Two Trees Make a Forest

June 1, 2020
A family memoir that incorporates elements of environmental and colonial history and celebrates the subtleties of language. Lee, a Berlin-based British Canadian Taiwanese author, began her journey and historical excavation after discovering her grandfather's attempts at an autobiography, "just a series of fragments, circled and repeated--pieces of his life told to no one before, pressed to paper, and perhaps forgotten by him soon after writing." The author grew up in Canada with her mother and grandparents, all of whom had relocated there from Taiwan. After she found her grandfather's letters, written when the "Chinese Communist Party was formed," Lee became increasingly drawn to the island that she had visited as a baby but never considered a significant part of her identity. This elegiac book, which smoothly incorporates historical and travel threads, was born from the desire to embrace her heritage. With a doctorate in environmental history and an impressive grasp of botany and geology, Lee takes readers on a fascinating tour of the island and its past. Settled by the Dutch and Spanish, and then Chinese, in the 17th century, it was transferred to Japan in 1895 following the First Sino-Japanese War, and then back to China after World Wari II. Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party retreated there in 1949, and Lee's grandparents arrived separately shortly thereafter. On the author's engrossing tour, we are introduced to a landscape that is filled with colorful flora and fauna but is also subject to earthquakes, mudslides, and typhoons, all of which Lee describes in often poetic language--e.g., "the otherworld of the earthquake lake is a blackened shroud, but the quarter-mooned sky stretches light forever." Chronicling her adventures in the mountains and along the shores, she comments insightfully on contemporary issues of politics, prejudice, and pollution as well as her efforts to master the language and bond with long-lost relatives. A beautiful and personal view of an island--and an author--shaped by environment and history.

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July 1, 2020

In this latest work, Lee (Turning) offers a touching memoir-cum-travelog that connects the physical environment and history of Taiwan to the story of her family. As a child growing up in Canada, Lee was not very familiar with the maternal Chinese/Taiwanese side of her family. Her window into that world was visits to her grandparents' home where she communicated with them in limited Mandarin. The death of her grandfather sparked an interest to learn about their lives, and to gain a better understanding of her identity. Her grandfather's letters, discussions with her grandmother and mother, as well as a sojourn to Taiwan helped her put together some of the pieces. This book alternates between various time lines, telling the story of her grandparents' lives from China to Taiwan to Canada, while also describing the author's exploration of the flora and fauna of Taiwan's mountains and coasts. VERDICT A poignant and beautifully written account of family, time, and place. Readers of Rowan Hisayo Buchanan's Go Home!, which discusses home and belonging from the perspective of the Asian diaspora, or Anna Sherman's The Bells of Old Tokyo, which explores a place alternately in the present and the past, will also enjoy.--Joshua Wallace, Tarleton State Univ. Lib. Stephenville, TX

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