Page 6 January 18, 2018 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Entertainment
Check It Out
The Fascinating History in
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
Book Review by Roz Templin, Library
Assistant, El Segundo Public Library
Fans of historical fiction may want to investigate
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
by Jamie Ford, the author of previous best
sellers Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and
Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost. Not only
do you get a sense of what the early 20th
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford.
century was like in Seattle, but you also are
treated to glimpses of the World’s Fair in
that city at that time and also its reprise in
1962. There are also peeks at what life was
like in China during the early 1900s and
the forgotten commerce in human bondage,
benefitting employers in America decades
after our own civil war.
The story opens as Ernest Young, in
his early sixties, remembers his childhood
in poverty in China, which provoked subsequent
travel by ship to the United States.
He is ripped away from his mother, who
only yearns for a better life for her son.
Ernest witnesses as well as endures hardship
and horrors during his journey. Landing
in the northwest of the U.S., he grows up
in a series of charity homes and schools only
to be auctioned off at the age of 12 at the
1909 Seattle World’s Fair. Despite all the
previous years of insults and being ostracized
by his peers, this ultimate in humiliation of
being sold to a winning ticket-holder truly
changes his life. He finds a “family” in a
most unusual setting while finding true love
there too.
In the tale’s present day of 1962, Ernest is
unsure whether to reveal the secrets kept from
his grown daughters and those memories he
finds difficult to face himself. His wife Gracie
is ill and suffering from a form of dementia
and currently lives with his reporter daughter
Ju-Ju. It is because of Ju-Ju’s attempts at
getting a story for a newspaper assignment
that Ernest decides to reflect upon his past.
A prominent character in the book proclaims
that “…the best, worst, happiest, saddest,
scariest and most memorable moments are
all connected.” Ernest discovers during his
reminiscences that this statement holds true
and may cause the reader to ponder how that
may impact his or her own life.
Author Jamie Ford is of Chinese descent
and writes about his own experience -- he
grew up in the Seattle area and is descended
from Chinese mining pioneer Min Chung,
who later adopted the name of William Ford.
His great grandmother, Loy Lee Ford, was
the first Chinese woman to own property in
Nevada. In an interview with the Sacramento
Bee, Ford explains his inspiration for this
book: “I found it in a newspaper clipping,”
he said. “That first World’s Fair had all these
oddities. In the newspaper story, the mention
of the boy was a throwaway line right before
‘cotton candy was invented.’ At the fair, they
gave away something every day. One day, it
was a milking cow. Another, it was copper
ingots. Then on Washington Children’s Day,
they gave away a child -- an orphan from
the Washington Receiving Home.” Ford also
stated in an interview that he “feel[s] like
an archaeologist, dusting off the past and
presenting it to the reader.”
To check out Love and Other Consolation
Prizes, or to browse the library’s collection,
please visit us to apply for your free
library card. •
Roz Templin.
Film Review
Celebrating a New Year in Cinema as the
2018 Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off
By Morgan Rojas
for www.cinemacy.com
Today marks the official start of the
2018 Sundance Film Festival, and Cinemacy
is so excited to be returning to Park City,
UT to cover the best of the fest from start
to finish.
The forecast predicts snow, and the lineup
predicts over 100 innovative and groundbreaking
independent films from all over
the globe. Founded by Robert Redford in
1978, the Sundance Film Festival is a cultural
taste-making event that sets the tone for the
coming year in indie film. Some of last year’s
notable gems that went on to box office and
critical acclaim include Call Me By Your Name,
The Big Sick and Mudbound. And although
the ink is not yet dry on Cinemacy’s film
festival schedule -- there are more events,
panels and performances to attend than there
are hours in the day -- we have narrowed
down some of our most anticipated events.
It is undeniable that female artists are shaping
the film industry at this very moment,
creating a platform and a call to action for
equality and respect. The result is a major
societal and revolutionary revamping of the
system. That is why this year in particular,
it feels extremely important to highlight
the contributions and impact that women
have made in cinema. It is with delighted
anticipation that Sundance is hosting various
discussions highlighting these current events
with universally inspiring women, including
Ava DuVernay, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Joan Jett, Octavia Spencer, and so many
more. There will be conversations based on
how storytellers transform not only the arts,
but society at large and how the stories we
tell will shape our future.
As a whole the biggest draw of the festival
may be the films, but Sundance also
caters to the music-driven crowd with the
inclusion of various pop-up performances
and lounges. The ASCAP Music Café is
a great place to regroup after spending the
day in the snow or a theatre, and this year
it celebrates its 20th anniversary with an
impressive lineup. Brett Dennen and Ethan
Gruska are just a couple of the artists set to
perform, spotlighting music’s essential role in
the art of filmmaking. And in keeping with
the theme of music, another scheduled event
is the “Scoring for Sundance” panel, which
gives the opportunity to hear from various
composers as they discuss the art of music
over a hot cup of coffee.
When all is said and done, however, it
is the films that inspire us most. Out of
13,468 submissions, 110 feature-length
films were selected to screen at this year’s
festival. What is Cinemacy most looking
forward to? For starters, covering
master filmmaker Gus Van Sant’s drama
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot
starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill and
Rooney Mara; cinematographer-turneddirector
Reed Morano’s sci-fi feature I Think
We’re Alone Now starring Peter Dinklage
and Elle Fanning; and the sensitive drama
Burden starring Garrett Hedlund, Andrea
Riseborough and Forest Whitaker.
Follow Cinemacy along on our journey
to Sundance and beyond on Instagram (@
cinemacy) and Facebook (@cinemacyspeaks)
to get an insider’s look at all the happenings
at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. •
Morgan and Ryan Rojas at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Morgan Rojas.
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