'One Hundred and One Ways' by Mako Yoshikawa

I was browsing books at a local Oxfam shop earlier this summer and picked up one novel that turned out to be a real treasure. I had not heard of Mako Yoshikawa before, yet now I am a fan. Mako Yoshikawa's first novel 'One Hundred and One Ways' is a must read. It

was published by Bantam in 1999. A national bestseller in the States, it has been translated into six languages, including German, Swedish, and Hebrew.

Yoshikawa herself has an interesting life that has inspired her novels. She was born and raised in Princeton, NJ, spent two years of her childhood in Tokyo. She has also lived in England, France, Switzerland, and New Zealand. She attended Columbia University, received a Masters in Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama at Lincoln College, Oxford, and has a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Active as a scholar as well as a novelist, she has published articles on incest and race.

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Here is the author's website for more information:

http://www.makoyoshikawa.com/

Friendly and tropical Taiwan

Taiwan is a beautiful country with green mountains, stunning coastline and clear blue lakes. It is a small island, but its richness in culture and natural resources is far from minimal. As soon as one leaves the cities, one is surrounded by fresh air and thousands of different kinds of plants and wild animals.

The cities hold millions of inhabitants, yet they are extremely well structured and going from one place to another couldn't be easier. High-speed metro takes you from one end of the city to another in no time. And public transportation is very clean. There is no litter anywhere; even the floors of the bus and metro look spotless. Perhaps the rule of not being allowed to eat or drink in the public transportation system is causing this.

What adds to the pleasant atmosphere of the island is its people. Everyone is very friendly, welcoming and genuinely happy to see visitors. I feel respected and appreciated. As they say, first impressions are important and I agree - the welcome I got on broad EVA Airlines (the national airline of Taiwan) gave me initial taste of how friendly people would be once I reached my destination. Even my research project is received with gratitude and I get a much greater number of participants for my project here than I got back in London.

Perhaps the spiritual aspect of the society is helping people to stay positive. The majority in Taiwan are Buddhist and most houses have a shrine with incense, candles and offerings for their Gods and Masters. Temples are scattered all around cities and villages. Spirituality seems to be an integral part of everyone's life to a greater or lesser extent. Personally, I feel very calm and inspired by the music that locals play at their temples and as part of spiritual worship.

For photos on Taiwan, please see:

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=taiwan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=1MiFTNP-Mo2avAOs4OzRCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CEQQsAQwAw&biw=1057&bih=631