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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Really hard to follow and the book seemed to drone on and on. Each chapter with multiple views.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
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
Im sure that this book is amazing. I just am not in the mood to read a literary historical fiction novel. I added this book to my tbr years ago when I was in a different reading mood and now that I'm trying to read through my tbr I'm discovering a lot of books I used to want to read just don't vibe with me anymore. I think this is one of those. I'm happy I listened to it 46% of it but I just don't think I can finish it.
GOD!!
ARE YOU JOKING!!
THIS BOOK!!
DONT TEXT.
literally took an extra hour to finish because i couldn’t see the words through my TEARS
ARE YOU JOKING!!
THIS BOOK!!
DONT TEXT.
literally took an extra hour to finish because i couldn’t see the words through my TEARS
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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
This took a while to get into and I do mean a while. Like I think it was over the halfway point where I could finally admit to myself that hey, I am now really interested in what's going on and what's going to happen next. As a result, this also feels like it took me a long time to read. Started it on Friday, it's now Wednesday, so 5 full days (plus some time) for a book that is less than 400 pages. That's ... not like me. Still, though, once I got into it, it was such a beautiful story.
Unpopular opinion but I found Henry and Lily's stories (and their story of their father-daughter relationship) to be even better than Meilin's story (maybe that became obvious though when I said that it took me until over halfway through to connect with the book).
Would I recommend this book? To some people, sure, but not necessarily to everyone. Did I regret getting it from the library and reading it? For a while, I thought that I would, but by the end, no, I don't have any regrets.
Unpopular opinion but I found Henry and Lily's stories (and their story of their father-daughter relationship) to be even better than Meilin's story (maybe that became obvious though when I said that it took me until over halfway through to connect with the book).
Would I recommend this book? To some people, sure, but not necessarily to everyone. Did I regret getting it from the library and reading it? For a while, I thought that I would, but by the end, no, I don't have any regrets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Grief, War
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Death of parent
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Deportation
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
3.5⭐️
I have some truly mixed feelings about this one! Overall, I felt like this was a beautiful and moving intergenerational tale, telling the stories of a mother and a son fleeing for their lives, a son trying to leave his past behind to start anew in a different country, and a daughter desperately wanting to understand her heritage. The story started at such a high for me. I loved the first 100 or so pages, and was quickly immersed in the story. I also found myself connecting easily with the first generation main character, Meilin.
At some point, however, I started becoming a bit bored. While, throughout the entirety of the book, I highly appreciated multiple aspects of discussion — such as, Renshu/Henry’s experiences in adapting to living in the US, leaving his traumatising past behind, and his fears that resulted from this, as well as Lily’s desire to understand her heritage, her struggles as a mixed-race American, and her attempts to find her true calling —, I also found myself struggling with the pacing. Especially the parts focusing on Renshu/Henry and Lily featured many time jumps, causing the story to sometimes feel rushed, but at other times dragging.
The story as a whole was a strong and meaningful one, but because of the pacing issue that I personally experienced, I ended up enjoying the last two thirds of the book less than I expected to. In general, I also felt like Meilin (and also to some extent, Lily) was better developed as a character than Renshu/Henry was, but that could have just been me. Moreover, I would have loved if more historical context had been incorporated in the book. Now, elaborations on WWII and on the Chinese civil wars and the aftermath of these were, as it seemed to me, mentioned fleetingly, even though they played an important role. I personally would have liked to see some more explanations here, so I could have learned more about that as well.
All in all, the story being told was a good one, but my expectations were not fully met because of the issues I had with the pacing, and because I expected more historical background. I will say, though, that I really liked the way the book was wrapped up in the end, providing a nice closure, and that the author’s note was also very interesting to read.
I have some truly mixed feelings about this one! Overall, I felt like this was a beautiful and moving intergenerational tale, telling the stories of a mother and a son fleeing for their lives, a son trying to leave his past behind to start anew in a different country, and a daughter desperately wanting to understand her heritage. The story started at such a high for me. I loved the first 100 or so pages, and was quickly immersed in the story. I also found myself connecting easily with the first generation main character, Meilin.
At some point, however, I started becoming a bit bored. While, throughout the entirety of the book, I highly appreciated multiple aspects of discussion — such as, Renshu/Henry’s experiences in adapting to living in the US, leaving his traumatising past behind, and his fears that resulted from this, as well as Lily’s desire to understand her heritage, her struggles as a mixed-race American, and her attempts to find her true calling —, I also found myself struggling with the pacing. Especially the parts focusing on Renshu/Henry and Lily featured many time jumps, causing the story to sometimes feel rushed, but at other times dragging.
The story as a whole was a strong and meaningful one, but because of the pacing issue that I personally experienced, I ended up enjoying the last two thirds of the book less than I expected to. In general, I also felt like Meilin (and also to some extent, Lily) was better developed as a character than Renshu/Henry was, but that could have just been me. Moreover, I would have loved if more historical context had been incorporated in the book. Now, elaborations on WWII and on the Chinese civil wars and the aftermath of these were, as it seemed to me, mentioned fleetingly, even though they played an important role. I personally would have liked to see some more explanations here, so I could have learned more about that as well.
All in all, the story being told was a good one, but my expectations were not fully met because of the issues I had with the pacing, and because I expected more historical background. I will say, though, that I really liked the way the book was wrapped up in the end, providing a nice closure, and that the author’s note was also very interesting to read.