Napoli, Donna Jo. Bound.NAPOLI, Donna Jo. Bound. Simon & Shuster, Athenum. 192p. c2004. 0-689-86175-3. $16.95. J Xing Xing is the daughter of master potter, Wu. With the death of her father, she lives with Stepmother and a half-sister, Wei Ping. Stepmother is hoping to arrange a marriage for Wei Ping, and has bound her feet in order to make her more desirable. The infection that develops means that Xing Xing must seek medical help from a traveling herbalist herb·al·ist n. 1. One who grows, collects, or specializes in the use of herbs, especially medicinal herbs. 2. See herb doctor. . In the process she leaves her village and is allowed to see more of the world than she had imagined. The story is filled with the tradition and culture of the early Chinese. The family lives in a cave and Xing Xing works to keep the household clean and well stocked with Adj. 1. stocked with - furnished with more than enough; "rivers well stocked with fish"; "a well-stocked store" stocked furnished, equipped - provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority); "a furnished apartment"; foods. She befriends a baby raccoon raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. and a beautiful white fish. As she travels with the medical man, she learns about herbal medicines and uses her own ability to read and write to earn her way on a riverboat riv·er·boat n. A boat suitable for use on a river. . Returning home, she helps to heal Wei Ping and finds a secret treasure that her mother had left for her. Taking her treasure and attending the cave festival, Xing Xing again sees the world for herself without family chaperones. The end of the story is the Chinese version of Cinderella, thought by many to be the earliest version of the popular fairy tale fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages . Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof. of English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA |
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