today is graduation. that makes it really really the last day of school. the fact that i have to grade finals and write student assessments and pack up my room . . . those things don't count. graduation, that's it. the students go away and for a few days i am happy and then i miss them.
planning, already, for next year's class in asian literature. haven't taught that before. india china japan. see i'm reading rushdie right now and he doesn't always use commas so already i am influenced by him.
and once the tasks for school are over, i will write. yes. definitely. gotta get back to loralie and finish her story. gotta work on poor gawain. and there is the new idea that pushes at the edges, a story set in the near future, something i have not attempted before, but it is haunting me so i have to try.
but today, graduation.
and on itunes right now: the gloaming - one of the spooky radiohead songs.
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4 comments:
What else are you covering in Asian literature? I strongly recommend Haruki Murakami.
Murakami it is! I am thinking of using The Wind-up Bird Chronicles . . . but i am reading a couple other Murakami books before i decide.
For China, it's Red Sorghum - depressing but interesting.
For India, i'm 99% sure i will use Midnight's Children. i was thinking of A Fine Balance but that is TOO depressing; Rushdie is funny along with showing horrible things.
and short stories from many Asian countries
any suggestions? i'm VERY open to suggestions.
A few thoughts:
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap. Short stories about various aspects of life in Thailand. He's very good about culture clashes with Western influences (he spent a lot of his childhood in Chicago).
The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian: absurdist satire on post-Mao China. Bleak but very funny.
Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb. She's actually Belgian, but she grew up in Japan. Very good about culture clashes again; see also Peter Carey, Wrong About Japan.
Mammon Inc by Hwee Hwee Tan. Singaporean: satire about 20somethings dealing with globalised capitalism. Bit like Douglas Coupland, but without the screaming pop culture refs.
The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw. Historical, about the end of colonial rule in Malaya (now Malaysia).
I think Wind-Up bird might be a bit ambitious for Murakami newbies. Maybe South of the Border, West of the Sun, or Norwegian Wood. Got his latest, After Dark, just yesterday. Looking good so far. But Midnight's Children is probably the best Rushdie. (You could go for Satanic Verses, start a riot.)
OMG (a phrase i never use). THANKS! i'm going to check all these out.
for Murakami, i'm thinking of hard-boiled wonderland, except that i haven't read it yet so .....
i can't THANK you enough, Tim! i'll go buy a second copy of your book, that's how i can thank you ... keep it in my classroom library.
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