Book Review - Young-Ha Kim's Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories

On a recent visit to Powell’s Books in Portland, I was perusing the crime/mystery section and Korean author, Young-Ha Kim’s short story collection, Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories, caught my eye. I like to go opposite with my reading seasons, disturbing in the summer, and light-hearted in the winter. You can’t feel too dark when you’re sunbathing with a Mai Tai in one hand and crime novel in the other!

The collection begins with the title story, Diary of a Murderer. This is the longest story in the collection and it was my favorite for its strong narrative voice and intriguing premise. It follows a former serial killer, who has gotten away with his crimes, but now has Alzheimers. He is cognizant enough of his disease to worry that he might accidentally reveal himself, yet far gone enough to be living in a fantasy world, where he believes that his daughter’s new boyfriend is a fellow serial killer. His daughter is also a secret that he keeps, as he adopted the girl when she was a child, kidnapping her after killing her mother. His unreliable memory forces him to walk on egg shells. This serial killer who has caused so many people fear, now fears himself. It’s a great story idea and Kim does a fantastic job at keeping the tension. I felt both disgust and empathy towards the main character. He is a great anti-hero.

The second story in the collection is called, The Origin of Life. This story details a love triangle, where a woman in an abusive relationship manipulates her childhood friend to help her. I felt this was the weakest story in the collection, although Kim’s writing is so skilled, that it still kept my interest.

Missing Child explores the idea of a kidnapped child being returned to his parents after many years. The son is now a preteen and he is not the boy that his parents imagined that he would become. Would he have been like this all along? Or did the nurture part of the upbringing that he had with his kidnapper, over take the nature, the biology from his parents? What happens when your missing child is returned and it is not the happy occasion that you imagined? This story was fascinating and intensely emotional. The lives of the characters are utterly destroyed from one incident. The theme of child abduction is also carried over from Diary of a Murder, making these two stories solid companion pieces.

The last story is The Writer, about a novelist with mental health issues. The novelist is an unreliable narrator who is spiraling out of control, imagining a torrid relationship with the ex-wife of his would-be publisher. This is also a great companion to the title story, as both deal with unreliable narrators and mental health.

Kim is a new-to-me writer discovery. I enjoyed the intensity of his stories and surprising story arcs. He crafts vivid, emotionally wrought characters that I will not soon forget. I highly recommend Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories.

Portland's International Rose Test Garden

Last week, I had the joy of visiting Portland’s International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. Although we lived in Portland for a year and have visited many times since, the International Rose Test Garden was a place that I not seen. It did not come without some effort.

I took the Max train from downtown to Washington Park. The Max is a convenient and inexpensive way to tour the Portland metro area. The trip took less than fifteen minutes each way and only cost five dollars round trip. A bargain!

I arrived at 7:30 in the morning. The garden opened at sunrise, so I was actually not early. However, as the garden is two miles from the Max station, I had been counting on taking a free shuttle that stops at the major sites of Washington Park. Other attractions in Washington Park include: the zoo, arboretum, children’s museum, a war monument, a forestry museum, and a Japanese garden. These is a lot to see! I had failed to check the operating times for the shuttle and learned that it didn’t start running until 8:30.

I was not going to stand around until 8:30, so I started walking.

My walk took me through winding roads and hiking trails. I was alone for most of it, including the wooded areas. It was both peaceful and unsettling. These was no one around! I saw about fifty wild rabbits and an enormous water cistern covered in graffiti. I crossed train tracks and bridges. I applauded my sensible decision to wear athletic shoes, rather than sandals. I’m not a morning person and this was quite an early morning adventure!

I also got super sweaty and decided that it was a good idea to take a selfie in the woods. At this moment, as I’m writing this post, I’m thinking that it is sensible to share this photo with my readers. I will probably regret this. I’m a hot mess.

Shortly before reaching the Rose Garden, I encountered The Elephant House, which is now a picnic area made out of the elephant barn from the original zoo. The Elephant House has delightful animal art.

About forty minutes after beginning my walk, I reached the International Rose Test Garden. Entrance to the gardens is free and it was jammed with visitors. A fascinating fact about the garden, is it was founded during WW1, because people were worried that varieties of roses in Europe would be destroyed in the bombings. Rose afficianados sent roses from Europe to be cultivated and preserved in Portland.

