Items related to Two Trees Make a Forest: On Memory, Migration and Taiwan
Synopsis
I have learned many words for 'island': isle, atoll, eyot, islet, or skerry. They exist in archipelagos or alone, and always, by definition, I have understood them by their relation to water. But the Chinese word for island knows nothing of water. For a civilisation grown inland from the sea, the vastness of mountains was a better analogue: (dao, 'island') built from the relationship between earth and sky.
Between tectonic plates and conflicting cultures, Taiwan is an island of extremes: high mountains, exposed flatlands, thick forests. After unearthing a hidden memoir of her grandfather's life, written on the cusp of his total memory loss, Jessica J Lee hunts his story, in parallel with exploring Taiwan, hoping to understand the quakes that brought her family from China, to Taiwan and Canada, and the ways in which our human stories are interlaced with geographical forces. Part-nature writing, part-biography, Two Trees Make a Forest traces the natural and human stories that shaped an island and a family.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Book Description
Part-nature writing, part-biography and beautifully written, Two Trees Make a Forest traces the natural and human stories that shaped an island and a family.
From the Back Cover
I have learned many words for island: isle, atoll, eyot, skerry. They exist in archipelagos or alone, and always I have understood them by their relation to water. But the Chinese word for island knows nothing of water. For a civilisation grown inland from the sea, the vastness of mountains was a better metaphor: ? (dao, 'island') is built from the relationship between earth and sky.
Taiwan is an island of extremes: towering mountains, lush forests and domesticated flatlands. Between shifting tectonic plates and a history rife with tension, the geographical and political landscape is ever evolving. After unearthing a hidden memoir of her grandfather's life, Jessica J. Lee seeks to piece together the fragments of her family's history as they moved from China to Taiwan, and then on to Canada. But as she navigates the forests and mountains of Taiwan, Lee finds herself having to traverse fissures in language, memory, and history, to find the stories her family left behind.
Part-nature writing, part-biography, Two Trees Make a Forest traces the natural and human stories that shaped an island and a family.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVirago Press Ltd
- Publication date2019
- ISBN 10 0349011052
- ISBN 13 9780349011059
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages256
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantCan't find the book you're looking for? We'll keep searching for you. If one of our booksellers adds it to AbeBooks, we'll let you know!
Create a Want
