The third and final short story from the "Gift of Travel" collection, this one was written by American David Yeadon who was traveling around Europe, specifically Spain, in a camper van. He decides that he is going to pay the fare to take the ferry to the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory just of the coast of Africa. There, he finds his dream village, full of friendly, lively, welcoming people. They allow him to move into a temporarily unoccupied house and stay there for a number of months, even bringing his wife over to stay with him for a while.
The driving force in this story comes from the people, who all work on a nearby banana farm, and whose kindness and openness Yeadon makes it his point to convey in the story. One of the other important parts of this story is food, particularly the incredible number of ways that bananas are served in this village. I tried to emulate this in my piece, as I included a section on one of our favourite restaurants in Florence.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
ISP Blog #6 - Murderer's Eggs
Here is another story from the "Gifts of Travel" collection, and another piece that gives us a recipe as the finale. An important part of this piece is the use of phrases from a foreign language, in this case Spanish. Towards the beginning of the piece, there is a character that emerges from a fog bank at night. He first appears as a silhouette carrying a gun with a dog beside him, and when he calls out to the author, using the original Spanish adds to the mystic this character already has and makes him appear slightly more threatening. As well as, it also contributes to the authenticity of the story.
I wanted to use foreign phrases like this in my original piece, and so included some Italian in the train section, when the conductor asks for "bigliettos," or "tickets." I think I used the phrase effectively, as I tried to juxtapose the lovely sound of the Romance languages with the sometimes less than pleasant noise of Asian/Chinese languages.
I wanted to use foreign phrases like this in my original piece, and so included some Italian in the train section, when the conductor asks for "bigliettos," or "tickets." I think I used the phrase effectively, as I tried to juxtapose the lovely sound of the Romance languages with the sometimes less than pleasant noise of Asian/Chinese languages.
ISP Blog #5 - Just Desert
This is the first of three short stories I read from the "Gift of Travel" collection, a compilation of short stories about travel, and is probably the best written piece in the collection. It keeps the reader in suspense by strategically placing breaks in the plot line. The author, Andrew Bill, tells the story of his eventful and somewhat dangerous trip through the Sinai Peninsula just after the Camp David Accord was signed transferring power in the region from the Israelis to the Egyptians. We meet Bill as he searches for food in empty towns and emptier five star resorts. He eventually finds a Bedouin who is willing to give him food, and when the nomad tries to offer Bill money to help in his travels, Bill, due to linguistic and cultural differences, misreads the sign language as a demand for payment for the food.
Bill nicely constructs the piece so that the reader comes to a realization about the story, and also about Western society, at the very end of the piece. I didn't want my piece to lead to some greater meaning like this, I just wanted my piece to be an entertaining story about a fantastic trip to Italy.
Bill nicely constructs the piece so that the reader comes to a realization about the story, and also about Western society, at the very end of the piece. I didn't want my piece to lead to some greater meaning like this, I just wanted my piece to be an entertaining story about a fantastic trip to Italy.
ISP Blog #4 - An Embarrassment of Mangoes
Ann Vanderhoof's book, "An Embarrassment of Mangoes," reminded me quite a lot of Scott Griffin's "My Heart is Africa," which I read earlier in the year. Interesting to note that the dates of their respective trips overlapped somewhat, both happening between 1996 and 1999. One of the more distinctive features of Vanderhoof's book is the inclusion of both a seafaring related quotation at the beginning of each chapter, and a local recipe from one of the places mentioned in the chapter at the end of the section. The work could be renamed "An Embarrassment of Mangoes, or, a Caribbean Cook Book, Almanac of General Sailing knowledge, and Excellent Read" without any reworking of the contents.
The book follows Vanderhoof and her husband, Steve, as they sail down from Toronto Harbour to Trinidad and Tobago, and then back again. Her delightful descriptions of local life, food, customs, and people are thoroughly enjoyable to read. From Bahamian women attempting to steal Steve from her, to pounding raw conch in the tiny kitchen of their boat, Vanderhoof's writing is as easy to read as it is to breath. Before you know it, your at the end.
I attempted to make my piece and overall style as much like that of "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" as possible: easy to read, enjoyable, and informative.
