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canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
Four stories united by a growing consciousness of an Asian-American identity. Moving quickly over several generations you see a world changing even if you can't quite believe yet that it's changing for the better.
You see characters struggling under both overt and hidden prejudice in white society but also the fact that the idea of "China" is just as foreign to those who spend their lives in America.
Meanwhile the ending got intensely personal for me even though it wasn't about cultural identity anymore.
The research needed to write about real people in history is deftly woven through and the imagination to fill in the gaps is more than sufficient.
You see characters struggling under both overt and hidden prejudice in white society but also the fact that the idea of "China" is just as foreign to those who spend their lives in America.
Meanwhile the ending got intensely personal for me even though it wasn't about cultural identity anymore.
The research needed to write about real people in history is deftly woven through and the imagination to fill in the gaps is more than sufficient.
caffee's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.25
This made me think, I really enjoyed the different timelines and characters. I was invested in all of them and had to look up the real life characters.
basilkumquat's review against another edition
3.0
At no point in the book was I not painfully aware that I was reading something that simultaneously felt like it was moving nowhere and that it was forced to fit historical characters without much additional development. Although the concept of small vignettes throughout Asian American history drew me to this book, it seemed like the stories were completely unrelated beyond this intent.
meeshsassycat's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful, vivid writing. I enjoyed each of the stories and the different ways they demonstrate what it means to be Chinese or Chinese-American in different times and places. The book articulately evokes important questions about race, racism, and racial identity. Very happy I read this book.
marianne_louise's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
A great distraction from your own life! Fully immersive and well researched context with lots of nods to real life events. An interesting reflection on Asian American identity from 4 different plotlines. I preferred 2 of the stories but thought they were all strong.
cseibs's review against another edition
3.0
A strong start, but I was less thrilled as it wore on. The latter stories felt a little too much like therapy sessions - introspection and angst, but without the narrators interacting with their world much so the stories fell flat. The two earlier stories also seemed to embrace the historical context more than the Vincent Chin story, which ultimately was told from the perspective of the present day, and I think that may have dulled it a bit. I think the historical fiction elements were done extremely well as Davies embodied the voices of these long gone characters extremely well. I just wished we'd seen more of that.
erincataldi's review against another edition
3.0
Davies (The Welsh Girl) deftly weaves together four stories of the Chinese American experience to create a rich tapestry of what it takes to find acceptance in oneself and in one's country. A nineteenth century laundry worker, a Chinese film star, a friend of someone killed in a hate crime, and a half-Chinese man looking to adopt a Chinese baby; tell their stories of life in America and how their "Chinese-ness" has helped defined their American experience. Their stories are all uniquely different, yet uniquely the same; racism, questions of identity, the need for acceptance, the need to be "all-American" surface in all four stories. Raw, witty, honest, and unflinching, The Fortunes manages to capture the heart of growing up Chinese American in this powerful novel. Impressively narrated by the talented, James Chen, who brings an authenticity to the story with his numerous accents and reserved, yet powerful telling of the story. Davies proves that he's a masterful storyteller in this emotionally gripping novel.
jillcaesar's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully-written rumination on Asian-American identity. I liked the first and second stories best ('Gold' is the best-written, while 'Silver' just appealed to me personally). My least favourite was the last story ('Pearl') - I felt ambivalent about the main character and somewhat negatively about his wife. But that's the beauty of this novel, I think - the characters in this book are flawed, realistic human beings. Definitely a book to read if you want to read more about Asian (specifically Chinese) American perspectives.
sakeriver's review against another edition
I’d seen a lot of people recommend this book, and I’m glad I read it. I think as an examination of the history of the Chinese American experience it works well, particularly in thinking about how Chinese American history is American history—and the book is all the more remarkable for having been written by a non-American. I struggled a bit with the character in the fourth section, whose identity at times seems very wrapped up in a desire for proximity to whiteness, even veering toward a certain form of misogyny common among Asian American men (what’s termed “MRAzn”). Though, I also have to admit that my discomfort is at least in part due to recognizing some of the same tendencies from my own younger days. Still, overall I thought it was very well done.