The garden is amazing and magical. It was just like stepping into the pages of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I’m fairly certain that I visited at the very best time of the year, as all of the rose bushes were in full bloom. I was there just a week after Portland’s annual Rose Festival, which includes a parade and fair in downtown. The vibrant colors and sweet fragrance overwhelmed my senses. I was in awe at the spectacle. I had no idea that there were so many varieties of roses. Simply stunning.

Every year, a queen is chosen for the Rose Festival. The garden has a “Queens Walk” which features paving stones, each with the name of a former rose queen and the year that she reigned. It’s a lovely tribute to a Portland tradition.

The garden also has a modern geometric sculpture with a water feature.Kids were splashing in the water. The entrance to the garden has a bronze statue of a man that is named The Royal Rosarian. It was created by artist Bill Bane.

Portland usually has wet and gloomy weather, however the summers are glorious. This particular day was on track to beat heat records. I love extremely hot weather, but I was melting. To refresh myself, I purchased a bottle of Fentimans’ Rose Lemonade at the garden gift shop. It was the yummiest lemonade that I have ever tasted.

I spent about an hour in the garden. If you want to maximize your time and see another amazing garden, you can also do the Japanese Gardens, which are located just feet from the International Rose Test Garden. The Japanese Gardens do have an entrance fee, but it is absolutely stunning and worth paying to experience. Check out my trip report from the Japanese Gardens here.

Luckily, by the time I was ready to leave, the shuttle was running. Two miles is not a long walk, but with the heat, I didn’t want to do it twice!

Movie Review - All is True

All is True follows the final years of William Shakespeares’ life. Shortly after his theater burns down in London, Shakespeare (Kenneth Branagh) returns to his family life in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he reignites his relationship with his wife, Anne (Judi Dench) and advises the relationships of his two adult daughters. Moving back home brings back old demons, such as the guilt that he feels over the death of his young son, which occurred many years ago, while Shakespeare was away from his family.

All is True is a fascinating, affecting, and surprising story about the most famous writer in history. The surprising aspect comes from how the film focuses on ordinary life. Shakespeare was very famous in his day, but when he returns to his hometown, people do not treat him as a celebrity. If anything, he gets a standoffish vibe from those who do not understand how he could leave his family or those who might think that the theatre is an unfit profession. He is not valued by many of the townsfolk, who tend to be very religious and work in trade. Shakespeare doesn’t flaunt his fame, as he has returned home to focus on his family. He even takes on the task of creating a garden. He returns to a rather mundane and ordinary life.

Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet died at age eleven, while Shakespeare was working in London. Shakespeare never got over the death of his beloved son and felt a tremendous amount of not only grief, but guilt at having missed the funeral. Shakespeare was told that Hamnet died from the plague, but when he returns home, the truth of Hamnet’s death is finally revealed. I don’t want to spoil it in this review., but I felt it was the heart of the story. The reason for the death and the trauma that reverberates throughout the entire Shakespeare family is the central drama of All is True. It deals with themes beyond grief, also speaking to the idea of talent, sexism, and favoritism.

Shakespeare’s talent and words have stood the test of time, yet it is revealed that he was not a scholar. He did not come from an educated background and was not wealthy. He was very much a self-made man. His wife is also uneducated and could not even sign her name on their marriage certificate. A sweet moment comes when Anne learns to write her name and as a surprise for her husband, she replaces the penmark on their marriage certificate with her signature.

The film makes clear that Shakespeare felt a tremendous purpose in his calling to work in the theatre, yet he was conflicted, because it meant that he could not be present as a husband and father. All is True shows him desperate to make sure that his family is set up for the future, including worrying about inheritances for his daughters. His daughter Susanna (Lydia Wilson) is married to a local minister, who has a very rigid morality code. His daughter Judith (Kathryn Wilder) has resisted marriage, until finally becoming romantically involved with a scandalous man who has impregnated another woman in town. The two daughters could not be living different lives. Shakespeare is concerned that his daughters are both happy and that their financial futures are secure, an idea of great importance, as women of the era were exempt from inheritances and Shakespeare did not have any male heirs.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding performances from this renowned cast. Branagh was unrecognizable as Shakespeare, as he completely melted into the role. The real standout with a truly meaty role goes to Wilder, as daughter Judith. Judith is a woman in immense pain and she suffers from both the decisions of her past and the uncertainty of her future. She’s also a bit of a rebel and the most engaging character.

All is True is a beautiful and emotional film. Well worth seeing!