My thoughts after reading the book Shining Shining

After reading 2 articles

In 2005, "Sparkling" was awarded the Gold Medal by the Newbery. I'm not superstitious about awards. We actually have no say in any award. The little power we have is to either trust or disdain this award because we have read it. I read a lot of Newbery Medal-winning fairy tales and novels, and I trust them.

The person who wrote "Shining" was an American Japanese. So it writes about the life of Japanese people in the United States. It is a grown-up person talking about his childhood days. This is a very common way of speaking, but it is also very easy to hear and clear. This kind of lecture will always be based on the "present" level and maturity of the speaker, but what makes people like it is that in the "past" it talks about, you can definitely hear the interesting childishness, simple satisfaction, and genuineness. happy. These are the basic tunes, so any fragmentation and mediocrity will be full of interest and enthusiasm; any hardships and even misfortunes will be placed optimistically, without being depressed or even spreading in the direction of depression.

"Sparkling" is the first important word in this story. is the word that keeps coming and going in this story. is the last word of this story.

Its first paragraph:

My sister, Lynn, taught me my first words: "Kira - Kira." Although I always pronounce it as "Ka-la", but my sister can understand what I mean. "Kira-Kira" means "shining" in Japanese.

Last paragraph:

Under the care of the sea water, that feeling of happiness arises spontaneously again. Right on this beach, especially on this California beach, I clearly heard my sister’s voice echoing in my ears with the waves: “Kira—Kira!” “Kira— Kira! ”

It means seeing beauty in any part of life.

This is not a rich story. This is not an easy story. This is not a guilt-free story. This is not a story with a happy ending.

But out of admiration and nostalgia, they are all written brilliantly.

This is a true children's literature feel and a standard childhood narrative.

Sister, father, mother, younger brother, uncle, aunt, classmates... there are many people, but my sister is the first person in the story. The elder sister is the brightest in the younger sister's heart. But my sister died.

Without the older sister, the younger sister’s narrative would have no center. There is no logic to rely on. The structure of the novel is based on this logic, and the narrative of the novel has to end quickly.

After reading a book and liking it very much, it is actually very difficult to tell people about it. I find it difficult every time, but I still don’t give up. A particularly well-written book will have many things that will catch you off guard. You want to say everything, but after all, you can’t say everything, so you have to let go of some. After letting it go, I realized that it was obviously incomplete. A good book, an outstanding children's literature, both are almost perfect and are in the same realm. A kind of perfection and a state cannot just be said about eyes or nose. So what's the point of having a mouth? There are many others. And eyes and posture. You can also say nothing about near perfection and state. Just say "very good" and nothing else. Don’t describe the posture or talk about the mouth. It's quite meaningful to be so simple and subtle. The problem is that it's already difficult for a reader like me to maintain the depth of meaning in a reserved demeanor.

I have no choice but to talk about "Sparkling" like this again.

I feel like I didn’t say anything.

This gives me even more reason to suggest you read it yourself.

My sister’s Japanese name is Natsuko, and my sister’s Japanese name is Akiko.

I first saw this book in a bookstore. What attracted me to pick it up was, of course, the shiny Newbery gold medal on its cover. However, I only read the first paragraph and couldn't put it down.

My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word:kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh,

but she knew what I meant. Kira-kira means " Glittering" in Japanese.

Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty

road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while

she said over and over, "Katie, say 'kira-kira, kira-kira.'" I loved that

word! When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked:

the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex.

My sister, Lin, taught me to say the first one Words: Kira-kira. I say it ka-a-ahhh. But she still

understood what I said. Kira-kira means "shining" in Japanese. Lin told me that when I was a little baby, she often took me to crawl to a stretch of empty road in front of my house at night. We would lie on the ground and look up at the stars. She said to me over and over again: " Katie, say 'kira-kira, kira-kira'" I love that word! When I grew up a little, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, baby dogs, baby cats, butterflies, and colored tissues.

I went to the library and found this book right away. For me, the time to read my favorite book is almost only a few minutes in the bathroom, but this Kira-kira is still worth the time I need to sleep. There are two reasons why this book is worth reading. The first is obviously the gold medal. Second, the current situation of my family is very similar to that of the Japanese family 50 years ago.

"She often took me up to a stretch of empty road in front of my house at night. We would lie on the ground and look up at the stars. She would say to me over and over again: "Katie, say 'kira-kira, kira-kira' '" This sentence alone made my eyes well up. They look so much like the two little daughters of my family. Often when I am cooking or doing housework, I hear my elder sister say to my younger sister who cannot speak: "Call me sister. Sister, I am Niuniu, Niuniu. "This little one smiles but doesn't make a sound. Every time, I wonder, after a few decades, will they still be together like they are now? At that time, the two of them talked with each other. English or Chinese? Did they still love each other like this when their mother was gone?

This book tells the story of the life of a Japanese-American family in the 1950s. The language is very simple. Listening to her calm narration, you still feel sour in your heart... until the end, it makes you cry. But this is by no means a tear-inducing book. The struggle in America is revealed between the lines. The hardships of immigrants not only refer to life, but also the struggle in the heart.

Coincidentally, I took Niu Niu to a writer’s seminar in the library two weeks ago. Listen to it once. The reason is that the writer this time is a second-generation immigrant in the United States. She is now a violinist in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota. She learned about her grandfather and played with her mother several times. Evelina Chao also grew up in the United States in the 1950s. Her home was the only Chinese family there at the time. She also said that at that time, she and her siblings were bullied and insulted by white children. Evelina spoke Chinese before going to school, but after going to school, she found it embarrassing to speak Chinese, and now she can’t speak Chinese at all. , and finally went to The Juilliard School, where she was still a classmate of Yo-Yo Ma. Her achievements in music and performing arts still could not stop her from questioning where she was from, and how she interacted with the people on the street. She has the same face, but can't understand what they say. In the United States, away from the big city where she lives, people will ask her if she is an Indian, Japanese or Korean, but she has also tried hard to learn Chinese, but she has failed. The result was that she finally understood who she was not.

Her grandfather was a famous scholar and poet. He went to Oxford to study in his early years and taught at Yenching University after returning to China. Before the Cultural Revolution, her grandfather wrote letters to his granddaughter in the United States, all in very neat English. The 70-year-old man suffered a lot of humiliation during the Cultural Revolution. Unfortunately, I still haven't found her grandfather's Chinese name.

I have not read this book "Grandpa's House". I only listened to the author reading a few fragments at the seminar. This is not a children's novel, it is for adults. It’s strange that most of the people who went to listen were white and a small number were Chinese. Niu Niu was the youngest. At first I regretted that she wouldn’t be able to sit still, but she kept listening very carefully. On the way home I asked her if she understood. She said she understood. Understand that this writer does not speak Chinese, she is better than this writer. Haha, with this, my intention has been achieved. Quickly strike while the iron is hot and encourage her to continue.

Niuniu is about to have her 7th birthday, and I plan to buy these two books as gifts for her. I want to tell her how proud she is to be a big sister. You should love your sister like the older sister in Kira-kira, and your sister will love her the same when she grows up. She may not be able to read "Grandpa's House" now, but she will gradually encounter the conflict between the two cultures expressed in the book. Maybe reading a similar book can help her feel more at ease, knowing that this is not a problem that is unique to her. This is what everyone with the same background as her is confused about.