Good stories give us a welcome break from world troubles
Sometimes we all get tired of hearing the news from the real world — trade wars, political machinations and slowing economies. So, it is great to get immersed in a good long story.
Great stories are not escapism — not a rejection of the world. Actually, they give us a much deeper understanding of humanity than we can get from just looking at daily events. I find that stories written for children or teenagers are often the best.
So, in the past month or so I have turned to three authors who I can highly recommend.
I stayed up late too many nights reading the six novels in K.B. Hoyle’s Gateway Chronicles series. Very ambitiously, the stories are an homage to and retelling of C.S. Lewis’ classic Chronicles of Narnia series. Hard as it is to believe, Hoyle’s version surpasses the original in many ways.
The author, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, is the mother of four sons so she has a bit more realistic view of childhood growth than did Lewis, who was childless and who married only late in life. In the Gateway Chronicles, Darcy, a 13-year-old girl who is pressed by her parents to go to a summer camp in the woods of northern Michigan, discovers a portal to another world.
Over the course of repeated visits to this alternative world, the strength of character of Darcy and her companions are tested in magical, but relatable and meaningful, ways. I especially liked Hoyle’s realistic and worldly but spiritual view of the meaning of good and evil.
These books are a great read for adults. More importantly, any parent of teenagers should be pushing them to put away the video games and discover Hoyle’s deep and engaging tales.
I was also engrossed by the novels of Nigerian-American author, Nnedi Okorafor. Her Binti Trilogy tells the story of an African teenage girl in the distant future who risks everything to leave her traditional upbringing to get a scientific education on a distant planet.
Her human traveling companions are killed by an alien attacker on the way to the university, so she at first looks for revenge. But only comes to understand herself and the universe when she can see the situation from the point of view of the aliens.
Okorafor is also the author of Lagoon, a science fiction novel set in present day Lagos, Nigeria. Aliens choose to land in Africa, rather than in the usual United States or United Kingdom. This novel gives a vivid and, I think, realistic view of life in Nigeria — a much better view than you can get from reading factual treatises.
About a year ago, I had a chance to go to Uganda and Ethiopia for a reporting trip. I was very lucky to see the positive sides of those countries, rather than the problems usually reported in the press. I saw some of million Chinese citizens who are building businesses in Africa and also saw some of the key infrastructure being built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Okorafor’s novels are a great way to begin to understand the potential of the African continent.
Finally, I’ve enjoyed three novels for younger children by China Daily’s own Randy Wright. They recount the adventures of Wang Kaihao, an 8-year-old Chinese boy who lives in the US because his father has a job there. In the first book, Kai & the Kidnappers, Kai rescues the US president from being kidnapped by sneering conspirators within the government. (Okay, that part took me out of my escapism back to the news.) In later books, he saves the International Space Station and finds a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) treasure so it can be returned to China. Published in China, these books include a vocabulary section at the end and should be a great way for kids to learn English. (I’d like to have some simple but engaging books like this to help me learn Chinese.)
Finally, one more good thing. The M Woods Art Museum in the Dongcheng district of Beijing has a large exhibition of the paintings of British artist David Hockney, loaned by the Tate museum in London. His colorful paintings of the Yorkshire landscape are inspiring. I’d love to figure out how to make photos that mimic his work. See it before it closes on Jan 5.
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