WINTER'S BOOKS

Since I can feel the chill in the air that leads to late fall and the beginnings of winter, I think of hearty soups, a cozy blanket, and historical fiction that allows me to imagine experiences that transcend time and place. A novel may show me a different culture, a different lifestyle, or patterns of behavior. Some of them show our slow progress to be better human beings and others remind me that we still have a lot of work to do to leave this world a better place than we found it.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

See has written several books about women in China at different periods of history. In her latest book, she writes about Lady Tan, who lived during the 16th century and practiced medicine, an unusual occupation for an upper-class woman. The book opens up the sheltered world of upper-class women in China, who remained in patriarchal bondage and whose fortunes were determined by their husbands and family. The women were not able to leave the grounds of their family home, were subjected to foot binding to attract a suitable husband, and were never allowed to have a career other than as a mother.

See describes the painful process of foot binding in great detail, which begins when a girl is a toddler. The foot becomes shaped like an arrow with toes pulled under, bones broken, and infection a constant problem. As a reader, you question why this practice of foot binding lasted for over a thousand years. But then, we can look at our own choices of wearing 6-inch high heels with pointed toes, undergoing plastic surgery, and using weight-loss pills to acquire the elusive beauty we imagine we want.

Amy Chui's first novel, The Golden Gate, is set during WWII at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. A suspenseful detective story patterned after noir classics, the narrative revolves around the assassination of a presidential candidate staying at the hotel and the three beautiful sisters who may be involved. As I read the book, I could visualize the fedoras on men's heads, the pearls dripping off the shoulders of the women, and secrets hidden behind heavy hotel doors.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is my favorite this year. The story revolves around families in a small Black and Jewish community and the grocery store that sustains them. The story is full of great characters such as Moshe and his wife Chona, who own the store, and Nate who works for them. The community comes together to defend itself against the stronger White group trying to displace the community to take over their land for development. The book touches on an important part of our history about White flight, the displacement of low-income communities for urban renewal, and our lack of reparations to those communities. In San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s, the lively Fillmore District became an example of that saga. (Read On the Rooftop by Marian Wilkerson Sexton, set in the district in that era.)

Two other good books, Alibi by Joseph Kanon and All the Broken Places by John Boyne, are set in the aftermath of WWII. I have often wondered how a defeated nation recovers from war and how the people involved retrieve a place in a healthy society. These two books provide a window into that experience.

Don't miss So Many Ways to Be a Bird

A friend of mine, Constance Anderson, who is a writer and illustrator, has just published a children's book just in time for holiday gifting. It's a delight, filled with painted and collaged illustrations of birds.