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PODCAST

Books & Beyond

Books & Beyond is a new podcast that finds good reads for you from a world of fascinating stories, one at a time. The shows will take you to China and other amazing places that might open up new doors in your life. Here at Books & Beyond, we believe our lives are enriched with nourishing reads, no matter where and how old you are. Find your next favorite audio adventure with Books & Beyond, for free.

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All Episodes

8:41

The Mother EP56: Better for all women to be wed

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/19

The young wife never says anything rude and is always careful and courteous in her words. But she does not truly care for her blind sister-in-law, not willingly anyway. Eventually, the elder son joins his wife and suggests that his sister should be wed.

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7:41

The Mother EP55: New masters in the house

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/16

The elder son and his new wife have become masters of the house. They now keep the money and build a new room to live separately from the mother and the blind sister, which embitters the mother's heart. In the meantime, the blind sister also realizes that the new wife wishes to marry her off and leave the home to themselves.

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8:27

The Mother EP54: I like her well enough

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/12

Now the mother moves out from the main room to the straw mat where the old mother used to sleep. The main room is now for her elder son and daughter-in-law. Though she is busy as usual and in charge during the day, she feels old at night while sleeping on the old mat. The young wife does her tasks well and the elder son really likes her. But carefully the daughter-in-law attends to the daily chores in her own ways and the habits in the house are changed gradually, which brings discomfort to the

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7:50

The Mother EP53: The wedding

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/09

The day comes when the maid arrives at the mother's hamlet to be wed to her elder son. It evokes a strange feeling in the mother's heart that she must welcome into her house a new and younger woman, and it reminds her of that day when she herself was wed into this hamlet.

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8:46

The Mother EP52: The gifts that must be given

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/05

This day, the mother goes to her cousin's wife to ask if she knows of any young maid nearby. The good cousin's wife offers to go back to her home village to find one. Eventually, she does find one sharp and clever young woman who's good with sewing. The mother is satisfied to hear this, and without much hesitation she decides to settle with this young maid.

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12:51

The Mother EP51: A burst of anger

Books & Beyond ·

2023/11/02

At the end of summer when it's time for rice harvest, all this hatred that has welled up in the elder son explodes. He beats his younger brother mercilessly, hearing about the mother's wonderful promises to talk the young lad into working in the field while he has asked for nothing for all his own hard work. To pacify the elder son, the mother discloses her plan to find him a wife and has him take the man's place in the house.

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8:37

The Mother EP50: Hidden hatred

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/29

Her oldest son seems so perfect as a child, who shows filial obedience to his mother and never spends time or money on things other than his work. But it's the strangest thing how he bears such strong grudges against his younger brother and would unleash anger at the boy if he slacks off from working in the field. He can see that no matter how hard he works to keep the family safe and together, the mother loves the younger son the best.

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10:23

The Mother EP49: A grown young man

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/26

At the age of 43, the mother is still thin but strong like when she was young. She loves to work in the field, even though her elder son, who is already a grown young man, often asks her to rest and allow him to take over the hard work instead. He comforts his mother by offering to take care of his younger sister, who now has full knowledge of her blindness and walks with her little gong and a stick.

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8:33

The Mother EP48: A prayer to make

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/22

It is hard for the mother to accept that her daughter is blind. She fears that it’s her own sin that has come upon the child. She goes to a temple far away to pray before a goddess and to atone for her sins. That day, the mother is healed of all desires and longing as a woman, and she is young no more.

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3:53

The Mother EP47: A small brass gong

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/19

Without letting the girl know, the mother buys a small brass gong for the girl in secret. The gong comes with a wooden hammer tied to it, so that blind people can strike the gong to warn others that they're blind when they walk on the street. The young girl is content to go home after her first day in town, not knowing that her mother is grieving in silence.

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14:01

The Mother EP46: Aye, she is blind

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/15

In a gloomy morning, the mother rises early and takes her daughter to a pharmacy in town for some balm on the young girl's troubled eyes. Those eyes have never been properly treated all these years. Though the mother has sought help in all the ways she can, she’s told that her girl is blind.

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8:55

The Mother EP45: Where was I for so long?

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/12

When she has wept her heart out, the mother goes home with her daughter, who comes out to find her. With the young girl's loving comfort, the mother feels her maternal instincts stirring again and tends to the needs of her children. Her voice is once again full and peaceful. She is finally herself again.

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5:54

The Mother EP44: Let her weep, poor soul

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/07

The mother lies ill and weak in bed for days after the abortion, and the cousin's kind wife helps her in all the ways she can. She cries with the realization that there is no hope from the landlord's agent, who remains oblivious to all her suffering.

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11:13

The Mother EP43: It would have been a boy

Books & Beyond ·

2023/10/04

There is no other path for her to take. The mother can feel the baby growing inside her and greedily absorbing her life away. She goes to the cousin's wife for help.

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6:03

The Mother EP42: The bad news

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/30

The news of her husband’s death spreads throughout the hamlet. The woman weeps and weeps and knows that she won’t be able to stop until she finishes what she must do.

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5:01

The Mother EP41: I’m now a widow

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/28

In her next fake letter, the mother writes that her husband is dead. With the last bit of hope, she goes to the landlord’s agent to see how he will respond to the news. But it ends up no more than another heavy disappointment.

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6:37

The Mother EP40: Five years gone

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/23

The mother's elder son starts to wonder if his father is dead, and plans to go look for him in town. He sets his heart on finding his father and forces the mother to decide to end her made-up tale once and for all.

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7:53

The Mother EP39: Mid-Autumn day

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/21

The landlord's agent clearly doesn't want to have anything to do with the mother anymore. He won't look at her even when she puts on the jewelry he bought for her. It's the Mid-Autumn day, a time when families gather to celebrate. But for the mother and her children, it’s a day that reminds them of their sense of loss and joylessness.

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7:45

The Mother EP38: An evil seed has been planted

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/16

Months later, the mother's fear comes true. She is pregnant again. She curses that day of the storm and her own foolishness and desire. The landlord's agent, on the other hand, is finished with her. He comes no more throughout that summer and treats the mother the same as everyone else when he comes to collect the grains in autumn.

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12:06

The Mother EP37: Death of the old woman

Books & Beyond ·

2023/09/14

The cold rain comes as a surprise and washes all the heat out of the day. When the mother returns home from her sweet and evil dream, she finds the old mother seriously ill, attacked by the sudden chilliness from the rain. With her own money, the mother buys some fine red cotton cloth and makes the old woman a brand-new shroud before she passes away.

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174 results

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