I met Maxine at a post-play party and a few days later, while taking shelter from the pouring rain in the SF public library, this book seemed to jump off the shelf. It was the perfect time in my life to find the book.She was working on the "4th Book of Peace" for years, and then the entire manuscript was burned in the Oakland fires. The first chapter, her description of running through the hills, trying to save her book, is impossible to put down. It's incredibly poignant and I think speaks volumes to me about loss, what is important in life, transitions, letting go. Another section of the book is her attempt at re-creating the "4th Book of Peace," a work of fiction about a family moving to Hawaii to dodge the draft in the 60s. It's incredibly lyrical, lush and beautiful, and incorporates a lot of elements of magical realism. I skipped ahead to the last section, too (so I could read about some of the people I was going to meet at a post-play discussion)--true story about her starting a writing group for war veterans (most of whom had no previous writing experience). Equally riveting. Maxine Hong Kingston can write fiction and non-fiction amazingly well. I love how each of her seemingly disjointed stories fits together in the end in this book. And she tackles relevant issues with grace and a constant tone that invites the reader to explore the depths of her own experience.
Reread this book after years away from it. I so liked The Woman Warrior and this novel/memoir is one fine book, too. Kingston takes readers into the loss of her home in Oakland CA, prey to a huge wildfire. She tries to recover treasured family items, as well as the draft of The Fourth Book of Peace, to little avail. A professor at Berkeley, she finds some comfort in friends and family, but is determined to find the Book of Peace. The next segment traces the journey of the the Ah Sing family (Tana, Wittman and son Mario) from CA to Hawaii to avoid the draft. There they seek peace living a life of giving poverty, art, writing and trying to find ways for Vietnam veterans to find peace. They try to help create sanctuary for soldiers. Results are a mixed bag.The last part tracks Kingston's plan to regularly gather veterans from Vietnam and America - and writers and activists - in CA, NYC and France- to explore ways to let violent pasts go in a positive, helpful way by bonding together in peace and Buddhist meditation. This effort works well for men and women who remained true to the group and its teachings. Maxine Hong Kingston, with her husband Earll Kingston, stay true to their beliefs in firm pacifism.
Do You like book The Fifth Book Of Peace (2004)?
I have stories to tell about this book, which I'll spare for now. But I found this book for $1 on the shelves of a bookstore in the Poconos, bought a few copies, and have dispersed them hence. There's something about the combination of fiction and non-fiction in this particular book, from the story of how Kingston lost the book she was writing in the flames of the Oakland fire that consumed her house to how she was coping with her father's death before that...And I think the way she was able to work with veterans in writing workshops where they explored whatever they felt like exploring was incredible - there was something about this book that really touched me in many ways. I still think that Tripmaster Monkey was her best, and perhaps that's because her fiction glides a bit more than her non-fiction in places, but her writing is top-notch in this book, and its many stories overlap in a way that's altogether compelling.
—Parag
Interesting combination of fiction and memoir from a Berkeley professor who lost her home in the Berkley/Oakland Hills fire in 1991 as well as the book she was writing at the time - "The Fourth Book of Peace". Here she recreates the history of the original 3 books of Peace, the fictional story of the Fourth Book and her experience working for peace as she conducts writing workshops for veterans and incorporates mindfulness meditation, Buddhist traditions and more. The vets' writings based on their varying experiences (mostly Vietnam era) are moving as they confront emotional and psychological wounds, each attempting to reconcile with an inner Peace. It rekindled memories I have of friends and family members who were and may remain scarred by those experiences.
—Maggie
This book just took me in. It starts out with the fire in the Oakland Hills. She is coming home from her father's funeral and finds the hills and her home on fire. she loses the first hundred or so pages of a book she was writing. the middle of the book is her attempt to recreate that story. the rest of the book is about a writing group she begins for veterans of war. It is moving and much of it is what she says about writing, and going deeper and healing. AND she talks about being "Eldest Sister" and what it means in chinese culture. Suddenly, the "lucy" bossy sister person in be fell into place. I AM Eldest Sister. It means something. It felt right and I can't define it. But, I like my bossy self better for it (within moderation...)And I liked reading about how she sees things differently as she gets older. The book just took me in, I was supposed to read it.
—Jenny Shipp
