Friday, July 10, 2009

Part 11 - candles and fireworks, and lost geraniums

So I'm back in the US - and made it just in time for this country's Independence Day. I realized I kept almost kept calling the July 4th holiday, 'June 4th' - referring to the Tiananmen Square crackdown, 20 years ago. I had also arrived back in Hong Kong just in time for the 20th anniversary of that, an event marked by the biggest candlelight vigil in 19 years: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/remembering_tiananmen_20_years.html

And so a month later, I'm back in the US, in time for another '4th', this time to be marked with sparklers and bbq, rather than candles and solemnity.

I must admit, I'm feeling rather adrift. much more so than when I was in hong kong. Trying to get my studio back into order wasn't very productive (my unairconditioned space was stifling). But since it's only Tuesday morning, I have the the rest of the week to get super productive....

My section began with Rowan touring the city with Reshevsky, for what seems like a week, although there are no actual details about where they go, leading me to think that maybe our author wasn't that familiar with Manhattan; call her a bridge-and-tunnel writer. And Rowan spends a lot of time agonizing over Matt Cater - specifically wondering about his relationship with her aunt - he seems exclusively bound to the aunt, yet no obvious tokens of affection are exchanged. I do enjoy the nuggets of bizarre information that specifically locate the time and age this text was written, though; Rashevsky explains the aunt's use of Chinese workers, specifically referring to Ah Sing as 'being fresh from the burial of the last Manchu Empress' and the others as 'more recent refuees from the conflict of the two Chinas'. Wonderful stuff!!

Oh, and there is some ridiculous attempt at a marriage proposal from Rashevsky (at Rowan). I'm not sure if this detail will end up being relevant. What is clear though, is that Reshevksy and Matt Cater have a mutual dislike for one another.

And your section looks to be an exciting one. Rowan, in an act of clumsiness, breaks a flowerpot holding geraniums one evening.



This leads to her reluctantly heading downstairs to her aunt's study, where her aunt and Kee are deep in conversation and clearly annoyed to see her. Rowan insists that the geraniums need a new pot immediately, so her aunt directs to her the greenhouse to Ah Sing, something Rowan is not at all keen to do. Kee ends up leading her through the house and yard to the dark greenhouse.... dum dum de dum.... I'm looking forward to finding out what goes down...

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