    
Bayou Lights
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 | | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 01:01 am: | |
Folks--
(Hope this post finds you all well)
Last week I finished reading "The Samurai's Daughter" by Sujata Massey. Ms. Massey writes a mystery series about a Japanese-American antiques dealer. Most of the novels have been set in Tokyo but with her last two she brought the character back to the US. (One in DC, another in San Francisco)
Samurai was based largely in San Francisco, a fairly cosmopolitan city, yet there was not a single AA character in the entire book. Not one, not on the street, in a store, etc... It threw me off so thoroughly that it kept me from fully engaging in the story. The books are lightweight, quick-reads so I never expect more than a little diversion from the tasks at hand, but for some reason. . .
My question, have you ever been thrown out of a story because of a similar reading experience? On the other hand, it bothers me not one bit if I read an AA novel made up entirely of AA characters. Can't explain the double standard or why it seemed to stick out so much with this particular book.
I'm in the middle of "Poachers" (short stories) by Tom Franklin and I've yet to encounter an AA character but it has not distracted from the reading experience at all. In "Poachers" it feels true to the situation, locale and characters (maybe I answered my own question, huh) but once in awhile the absence of color/variety distracts from a book and keeps it from being fully realized.
Any agreements, disagreements, thoughts?
Bayou |