The Happiness of Kati - Softcover

Jane Vejjajiva; Prudence Borthwick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1741147530 ISBN 13: 9781741147537

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Childrens Books, 2006

Synopsis

Every morning Kati is woken by the clatter of Grandma's spatula and pan and every night she goes to bed wishing for her mother. Like the canal that flows past her door, Kati's life has a gentle rhythm. But beneath the peaceful surface runs an undercurrent of mystery. Why has Mother stayed away for so long and where is the father Kati has never known? These questions take Kati on an unforgettable journey from the old fashioned house on the canal to a bungalow by the sea and an apartment in the big city.

About this title

About the Author

Jane Vejjajiva was born in 1963 in London. She returned to Thailand at the age of three. Having cerebral palsy from birth limits her movements and books opened to her an imaginary world. After completing a BA with Honours and further studies in translation, she started her career as a magazine publisher before setting up her own company editing a magazine for children in 1995. She now runs the Silkroad Publishers agency and continues to work as a freelance translator and interpreter. The Happiness of Kati is her first novel and was first published in Thailand in December 2003.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Nine-year-old Kati lives an idyllic life with her grandparents in their ancestral home by a river in present-day Thailand. Grandma and Grandpa, though loving, are solemn and sad, carrying a secret burden hinted at in chapter subheadings: Kati's mother left her with them years before. Suddenly the child is asked if she wants to see her, and she decides to go to the house by the sea where her mother, a corporate lawyer, is dying from ALS. Kati learns all about the disease from her mother's friends Uncle Kunn and Aunt Da, who will stay with Pat until her death. Before that happens, Kati and Mother have the chance to renew their relationship; Kati learns the circumstances of her birth and early years. But all too soon Mother succumbs to her illness and, following her death, her cousin introduces Kati to many details of her mother's life. She is then given another choice, whether or not to make contact with her father, and she cleverly resolves her conflict. The author uses vivid description to bring the setting and culture to life, and characters are well drawn. While issues of parental responsibility and death with dignity are central to the story, the focus remains on Kati and her responses to what is going on around her. Although there are occasional lapses in the narrative, and message and melodrama sometimes intrude, this is a solid story enhanced by a unique sense of place.–Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Allen & Unwin Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1741147530
• ISBN 13: 9781741147537
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120