The Ginger Tree

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In all the things they did for me before I came away no one told me anything about how not to have perspiration. If China is as hot as this, am I going to be damp for the rest of my life? I have used up all my eau de Cologne already and it only makes you feel cool for about five minutes. I cannot ask Mrs Carswell what she has done about perspiration all her years in hot countries. She must have done something? Perhaps not. So why did I give this book four stars? Remember: four stars in Goodreads equals "I really liked it." I really liked Mary. She was strong but not ridiculously so -- in fact, there were times when I wished she were even stronger. Or at least more vocal. I liked the setting / atmosphere -- I found myself looking up the places she lived or traveled as well as re-reading books (Boxers and Saints!) and reading up on historical events to gather insights into what was going on in that part of the world. I liked the connection to the view of an expat (the foreign connection mentioned at the start of this review about a ginger tree). I am not an "expat" in the conventional sense of the word (in fact, I consider myself a "lifer"... :-) ), and yet, I have expatriated from my birth country. I can do many things to try and fit in and yet I am an outsider, a foreigner. While having said THAT, I no longer fit in as seamlessly in my home country -- as Mary cannot go home to Scotland, it would be hard for me to return to the USA. I also liked how Oswald Wynd, a man, captured the character of a woman. Men writing about women in 3rd person, is do-able. Writing first person in journal entries... hmm... a bit more challenging. He does it well. Finally, I very much enjoyed our book club discussion. Fascinating takes and insights on the book! En resumen, y para aquellos que adoran este párrafo en las publicaciones, no es una historia épica pero sí es una historia maravillosa sobre una mujer, sobre sus años en Japón, sobre su vida, sus amores, sus errores y, sobre todo, su soledad. Oswald Morris Wynd (1913–1998) was a Scottish writer. He is best known for his novel The Ginger Tree, which was adapted into a BBC televised mini-series in 1989. a b "Obituary: Oswald Wynd". The Independent. 5 August 1998. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 . Retrieved 9 April 2016.

Editions of The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd - Goodreads

I have learned a great deal about Japanese bows. A book could be written on the art, which is subject to stricter rules than flowers arranging. There are bows for one's social equals, these variable according to the circumstances of the meeting, and for one's superiors, bows for servants, tradesmen, even tram conductors, men's bows to women, always shallow, women's to men, always very deep, plus a huge assortment of women's bows for other women, these a complete language in themselves. without saying one word a lady can place you exactly where she thinks you ought to be and more fool if you don't know that you are being assigned your state, as newcomers to what seems the world's politest country never do. The visitor's bow was really very generous, classifying me as almost a lady, if not quite." There's always something extra delightful about coming across a novel you've never heard of by chance and then finding out you love it. I grabbed this one from my Little Free Library in the early days of the pandemic, when the public library was closed, but for some reason, just got around to reading it now. It was the first High Definition serial to be made for the BBC, although it wasn't broadcast in HD or given an HD release. [ clarification needed] The series was broadcast in the U.S. on the PBS series Masterpiece Theatre in 1990. It was produced in 1035 line HD using the Sony HDD 1000 VTR. Audio Book (Cassette). Condition: Very Good. 2 Audio Cassettes. 3hrs 5mins duration. BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation. Read by Hannah Gordon. Not library copy. (12/3).The series won the 1990 BAFTA for Best Video Lighting (by Clive Thomas). It was also nominated for Best Video Cameraman (Ron Green), Best Design (Michael Young), Best Costume Design (Michael Burdle), and Best VTR Editor (Stan Pow). under the little sofa. Fortunately I have a small waist even without having it held in, and she has not noticed yet, but I will have to be careful. She has the sharpest eyes. They are like jet beads. Eland specializes in keeping the classics of travel literature in print. Eland books open out our understanding of other cultures, interpret the unknown, reveal different environments as well as celebrating the humour and occasional horrors of travel.

The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd | Goodreads The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd | Goodreads

If it sounds operatic, perhaps it is. But, I was totally entranced by the forty year journey we travel with this woman and her pragmatic and stoic approach to her life with virtually no family or support system to sustain her. I love novels about the restraints society places on women and how they struggle within them. This woman didn't whine. She didn't capitulate. And, she didn't compromise. Wynd was born 4 July 1913 in Tokyo of parents who had left their native Perth, Scotland to run a mission in Japan. He attended schools in Japan where he grew up speaking both English and Japanese. In 1932, he returned with his parents to Scotland and studied at the University of Edinburgh. With the advent of World War II he joined the Scots Guards but due to his language ability was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps and sent to Malaya. At the time of the Japanese invasion in Malaya, he was attached to the Indian Army on the east coast, and his brigade covered the final withdrawal to Singapore. Cut off by the Japanese advance, he was lost alone for a week in the Johor jungle. Eventually he was captured and spent more than three years as a prisoner of war in Hokkaidō, Japan, during which time he was mentioned in dispatches for his work as an interpreter for prisoners. He was interned at Hokkaido Main Camp, where, with three others, he was put to work on a Japanese phrase book for British prisoners of war. In June 1945 he was transferred to Bibai coal-mining camp. What I love about this book is how it shows opportunities and decisions conspire to shape one's life, but outside forces will intrude. We are never truly in control of our own lives. Natural disasters, political forces, and people we randomly meet will change our lives for good and bad. I left off my new corset two days ago. Now I know I can never send this to Mama. Mrs Carswell has not found out yet since we dress and undress, at least mostly, behind our bunk curtains. I just could not get into that corset up here in the heat under the roof, which is why I left it off first time. Then I smuggled it down while she was still sleeping and hid it away in my cabin trunk Hampton became involved in the theatre while studying German and French at Oxford University where OUDS performed his play When Did You Last See My Mother?, about adolescent homosexuality, reflecting his own experiences at Lancing College, the boarding school he had attended. The play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London, and that production soon transferred to the Comedy Theatre, resulting in Hampton, in 1966, becoming the youngest writer to have a play performed in the West End in the modern era.

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It is not easy for a husband and wife to have interests together in Peking. Tennis is played here in the Quarter during the summer, but there are no winter activities such as as there used to be like skating outside the city walls and sometimes race meetings because the area is still unsafe for Europeans."