A Single Swallow - July 2021
Actually shared in the group:
2. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/video/china-and-japan-neighbors-friends-enemies
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War/Stalemate
Asked
1. What elements of magic realism do you see in the novel?
https://www.narrativemuse.co/books/a-single-swallow
2. The narrative of this book is unique in that ghosts narrate the story. What are your thoughts on that? Do you find it effective? What do you think was the author's purpose in having the men's ghosts narrate?
3. In A Single Swallow, we learn about Ah Yun from the perspective of three males, but ever from Ah Yun herself. What are your thoughts on this? Why was Ah Yun silenced, and do you think it was intentional on the author's part?
4. I have to ask: What was your take and reaction when the spirits of the two dogs got a narrative moment of their own?
5. Even though we never hear from Ah Yan directly, we have enough accounts to begin to form an opinion of her character. What are your thoughts of Ah Yan? How would you describe her character?
Possible concept to think about: juxtaposition of the brutality of the war, and the beauty of the prose
Were you familiar with the events of the Japanese invasion in China during WW2?
Why do the dogs get a voice and not Ah Yan?
Ah Yan doesn't get a voice, but everything revolves around her.
American involvement (Seco/sico) in the Chinese war: secret naval group; worked with the nationalistic government (before China was communist);
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=406602573916224&ref=watch_permalink
22 minutes in, they talk about the POV as ghosts.
She wanted to try magic realism to take off the edge of the heavy subject matter. Also, she said magic realism, ghosts, works with her. Also, this covered the realms of their lives, so that would have been a long timeline. She had to kill them off to be able to manage the entirety of their life. She also felt like having them as ghosts gave her more freedom. Time and space was no longer an issue. Ghosts can see everything, have no limitations, so it made it easier for her.
Japanese occupation of china during WW2
This is a unique book in that it is narrated by ghosts. Have you ever read any other book where the narrator was a ghost?
https://www.atomicheritage.org/key-documents/jewel-voice-broadcast
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/06/china-war-japan-rana-mitter-review
https://www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/judgment-memory-legacy/accepting-defeat
"Time is a miraculous thing. It can wear down the thorns of emotion, gradually eroding them to dust, and from this dust, a new sprout grows. That sprout is the power of life."
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