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Hollow Bamboo : a novel / by Ping, William,author.;
"The hilarious and heartbreaking story of two William Pings in Newfoundland--the lost millennial and the grandfather he knows nothing about. William Ping's millennial life revolves around eating at restaurants, posting online about eating at restaurants, then overanalyzing it. This changes unexpectedly when a dinner with his Chinese girlfriend's family goes sideways and his insecurity about his biracial identity and his ignorance of his own Chinese heritage overflow like lava. During a much-needed break from the dinner table, Will is visited in the men's room by a sarcastic, bullying spirit named Mo. The spirit whisks him into the past to learn about the life of his grandfather, the first William Ping, who emigrated from China to Newfoundland in 1931 to work in a laundry. Based on a true story, Hollow Bamboo recounts with humour and sympathy the often-brutal struggles, and occasional successes, faced by some of the first Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland. It is a journey of heartbreak, sacrifice, brotherhood and family ties. But most of all, it is about love and survival on the Rock. Drawing on elements of magical realism, autofiction and satire, as well as deep historical research, Hollow Bamboo is a fresh and original portrayal of our past and our present, and the debut of an extraordinary new author."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Magic realist fiction.; Novels.; Chinese; Families; Grandfathers; Chinese Canadians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Phoenix Pencil Company [text (large print)] : a novel / by King, Allison,author.;
"Monica Tsai spends her days analyzing data for a new computer program that seeks to connect strangers with the world around them. But one day the very program she's helping to build pings a result for her beloved grandmother Yun's long-estranged cousin: a photograph of two women in Shanghai. One of them, Louise Sun, is a digital archivist who holds keys to Yun's past, and whose gift of a single pencil upends Monica's day-to-day. Monica's discoveries of a hidden family history are exquisitely braided with her grandmother Yun's own memories, recounting her time growing up in the Phoenix Pencil Company in the 1940s. While Japan invades China, Yun's cousin Meng moves in with them-but when the government discovers their family can Reforge a pencil's words, magically reviving the memories they hold, the cousins are separated and forced into a life of betraying stories in order to survive. Combining the cross-generational family saga and epistolary form of Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being with the uplifting magic of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, King's stunningly layered debut novel asks: who owns a story? The answers and secrets that surface on the page have the unerasable power to unite or threaten Monica, Yun, and their most valued relationships for good"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Large print books.; Magic realist fiction.; Novels.; Chinese Americans; Espionage; Families; Family secrets; Intergenerational relations; Magic; Memory; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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