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FW: May Amelia and Unsettlement
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From: Robin Smith <smithr>
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2000 09:41:35 -0600
I agree with Katy about the historical voice of May Amelia. She didn't seem like the same old "plucky" heroine we see so often in children's books. She IS strong and opinionated, but it is the type of strength that comes from having so many older brothers, not a 21st century teen set into Washington State. Her attitudes toward the native peoples seem historically accurate (calling the indigenous people
"Chinooks," for example), even if our modern ear might find words like that a little unsettling. The scenes where she is forced to look at her attitudes toward her non-Finnish neighbors (the "Chinook" funeral, for example) are understated and powerful.
I thought the stoicism of the Finnish settlers was nicely juxtaposed with the honest warm feelings that May's family felt toward one another. Grandmother Patience really was a brave stretch for the author. Having had a difficult grandmother myself, I found myself laughing-and becoming angry-at Grandmother Patience's power in the family. But, once again, that story line rang true. A grandmother WOULD be allowed to live in a house with her son's family and she WOULD be allowed a wide berth in her outrageous behavior. Grandmothers are so often romantically drawn in children's books (usually accompanied by the smell of chocolate cookies), negative portrayals are rare. With apologies to Grandma Ruth, the addition of an older family member into a small, crowded house would always have been a challenge. The addition of a cruel grandmother could cause chaos.
Other details that I loved: the brother who sewed, the marked differences between town life and farm life, the brother who cared for his flock of sheep, the foster brother who has important information withheld from him, descriptions of the logging industry, the anger that often follows tragedy, the xenophobic attitudes toward non-Finnish people, and the complex ways families cope with tragedy. I think it is the complexity of the family that made this story so appealing to me.
I can't wait to find another copy of this book to send to my dad...a foster child himself in a Nova Scotia farm community in the 1940s. The stories my father tells remind me of May Amelia and the life she makes for herself. Different times, but many parallels.
Robin Smith
Nashville, TN
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Received on Tue 01 Feb 2000 09:41:35 AM CST
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2000 09:41:35 -0600
I agree with Katy about the historical voice of May Amelia. She didn't seem like the same old "plucky" heroine we see so often in children's books. She IS strong and opinionated, but it is the type of strength that comes from having so many older brothers, not a 21st century teen set into Washington State. Her attitudes toward the native peoples seem historically accurate (calling the indigenous people
"Chinooks," for example), even if our modern ear might find words like that a little unsettling. The scenes where she is forced to look at her attitudes toward her non-Finnish neighbors (the "Chinook" funeral, for example) are understated and powerful.
I thought the stoicism of the Finnish settlers was nicely juxtaposed with the honest warm feelings that May's family felt toward one another. Grandmother Patience really was a brave stretch for the author. Having had a difficult grandmother myself, I found myself laughing-and becoming angry-at Grandmother Patience's power in the family. But, once again, that story line rang true. A grandmother WOULD be allowed to live in a house with her son's family and she WOULD be allowed a wide berth in her outrageous behavior. Grandmothers are so often romantically drawn in children's books (usually accompanied by the smell of chocolate cookies), negative portrayals are rare. With apologies to Grandma Ruth, the addition of an older family member into a small, crowded house would always have been a challenge. The addition of a cruel grandmother could cause chaos.
Other details that I loved: the brother who sewed, the marked differences between town life and farm life, the brother who cared for his flock of sheep, the foster brother who has important information withheld from him, descriptions of the logging industry, the anger that often follows tragedy, the xenophobic attitudes toward non-Finnish people, and the complex ways families cope with tragedy. I think it is the complexity of the family that made this story so appealing to me.
I can't wait to find another copy of this book to send to my dad...a foster child himself in a Nova Scotia farm community in the 1940s. The stories my father tells remind me of May Amelia and the life she makes for herself. Different times, but many parallels.
Robin Smith
Nashville, TN
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Subject: signoff ccbc-net
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Received on Tue 01 Feb 2000 09:41:35 AM CST