The book follows Vanderhoof and her husband, Steve, as they sail down from Toronto Harbour to Trinidad and Tobago, and then back again. Her delightful descriptions of local life, food, customs, and people are thoroughly enjoyable to read. From Bahamian women attempting to steal Steve from her, to pounding raw conch in the tiny kitchen of their boat, Vanderhoof's writing is as easy to read as it is to breath. Before you know it, your at the end.
I attempted to make my piece and overall style as much like that of "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" as possible: easy to read, enjoyable, and informative.
Isp Blog #3 - Journey to the Edge of the World
For those who are familiar with Billy Connolly, they will find this book to be quintessentially "Billy." In a simple yet meaningful style, where each paragraph, sentence, and word adds something to the work, Connolly details his journey through the Canadian Arctic. Lacking his usual barrage of expletives (likely so that his work would be published), the reader gets the sense that Connolly couldn't care less what you think of him or of his book, that he's telling a story he wants to tell, one he thinks should be told. He includes many pictures from throughout the book, as well as little text boxes/bubbles that relate shorter vignettes, add background detail, or just generally give Connolly space to tell a side story he couldn't cover in the main body of his work without detracting from it.
There are two things that I tried to include in my original piece that I took from Connolly: humour, and the detail that Connolly provides in his text bubbles, but in my works main body. I made attempts in some of the sections of my story to give as much historical/cultural detail as possible within the piece, but there's so much to say about Italy that it's impossible to work everything in without turning the work into a history.
There are two things that I tried to include in my original piece that I took from Connolly: humour, and the detail that Connolly provides in his text bubbles, but in my works main body. I made attempts in some of the sections of my story to give as much historical/cultural detail as possible within the piece, but there's so much to say about Italy that it's impossible to work everything in without turning the work into a history.
ISP Blog #2 - Shadows on the Grass
This is a collection of four lengthier "short stories" about Blixen's time in Africa. I read more of Blixen's work because I wanted to know more about her story, respected and enjoyed her writing style, and wanted to see if there were any other aspects of her writing that I could either use or steer away from in my original piece. In the end, there was nothing all that different between the styles of the two works that I read by her, but, as I mentioned before, one can't help but learn something when you read Blixen's works, so it was not a lost experience.
She does take the time here, however, to develop and give background on some of the characters that appear in "Out of Africa." For example, the first episode is about the Somali butler, Farah Aden, who watched over her Kenyan estate. She also describes the Somali section of Nairobi, which she visited with Farah on special occasions, as a guest of honour in his house during Somali weddings or festivals. The content here is perhaps more interesting for our purposes than the writing style.
She does take the time here, however, to develop and give background on some of the characters that appear in "Out of Africa." For example, the first episode is about the Somali butler, Farah Aden, who watched over her Kenyan estate. She also describes the Somali section of Nairobi, which she visited with Farah on special occasions, as a guest of honour in his house during Somali weddings or festivals. The content here is perhaps more interesting for our purposes than the writing style.
ISP Blog #1 - Out of Africa
"Out of Africa" is a collection of four short stories written by Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen about her life running a Kenyan coffee plantation between 1914 and 1931. Turned into the 1985 Academy Award winning film of the same name, this book is a literary classic in my opinion. Although somewhat didactic, which, admittedly, I find enjoyable, Blixen writes in the beautiful style of her era, making many illusions to Greek myths and other religious or mythical figures. She utilizes an enormous and entertaining vocabulary, which always contains the right word for her purpose, although occasionally, especially for modern readers, calls for a trip to the OED. This is definitely not a book for everyone, but if you do read it, you can't help but learn something from this woman's fantastic experiences.
Often, rather than tell you her opinion of a person, she will relate a number of anecdotes about them to you, letting you come to your own conclusions. You get the sense, though, that the conclusion you have reached is the one she wants you to form.
Despite enjoying her writing, I did want to take my style in a different direction from that of Blixen's. This is the reason for the "snapshot" effect in my original piece. It is my attempt to get away from the longer, more intricate, and connected style of writing.
Often, rather than tell you her opinion of a person, she will relate a number of anecdotes about them to you, letting you come to your own conclusions. You get the sense, though, that the conclusion you have reached is the one she wants you to form.
Despite enjoying her writing, I did want to take my style in a different direction from that of Blixen's. This is the reason for the "snapshot" effect in my original piece. It is my attempt to get away from the longer, more intricate, and connected style of writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)