About a month or so ago I read The Boy From Clearwater: Book One by Yu Pei-Yun, Jian-Xin Zhou and Lin King (Translator). At the time I didn’t think I would go onto book two, The Boy From Clearwater: Book Two, but something said I should and located an interlibrary loan copy from my local library.
Usually sequels are not as strong as the first book, but while I feel the first book was stronger in many aspects, this second book has strong pieces of its own. It’s a sequel that breaks that sequel issue. We follow our main character for the next ten years of his life (recap: book one was mostly about the ten years he was falsely imprisoned in an education camp, with the start being about his childhood). After we work our way through the 1960s and 1970s, it then jumps forward to “now” (early 2000’s to early 2020’s) and has a few jump backs to the 1970s and possibly 1980s as well. The look at history from “the other side” (the Communists, China and a person from Taiwan) and a side many don’t usually see, is interesting. There were a few spots where the colors of the background and text would blend in making things a little hard to read, but it just means taking your time and having a well lighted reading place. Yet, the book should be read carefully and slowly anyways as an important story is being told.
This journey we are undertaking, allows us to see world events and ideas from another culture. It brings into play not just politics, but art and culture as well. There is a lot of time dedicated to the publishing world (animation, education, magazines and different forms of manga) and as words is how we got here (one book club and a few so-called questionable friends brought our main character to being arrested) it fits. We see how a family does the best they can do and it is all relatable. We are watching life and how a man and a nation tries to heal from its past..
