Reviews

The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies

umbreen's review against another edition

4.0

A very interesting read! The structure was unique, and I liked how the four stories were used to form an overall narrative of Chinese American history.

stefanie's review against another edition

5.0

This book contains 4 different tales of Chinese Americans from the gold rush in the 1800s until present day. All of them are beautifully crafted stories of people caught between two cultures and accepted by neither.

ellenkyo's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

iloveswedishchef's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

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

0.5

I cannot emphasize enough how much I disliked this book. The cliches, the self-pity, the "big reveal" on why the book is composed of 4 short stories vs a single cohesive narrative! The only reason I finished this book was for book club or else I would have jumped ship in the middle of Ling's story. Maybe I am not the target audience - I am an Asian American, so I do not see how I am not the target audience - but after I finished the book, I could not help but think, "What in the world was the point?" Elephants are cool?

melanie_reads's review against another edition

3.0

Ehhh. I really wanted to like this book. There is a dearth of literature about the Chinese American experience and this book fills a needed hole in the cannon. I also heard Peter Ho Davies speak at a literary event earlier this year and really enjoyed what he had to say. The stories he chooses to tell are wonderful, I couldn't get enough of them, which is my problem with this book. I felt Davies had a lot in him but took the easy route by getting the ideas to paper and putting them together into one book. Four stories in one book. Was this his publisher's recommendation? Because I kind of want to blame someone for this travesty. I want at least 2 or 3 books out of this book.

One other nit-picky comment related to the second section, Silver, about Anna May Wong. I found the writing style horribly distracting. Once again, if this had been it's own stand-alone book, I don't think it would have bothered me as much. But the short (as in one page or less) chapters with titles just cut the flow of the story for me. And it was particularly noticeable in comparison to the excellent craft of writing Davies displays in the first part of the book.

wynnifer's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

rozereads's review against another edition

hopeful informative 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

3.75

krismcd59's review against another edition

3.0

There’s a bit too much of the MFA workshop about this consciously literary collection of stories about Chinese-American identities and experiences; I prefer the character-driven family sagas of Amy Tan and Lisa See. But Davies is a fine writer and the 4 narratives are braided together in a way that doesn’t sacrifice warmth for cleverness.

lisagray68's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

jeanetterenee's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars