It's interesting that two very similar books were awarded the Newbery two years in a row. Like Tales from the Silver Lands, Shen of the Sea is also a collection of folk tales, only its tales come from China instead of South America. Also like last week's book, these tales were recounted by a man who was not in fact Chinese, just as Charles Finger was not actually from South America. They even both ended their lives in Arkansas. Strange ...Despite their similarities, though, I think I liked Tales from Silver Lands a little better. There was nothing particularly wrong with Shen of the Sea, although the rampant sexism was a little hard to ignore (excessive amounts of wives per husband, comments about women being beheaded for defending their country, that sort of thing).
There was one thing that I found entertaining, though. It seems that parents doting over misbehaving offspring is a universal cultural experience. There are two separate stories in this book in which a father seems oblivious to his son's faults - laziness in one case, extreme naughtiness in the other. The funny thing is, in each case, the child in question is inadvertently responsible for a great invention - either of printing or of gunpowder. It reminds me of all the stories my grandma tells me about my dad, how naughty he was and how much grief he caused them. At the end of the story, no matter how much burning or pillaging is involved, she inevitably sighs and says what a precious little boy he was. He turned out ok, of course - although he hasn't invented something like gunpowder or the printing press. I suppose there's always still time for that.
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