Southside Buddhist: Essays
シカゴの労働者階級の街角、南イリノイの森、家族の記憶を行き来しながら、移民としての感覚を確かめるエッセイ集。
作品情報
街と森を往復しながら、自分の居場所を探していく。
ユーモアと自己観察を交えながら、著者は身体、記憶、結婚、少年時代の悪戯、鬱といった話題をひとつずつほどいていく。個人的な記述でありながら、移民二世の暮らしの輪郭を広く見せる。
レビュー要約
-
公式紹介では、ユーモア、洞察、抒情性のあるエッセイ集として位置づけられている。
書籍情報
- 出版社
- University of Tampa Press
- 発売日
- 2014-10-01
- ページ数
- 194ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 15.24 x 1.24 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781597321242
- ISBN-10
- 1597321249
- 価格
- 1903 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Biographies & Memoirs
Carrying forward the themes and spirit of his previous memoir, Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist Boy, and his book of poems, In Thailand It Is Night, Ira Sukrungruang brings humor, insight, and lyricism to his new collection of personal essays, Southside Buddhist. Here he cruises Chicago streets, treks Southern Illinois forests, wrestles with his ever-expanding body, and contemplates the complexities of the Thai immigrant life. He finds solace with his imaginary friend, Buddha; causes mischief with the boys in his working-class neighborhood; battles depression and suicide; and marries the whitest woman in the world, who teaches him to appreciate a world blessed by the absence of concrete, skyscrapers, and noise. This book searches for the truth of his memories, the truth of himself - a very Buddhist notion - while navigating the tricky terrains of urban and rural life with increasing awareness of what it means to be an immigrant son.
レビュー
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After reading one of Ira’s essays in the Shambhala Sun magazine, I decided to buy the book. At the start I was a little disappointed. I didn’t find the essays to carry a certain weight or depth that I thought they might based on the single essay, Southside Buddhist,--from which the book is named, or vice versa, who knows?-- in the magazine. I cannot say that it was a page turner; however, I can say that while turning the pages I learned something about myself: Though I have an appreciation for the personal stories of others (of course), I prefer them to be weaved into a larger, more meaningful context, perhaps the way Karen Maezen Miller or Anne Lamott does. I know, I know, comparisons aren’t a good thing as they lead to disappointment. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought to compare until after reading and having learned something of myself. The essays frequently read choppy, and again lacked real meat and potatoes. A teller of this truth for me, is that I never once wanted to underline or highlight anything; it lacked poignancy. Overall the book is cool for what it is, I suppose; however, I can’t say that I would recommend it right off to any of my bookworm friends. In the end, glass of wine in tow, I finished it. Many congrats to Ira and his writing success!
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