So Misguided

Plain words, uncommon sense

Month: May 2023

The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island by Amy Chavez

May 16, 2023 /

My friend DaveO gifted me this amazing book about an island that is near to where he lives in Japan. In celebration of Asian Heritage month, I have been eagerly reading about septuagenarian and octogenarians (even nonagenarians) on the tiny island of Shiraishi (population 500 — and dwindling) .

Shiraishi Island is in the Inland Sea of Japan and part of Okayama Prefecture. Author Amy Chavez moved there in 1997 and is charmed by the seclusion and way that the aging population is holding on to its traditions and ways of life. The books offers vignettes of the island’s many charming characters, who each share with Amy their stories of growing up on Shiraishi, the island’s culture, their fishing practices and sacred rituals.

I love being introduced to different people in each chapter. Memorable stories include that of Eiko, the elderly woman whose house Amy rents, Hiro, one of the last two octopus hunters on the island, the four Chinese brides who come to Shiraishi to marry, and Mimiko who runs a little beach shack.

The stories are interspersed with Amy’s observations from her window looking out on the port, her participation in island rituals, and her American perspective as an outsider looking to fit into the community.

Give it a read: Published by Tuttle.

Available in fine bookstores (and Amazon)

Check out Amy Chavez’s website for photos of Shiraishi.

The Price of Salt, or Carol by Patricia Highsmith | Book Review

May 6, 2023 /

Patricia Highsmith is the author of more than 20 books, including well-known classics. Her first novel Strangers on a Train (1950) became a major commercial success and was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her most popular literary creation was Tom Ripley, the dapper sociopath who debuted in her 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley. There were four other Ripley novels, and a film. Yet she decided to publish The Price of Salt (or Carol) in1952 under a pseudonym. The novel tells the story of a young woman Therese Belivet, who serves a glamorous older woman (Carol Aird) in a department store at Christmas. That casual encounter sparks in a romance between the two women, and a Thelma and Louise style cross-country road trip. They are chased by a private detective hired by Carol’s husband, but their crime is exploring a romance that is not accepted socially at the time.

Many publishers turned down this incredible book because it was about a lesbian relationship. The 50s in America were not open days for homosexuals. Most American novels at the time depicted gay or lesbian relationships as deviations and the characters met untimely ends. But Highsmith found a publisher, and the book found a loving audience.

I’d say this novel is about discovering a strength you didn’t know you had.

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