Radiance by Shaena Lambertⁱ  – Reviewed by Dr. Janna Nadler

Radiance, an award-winning first novel by Canadian author, Shaena Lambert, is hauntingly beautiful.  The story is set in 1952 and tells the story of Keiko, a “Hiroshima Maiden� who has been brought to New York to be a spokesperson for the ban-the-bomb movement.  In exchange, Keiko receives cosmetic surgery to repair the scar on her face caused by the bomb blast.

Lambert delves into the world of women’s fashion and hairstyles of the 1950s, plastic surgery, post-war trauma and malaise, and Japanese creation myths and folk tales (to name a few).  She also injects the book with a fairy-tale quality, describing Keiko as “a Cinderella ash child, someone the Project hoped to lift to grace� (Lambert 42). 

What the reader discovers is that Keiko is far more complex and elusive than anyone expects.  She is interesting, sly, and brilliant — “As though by making herself the currency of air, she could become what every person wanted, and thus escape themâ€� (Lambert 210).

Keiko’s story, in itself, is intriguing; however, Lambert adds even more nuance to this story by presenting much of it from another character’s – Daisy’s – perspective.  Keiko is billeted with Daisy and Walter, a childless couple living in Riverside Meadows.  It is through Daisy that Lambert offers us a fascinating picture of a 1950s New York suburb, complete with a cast of desperate housewives – all of whom are dealing with their simultaneous fascination and fear of the “Hiroshima Maiden� in their midst.  

Bubbling under the surface of these “normalâ€� suburban lives — the pool parties and backyard picnics — secrets are exposed and tensions are brought to the fore:  “the women were all quietly going mad behind their gingham curtainsâ€� (Lambert 205).  Lambert’s portrait of Riverside Meadows and its residents is utterly superb.

So, as you count down the days until the next episode of Desperate Housewives, may I recommend countering your guilty pleasure with some fine literature?  In Radiance, the reader will find an evocation of 1950s desperation which is beyond compare – and a dash of Good Housekeeping for good measure!

~~~

Dr. Janna Nadler has a B.Ed. and a Ph.D. in English Literature.  She is the Director of BOOK CLUBS BY JANNA and lectures widely for Book Clubs in the GTA.
info@bookclubsbyjanna.com * www.bookclubsbyjanna.com

i Published by Random House Canada, Canada, February 2007.

Blunders is an excellent board game to teach children manners at home or in the classroom.

In the game, members of the Blunder family (that’s your child and other participating players), learn their manners as they make their way around the board and try to be the first to win an invitation to a pool party extravaganza at the Mannerlys. Each player is able to move ahead when s/he answers or acts out a manners scenerio from a card correctly. And yes, it is fun (kid, parent and grandparent approved)!

This interactive manners game takes players through school etiquette, telephone manners, respect and kindness, confident introductions, host and guest skills, table manners and honesty and responsibility.

Blunders is an award winning game for two or more players. It is recommended for ages 5 and up. It is available at www.mastermindtoys.com.

Find out more at: www.blundersmania.com.