupboard, she discovers a mysterious package–a pair of soft leather boots, a cloak, a mask, and a sword. She conceals the package again before the Lordling can see it, not knowing what to make of it. But she is determined to learn more, and as the story progresses, Gwyn makes some shocking discoveries concerning the fabled Jackaroo, and is caught up in the legend herself in unexpected ways. You’ll just have to read it to find out the details!

This is a great book for young readers–it’s clean, well-written, and packed with interesting twists. There’s a little love, a little mystery, and a good amount of adventure. It’s also a great book for . . . well, me. Though I have long ago ceased to be considered a ‘young reader.’ Hope you guys enjoy it too! I just picked up the next book in Voigt’s “Kingdom” series (which this book belongs to). It’s called “On Fortune’s Wheel,” and I can’t wait to dive in during my coffee break later on this afternoon!

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

This beautiful novel by Gail Tsukiyama chronicles the life of two brotheres, Kenji and Hiroshi, who become teenagers in Tokyo during the 1940s. Orphaned and raised by their grandparents, they live through the war, the occupation, and the years of Westernization that follow.

While more and more Japanese women start wearing Western dress and many old customs are put aside by the younger generations, both brothers end up choosing careers steeped in tradition: Kenji becomes a maker of masks for the Noh theater and Hiroshi becomes one of the nation’s top sumo wrestlers.

Though this book is definitely a historical novel, the historical facts aren’t the meat of the text–they simply comprise the cocoon in which her characters develop, struggle and grow. The portraits Tsukiyama paints are many: the boys’ grandmother Fumiko, who silently endures the grief of the occupation, losing her closest friend and trying to stretch their meager supplies of food; the boys’ grandfather who is slowly becoming blind; the owner of the sumo stable where Hiroshi trains, who loses his wife during the fire bombhing of Tokyo; the master mask-maker Akira who becomes Kenji’s sensei and teaches him the art of carving the wood and bringing the faces of the Noh theater to life, a man who is tempted by the comforts of marriage to a young widow he cares for, knowing all the while that his true love lies elsewhere.

(Side note: “Bow to you sensei!“)

(Sorry guys–Napoleon Dynamite moment. Don’t mean to ruin the mood, but it had to come out.)

As Kenji and Hiroshi’s careers bloom, their lives become a balancing act between tradition and change. They both lose women they love–through accident and through neglect–they both struggle to find happiness and meaning–in short, they both live.

Gail Tsukiyama’s writing style is clear and direct, making her novels almost effortless to read. And yet no richness is lost because of this–through her straightforward narration, all the subtleties of each character emerge nonetheless. Midway through the novel, Hiroshi’s grandmother says “Don’t you think every face tells its own story?” Hiroshi answers “Like a book?” His grandmother responds “More like a poem. If you study it long enough, you’ll soon find its meaning.” That’s exactly what Gail Tsukiyama does–she paints simple portraits of people, brushing traits here and there like a painter on a canvas–and as the book progresses and you gaze at these characters as they move through the story, the meaning behind the painting emerges in all its layers and complexity.

Pick up this book at your library, on your e-reader, or whatever your method may be–I think you guys will really enjoy this one. And if you like it, Gail Tsukiyama has written a ton of other great novels as well–“Women of the Silk” and “The Language of Threads” (both of which I loved), “The Samurai’s Garden” (awesome), etc. She’s worth checking out!