As the author describes and unravels the family complexities and the dynamic history of both her family and Taiwan, it is at once sad and compelling. When reading the story, I am reminded of how the story lines parallel those of Estonia, who is always under the control of an imperial power or colonist power. Estonia is a small country at the mercy of a Goliath, and also in the past to other conquering colonists.
In reading her story, what strikes me is the sheer insidiousness of these regimes and the way everyday hardworking people are punished and spied on. She describes how the sister of her grandmother was made to suffer under the Chinese communists. Members of her family were sent to labor camps, property was confiscated, and why? Because they were landowners. And probably the most insidious and despicable is the erasure of the history and culture of the conquered people that occurs. As in Estonia and the other SSR states, this was done by a program called “Russification” and these same practices are again evident with the current Ukrainian war, particularly insidious when the children are taken against their will.
While it is an interesting read, the story does get bogged down in the description of the land at times and almost too much information about the history and the area.
The title reminds me of our own Estonians sayings about how 2 and 3 people are a formidable group! However, after having read the entire story, I am still not sure how the story relates to the title. While her narrative is fluid and enjoyable to read, the descriptions of land and nature overtake the family narrative in the story, to the detriment of reading the book in its entirety.
Too much description of land and mountain; historic context is interesting but by Chapter 5, it bogs down the narrative of the family saga.
Finally this book offers an interesting perspective on family, personal history and reconciliation with the past through nature. In our own Estonian lives we are surrounded by these same aspects of life that touch our heart – family, country and nature.
