Reviews with content warning for War - Peach Blossom Spring

Reviews tagging 'War'

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

74 reviews

ludivinev's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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lindsloveslit's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

I ended up really loving this debut novel, but it took me FOR👏🏽E👏🏽VER👏🏽 to get into it. Y'all? I started it 3️⃣ different times and only made it to page 5-10 the first few times. 🤷🏽‍♀️ That third time was a charm though! The writing was beautiful & so detailed. I loved that the history was shared in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER! 🙌🏽 (so many books I read have jumping timelines that confuse me 😅). There was a strong mix of character development & history, but there was 70 yrs of storyline that sometimes felt overshadowed.

All in all, I really appreciated the book. I always find it fascinating to read about history that hasn't been white washed. History told from the perspective of those it happened to. There's so much power in hearing those stories!

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rereadign's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

(Gelezen als audioboek)

Melissa Fu heeft een prachtig boek geschreven dat alleen maar beter werd naarmate het vorderde. Niet alleen zijn de personages realistisch, je gaat ook van ze houden en met ze mee leven. Daarnaast is de manier waarop zij volksverhalen in haar boek heeft verwerkt prachtig en erg fijn om te lezen.
Bovendien is het een interessant boek om meer te weten te komen over de tweede Chinees Japanse oorlog en de gevolgen daarvan op mensen, zowel op individuel niveau als op de banden met anderen.

Al met al een echte aanrader

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ajmacdougall93's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really heartwarming, even coming from a different background I found the three main characters and their stories relatable.

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lcg527's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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torturedreadersdept's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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chaitai00's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Peach Blossom Spring hit one of my reading sweet spots - the combination of historical fiction and multi-generational family saga. It follows three generations of the Dao family from 1938 to 2005, from China to the United States by way of Taiwan. This was a tumultuous period in Chinese history in which the invasion by Japan, which became subsumed in World War II, coincided with a civil war between the Nationalists and Communists, which eventually led to the Nationalists and their supporters retreating to Taiwan. It was against this background, one of much loss for the family, that we witness Meilin’s struggles to keep herself and her son Renshu safe and to build a future for them. Renshu eventually goes to America to study, marries and has a daughter Lily, becoming known as Henry along the way. I loved the way Chinese folklore was woven into the story and the way that stories and the precious scroll forged a bond between Meilin and Renshu, providing wisdom and comfort during harsh, uncertain times. The title of the novel comes from a famous Chinese fable, one that offers many parallels with this story. I appreciated the book’s explorations of themes like identity, parent-child relationships, roots and migration. I was especially interested in the rift between Lily and Henry over matters of Chinese identity - her need to know more vs his desire to forget and to protect - and how both of them found a measure of contentment after Henry finally felt able to share the family history with her.

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unboxedjack's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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julianh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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