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literarydumpling's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I had a personal interest in reading this book coming from an Asian background and having seen how family businesses are run. What Li's book does incredibly well is communicate the complicated aspects of family and business.
The lines begin to blur between your own family and the family at a restaurant, as well as the politics between how people decide to move and act.
It's great to see how the book conveys the owners' actions that end up impacting the staff at the restaurant, however not in the sense where it is very obviously A causes B. It's also nice to see how peoples' lives intertwine in the book through their combined working at the Beijing Duck House and how their lives may or may not be defined by their job.
I think the pacing may trip some people up and it may seem like the story is meandering at time, but if you give it the chance and keep going through it, the characters themselves are enough to keep you invested.
The lines begin to blur between your own family and the family at a restaurant, as well as the politics between how people decide to move and act.
It's great to see how the book conveys the owners' actions that end up impacting the staff at the restaurant, however not in the sense where it is very obviously A causes B. It's also nice to see how peoples' lives intertwine in the book through their combined working at the Beijing Duck House and how their lives may or may not be defined by their job.
I think the pacing may trip some people up and it may seem like the story is meandering at time, but if you give it the chance and keep going through it, the characters themselves are enough to keep you invested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism
saskiahill's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It started really well, I was interested in the characters and how their stories wove together. It felt like it lost momentum towards the end and just slowly drew to a close.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Racism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
lauraevelyn's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
ginadapooh's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Alcohol, Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Violence, and Emotional abuse
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