Milton vs. Helstone- North vs. South

I am currently reading the book North and South.  I watched the BBC mini-series based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, and I fell in love with the storyline.  The story is of a strong-minded young woman who grew up in the wealthier south of England and is forced to move to the industrial north after her father gives up his profession as an Anglican vicar.  Margaret is found guilty of romanticizing the south as she experiences the people and ideals valued by the north.  This story deals with the issues of the day of the Victorian Age, such as the value of education vs. hard work, religion vs. work time, social status vs. relationships, and of course, the north vs. the south.  Margaret begins to see that she has been prejudiced against the north and many of its people.  Eventually, Margaret's eyes are opened to see the beauty of the north and its industry.

I started reading the novel with Matt (see reading buddies below), and I am excited to see how it compares and contrasts to the mini-series.  The ending of the book has a lot to live up to since the end of the mini-series is one of the most perfect endings (in my opinion) of all time.  So far, the book has been very good, and the mini-series appears to have stuck pretty close to the book's plot.  

I am one of those readers who does not like being held responsible for giving away the plot of a book, but I will introduce another character of the book, Mr. Thornton.  Mr. Thornton is the owner of one of the cotton mills of Milton.  At first, Mr. Thornton appears a very hot-tempered, abrasive, and prideful man who was lucky enough to be blessed with such good fortune as to be the master of a cotton mill.  Is Margaret's first instinct about this man correct, or is Margaret simply jumping to conclusions?  Only time and the reading of the novel (or the watching of the mini-series) will tell.  Below are the first two clips of the mini-series, North and South.  Hope you enjoy!

The Lost Voice

"For nine hundred years, Precious Auntie's family had been bonesetters.  That was the tradition.  Her father's customers were mostly men and boys who were crushed in the coal mines and limestone quarries.  He treated other maladies when necessary, but bonesetting was his specialty.  He did not have to go to a special school to be a bone doctor.  He learned from watching his father, and his father learned from his father before him.  That was their inheritance.  They also passed along the secret location for finding the best dragon bones, a place called the Monkey's Jaw.  An ancestor from the time of the Sung Dynasty had found the cave in the deepest ravines of the dry riverbed.  Each generation dug deeper and deeper, with one soft crack in the cave leading to another farther in.  And the secret of the exact location was also a family heirloom, passed from generation to generation, father to son, and in Precious Auntie's time, father to daughter to me."

The Bonesetter's Daughter is a book that has definitely impacted my life.  Tan's book explores the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship across generations, showing that no matter how distant you may feel from each other, there is a connection between the two of you that can never be broken.  Ruth, the main character, and her mother show both a literal and figurative loss of voice in this novel, portraying the silence of the female voice.  

My junior honors English teacher recommended this book to me in high school.  While reading this novel, you are sent on an emotional roller-coaster, connecting you to the book's characters and conflicts on a deep and personal level.  This book has taught me many lessons such as to not judge others and to simply stop and just listen.  Not much can be said about what The Bonesetter's Daughter has taught me without giving too much away, but this book has changed my life.  This book is a favorite of mine, and I hope that it can touch the lives of future readers like it has touched me in my life.  

I am a lover of quotes.  The following are two of my favorite lines from this novel:

"Writing what you wish was the most dangerous form of wishful thinking."
— Amy Tan (The Bonesetter's Daughter)

"That was how dishonesty and betrayal started, not in big lies but in small secrets. "
— Amy Tan (The Bonesetter's Daughter)

Here is a link to a preview of this book.  If you get the chance to read The Bonesetter's Daughter, do not pass the opportunity up.