From the number of novels-in-verse that I review, you may guess this is a genre close to my heart. Ever since I was in high school and poured my heart out in free verse, I've admired this genre. But there is more than a world apart from my attempts and beautifully written novels such as THE GOOD BRAIDER, BLUE BIRDS, CRAZY, THE KISS OF BROKEN GLASS. I am consistently impressed with these authors' ability to tell well-plotted stories using succinct, figurative language.
Let's add ORCHARDS by Holly Thompson to this list.
(Please note that the line spacing in the following excerpts are not an exact replica of the book's poems. I had difficulty formatting these poems for this blog.)
because of you, Ruth
I'm exiled
to my maternal grandmother, Baachan,
to the ancestors at the altar
and to Uncle, Aunt and cousins
I haven't seen in three years--
not since our last trip back
for Jiichan's funeral
when Baachan
told my sister Emi
she was just right
but told me I was fat
should eat
less fill myself eighty percent
but then I was smallno more each meal
then I didn't have hips
then was before this bottom inherited from my father's
Russian Jewish mother (p.9)
Initially, Kana experiences problems fitting in.
I try to learn fast
make up for my
non-Japanese half
but Uncle makes
remarks like after I set the breakfast table--
how are we supposed to eat...
with our hands?
I rush to set out chopsticks...
seconds
too late
they seem to think
I can just switchone half of me
on and leave the other
half of me
off but I'm like
warm water
pouring from a faucet
the hot
and cold
both flowing
as one (p. 24-5)
In Japanese school, Kana tries to reach out to a girl she perceives is an outsider, because that's what her school counselor had said she and her friends should have done for Ruth.
but instead of opening up to me
instead of warming to me
instead of reaching out
in return
she pivots
and walks away.
after that
not everyone is so eager
to get to know this New Yorker not everyone so hot
to try their English
I don't care
groups don't matter
so much to me now
maybe because I know
most atoms aren't as stable
as they seem (p. 53-54)She has a negative opinion of her deceased grandfather, but when she realizes he was operating out of his own hurt over her mother's leaving Japan, she recognizes there are two sides to every story.
I think
there must be at least
two sides
to your story, too, Ruth,
and maybe knowing
more of Lisa's sidehow she lived
with her godparents
not her parents
who were I don't know where
might help explain
why she was so mean to you
and why we all
followed
her lead (p.96)
When school ends Kana works long days in the family orchard. There she thinks about Ruth:
everyone knows
Lisa didn't mean it
everyone knows
when a person says certain things
they don't mean the words
they say
really
in the note you left
for your parentsand brother
you said
life was too hard
they could never know
what it was like
for you at school
where you were ostracized
left out
despised
and where
just that day
in front of all us girls
after Jake handed you
a piece of paper
Lisa had given you
a look
and said
I hope you die
I saw you glare
at Lisa
hard, I thought
mean, I thought
bitch we all said
hurt, I now realize
as you crumpled that note into a
tiny ball that was still
in your jeans pocketwhen you were found in Osgood's orchard (p.110-111)
Kana's grief doesn't stop there; her world continues to painfully unravel. But by the time she returns to New York she has found a new home with her mother's family and a new way to go on living.
Joyce Hostetter and I are giving away this book in conjunction with Talking Story's current issue on bullying. You can leave a comment either here, or through the newsletter. Do both, and your name will be entered twice.
