How We Disappeared: LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020

Product Information

Kevin is only twelve, well nearly thirteen and he is going blind. At the opticians he can’t even read the first letter on the chart. He has taken to making recordings of things since he knows his sight is deserting him. The cassette player was a gift from his grandmother. Showing him how to operate it after she had a stroke and told him that she would soon die. Storia della nostra scomparsa di Jing-Jing Lee affronta un pezzo di storia che forse da noi occidentali non è così tanto conosciuto: quello delle donne di conforto in Cina. Era un’adolescente quando fu strappata alla sua famiglia per diventare una “comfort woman”, una delle tante donne che soddisfacevano i bisogni dei militari giapponesi.

Da questo punto di vista quindi Storia della nostra scomparsa di Jing-Jing Lee ha sicuramente il pregio di avermi fatto conoscere qualcosa che non sapevo. E lo stile dell’autrice è sicuramente delicato. Nonostante questo però mi è mancato qualcosa, a livello emotivo. Sherwood, Harriet (18 April 2022). "The God of Small Things to Shuggie Bain: the Queen's jubilee book list". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 May 2022. Fino a quando un giorno non scopre di essere incinta, non si sa di chi. Non si sa di chi tra i tanti. Riesce a scappare, ma poi stremata da tutto smarrisce il figlio. Riesce a fare ritorno dalla sua famiglia, ma resta un’emarginata, un simbolo della vergogna. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Se penso a questi atti orribili sì, mi viene da piangere, mi manca il fiato e sto male. Ma finché leggevo non ero così rapita come mi aspettavo. Ripeto, mi mancava qualcosa.Weaving together two time lines and two very big secrets, this stunning debut opens a window on a little-known period of history, revealing the strength and bravery shown by numerous women in the face of terrible cruelty. Drawing in part on her family's experiences, Jing-Jing Lee has crafted a profoundly moving, unforgettable novel about human resilience, the bonds of family and the courage it takes to confront the past.

Il suo nome è Wang Di. La chiamarono così perché speravano che dopo avrebbero avuto un maschio: “«Wang significa speranza, desiderio di qualcosa. E Di vuol dire fratellino».” Wang Di was so taciturn about the sufferings she had to go through in the military camp. The war pushed a sanguine young lady into the perils of mental strife. The military subjugated all the young ladies in the camp, and they were treated in a servile manner. By her sheer temerity and unremitting nature, she was able to survive all the wanton acts in the camp. By contrast I simply did not like the Kevin chapters to the same extent. They seemed too derivative of other novels and not as well written. His investigations seem to proceed via an odd combination of coincidence and ghostly intervention. Unlike the other boy-detective in the Women’s longlist (Jai) I simply could not see that it worked as a framing device to tell the other story/societal secrets that the author was looking to explore. Although it is difficult to read about such pain and suffering, it is important to remember the stories of these women who have been all but forgotten. I didn’t expect myself to get through this story because I am so affected by real-life violence, but I found myself engrossed in Wang-Di’s story and rooting for her to find peace and solace. The dual time line of Wand Di’s narrative is a story of her past, one that she was not been able to tell even her husband of many years before he dies and her present day struggling to deal with not having told him and wanting to know the secrets of his past as well. A second narrative in the present day is that of twelve year old Kevin who is visually impaired, bullied and trying to follow through with a promise to his grandmother on her deathbed. This was perhaps a little slow at times, but overall it was compelling as I waited to see how Kevin and Wand Di’s paths would cross. Heartbreaking in many ways, but a satisfying ending of to important story.

An important book that is hard reading at times as we learn the story of one woman's life as a 'comfort woman' to the Japanese Army in Singapore during WW2.

A heartbreaking but hopeful story about memory, trauma and ultimately love, 'How We Disappeared' explores the impact of the Japanese invasion of Singapore on the local people, in particular on the hellishly misnamed 'Comfort Women.'"-- New York Times Wang Di determines to find out more about what befell The Old One in the war and what lead to his regular absences on a fixed day each February – something she is sure relates to the wartime fate of his first wife and wider family. Kevin’s grandmother gives what appears to be a garbled confession (mistaking Kevin for his father) – and which seems to relate to her finding of him as a baby. In the year 2000, twelve-year-old Kevin is determined to find out the truth – wherever it might lead – after his grandmother makes a surprising confession on her deathbed, one she never meant Kevin to hear, setting in motion a chain of events he could never have foreseen. E questi sono i capitoli più terribili: più e più volte violata, senza sosta, senza amore, fino a farsi scomparire per sopravvivere: “Di tanto in tanto mi addormentavo, ma poi mi risvegliavo di soprassalto, perché il rumore più assordante era il silenzio delle altre ragazze che erano nelle stanze accanto alla mia e in quelle adiacenti, terrorizzate e in attesa come me.”In the creative hands of Jing-Jing Lee, the rawness and the brutality of the war years in Singapore become a reality for all of us. Once occupied by the British, Singapore became a land seemingly passed from hand to hand always waiting for the boots of strangers to fill the room with echoes of uncertainty. In 1942 Wang Di is seized by the Japanese and forced to be a “comfort woman” for the duration of the war.