I’m a Lumberack and I can Dance
The story takes place in a mining community and many of the characters are lumberjacks. The narrator fields a rather unique metaphorical perspective on this business of chopping down trees to transform what is natural in a forest into what is unnatural in a city:
“Logging a forest is like dance. The loggers slide past each other, and sharp blades and soft humans and heavy logs jostle for space.”
Virtually Family
There is a very commonly used simile that has become part of the everyday discourse that is sort of like what happens when you use the word “virtually.” That word is intended to convey the sense one thing is practically identical to something else. In reality, saying something is “virtually” something else means that it isn’t that thing all. Replace the simile in this example with virtually and you’ll see there is no absolutely difference: meaning “like family” really only means “not family.”
“Our daughters grew up together. You’re like family. I just want you to know that I will use all my power to you and your family, no matter what.”
Auntie Po
The title character is not technically a character in the story, but rather a figure who appears in a story within the story. She is kind of like a mythic Chinese version of Paul Bunyan. In fact, the narrator describes Auntie Po in metaphorical terms as:
“Auntie Po, the mother of all loggers.”
Auntie Po, Part II
Considering that unlike the narrator and the other major characters in the stories Auntie Po is a larger-than-life fictional creation, it should not be surprising that she is the recipient of more metaphorical description. This mother of all loggers really is Bunyanesque, especially in the way she is physically described:
“Po Pan Yin stood taller than the tallest white pine.”
Racism
The story confronts racism, of course, and often in a very direct way. One of the most effective means, on the other hand, is through the power of the simile. Such as using the comparative quality of “like” to register the difference between a species in which there are no actual substantive differences:
“She’s not like us, Bee. Mei doesn’t have a real future.”
