Water ghosts great river regional library overdrive. Her use of imagery and careful prose is beautiful and revealing of character and place. And shawna yang ryan mark harrison shawna yang ryans first novel, water ghosts of the family. Water ghosts was a finalist for the 2008 northern california book award. November 2, gti book talk with shawna yang ryan, author of. Set in burma, the art of hearing heartbeats is a rare novel. The story is haunted by questions about whether taiwan is a part of china or its own country, what the costs are of standing up for ones beliefs and by the choices made by one father and his daughter. Water ghosts book reading with author shawna yang ryan.
Shawna yang ryan is a taiwanese american novelist, short story writer and creative writing professor, who has published the novels water ghosts 2009. In her notably assured debut, water ghosts, shawna yang ryan explores the uneasy confluence of assimilation and ancestry in the lives of these immigrants. Water ghosts beautifully chronicles separation and betrayal, loneliness and longing, and what happens when a chinese ghost story begins to come true. Water ghosts, originally published as locke 1928, was a finalist for the 2008 northern california book. She currently teaches in the creative writing program at the university of hawaii at manoa. Ryan water ghosts reshapes the immigrant tale in this precise and poetic work. Ryan also serves as the director of creative writing in the uh manoa department of english. Locke 1928 beautifully chronicles separation and betrayal, loneliness and longing, and what happens when a chinese ghost. Water ghosts beautifully chronicles separation and betrayal, loneliness and longing, and what happens when a chinese ghost. The absence of women defines life in locke, california, a community of bachelors where men outnumber women twenty to one and most of the women are.
Past runs through present in water ghosts the boston globe. Setting new boundaries that move or enlighten us is one of the delights of art. In water ghosts, shawna yang ryan tells a story of a marriage broken by separation and betrayal, a town brought to its knees by loneliness and longing. Telling the story of a young blind mans journey through a world of auditory intensity, janphilipp sendker renews ones faith in the possibility of real, pure love. April 15, 2014 on the first night of ghost month, the rain begins.
Their pasts ultimately prevail, returning like ghosts and circulating like water, shaping their lives in ways good and bad but always fated. So, what was i doing reading a book called water ghosts. Shawna yang ryan the unexpected arrival of richard fongs wife, along with two other women from china, brings complications for richard as he struggles to combine his two lives and decide if he wants to be with his. Three bedraggled chinese women suddenly appear out of the mist one afternoon in a small chinese farming town on the sacramento river, and their arrival throws the community into confusion. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Two of the women are unknown to the townspeople, while the third is the longlost wife. Locke 1928 by shawna yang ryan book cover, description, publication history.
How ironically fitting that shawna yang ryans debut novel about, yes, ghosts. A mesmerizing debut novel that weaves history and mythology around a community of chinese immigrants and the ghosts that haunt them locke, california. Ryans debut novel was water ghosts, initially published in 2007 by a small press in. Three bedraggled chinese women appear out of the mist in a small chinese farming town on the sacramento river. Shawna yang ryan is a taiwanese american novelist, short story writer and creative writing professor, who has published the novels water ghosts 2009 penguin press and green island 2016. National literary award for manoa english professor. If youve been visiting this blog long enough, perhaps you remember one of my favorite books from 2008, locke 1928 by shawna yang ryan. I finished the book in tears shawna yang ryan, author of water ghosts.
She is the director of the creative writing program at the university of hawaii at manoa. The art of hearing heartbeats by janphilipp sendker. Water ghosts, originally published as locke 1928, was a finalist for the 2008 northern california book award. Two are unknown to its residents, while the third is the longlost wife of richard fong, the handsome manager of the local gambling parlor. Shawna yang ryan was born in sacramento, california, and received her ba from the university of california, berkeley, and her ma from the university of california, davis. A lyrical imagining of what happens when a chinese ghost story comes true, water ghosts is a rich tale of human passions and mingling cultures that will appeal to readers of lisa. Water ghosts formerly locke 1928 by shawna yang ryan.
Find a library or download libby an app by overdrive. Shawna yang ryan is a former fulbright scholar and the author of one previous novel, water ghosts. Read water ghosts a novel by shawna yang ryan available from rakuten kobo. The american book awards provide recognition for outstanding literary achievement from the entire. Please like my new author page for updates on water ghosts and my new novel green island. Water ghosts by shawna yang ryan overdrive rakuten. Water ghosts by shawna yang ryan 2009, hardcover for. Download audiobooks written by shawna ryan to your device.
The prestigious american book award has been bestowed on university of hawai. Shawna yang ryan s melodic first novel is a passionate, sophisticated intertwining of fact and fiction that examines mingling cultures, modern myths, and forgotten history. Shawna yang ryan is a former fulbright scholar and the author of water ghosts penguin press 2009 and green island knopf 2016. Shawna yang ryan s propulsive storytelling carries us through a bloody time in taiwanese history, its implications still reverberating today. As the lives of the townspeople become inextricably intertwined with the newly arrived women, their frightening power is. Three bedraggled chinese women suddenly appear out of the mist one afternoon in a small chinese farming town on the sacramento river. I could not ever understand what was going on in this book. Shawna yang ryan department of english, university of. Shawna yang ryan captures the characters of water ghosts in delicate description that draws the reader in until it is impossible to escape the deep confines of the story. The prose is a delight, the characters fascinating, the story richly imagined and heartrending. From 200620, she taught at city college of san francisco. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading water ghosts.
Savor water ghosts, this brilliant incarnation of the california novel, and. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Water ghosts ebook by shawna yang ryan rakuten kobo. A mesmerizing debut novel that weaves history and mythology around a c. Shawna ryans water ghosts is a multilayered marvel of a book. One of the biggest pleasures of running this website is the chance to discover new books recommended to me by other writers i admire. Three bedraggled chinese women appear out of the mist in a small chinese farming town on. How ironically fitting that shawna yang ryan s debut novel about, yes, ghosts. Two are unknown to its residents, while the third is the. In this novel, china merely functions as a transitional site for the ghost.
This book would be especially good for a class on american fiction engaging. At the time, the us government was severely regulating chinese immigration to the united states by rarely allowing women to come over with their husbands. A mesmerizing debut novel that weaves history and mythology around a community of chinese immigrants and the ghosts. Shawna yang ryan was born and raised in california. Shawna yang ryan was a fulbright scholar in taiwan, and in 2006, she received the maurice prize for fiction. Ryan graduated from uc berkeley, and received an m. I immediately downloaded the sequel as i waas not ready to leave the story behind. Goodreads choice award nominee, best historical fiction 2016. Water ghosts by shawna yang ryan water ghosts is a mysterious little book that primarily takes place in locke, california, a town comprised mainly of chinese immigrant men in 1928.