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devirnis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, and Racism
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Suicide
mshusky's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
2.5
I got this book as it was touted to be a Canadian literary work, an award winning novel. I had read the Jade Peony (also set in Vancouver) and was hoping for something similar.
This was the audio book, so maybe I needed to read the printed work as the narrator did not differentiate between the characters and I ended up having to jot down some of who the characters were as the story seemed to cover 5 generations of a Chinese family, and as it jumped randomly between the generations it was incredibly difficult to work out where in the story you were.
It was inconsistantly written, sometimes it was the literary work I was expecting, and then it was like reading a bizarre contemporary page turner. As for the incest plotline - what was the point of that?
This was the audio book, so maybe I needed to read the printed work as the narrator did not differentiate between the characters and I ended up having to jot down some of who the characters were as the story seemed to cover 5 generations of a Chinese family, and as it jumped randomly between the generations it was incredibly difficult to work out where in the story you were.
It was inconsistantly written, sometimes it was the literary work I was expecting, and then it was like reading a bizarre contemporary page turner. As for the incest plotline - what was the point of that?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
raptorq's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Suicide
drawmeabookreview's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
frogknitting's review against another edition
2.0
This was not good. It isn't a book to listen to, and there are too many names to keep up with. I did like the prologue, but it was not a book to mindlessly listen to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Sexual content
marcella's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A sweeping generational epic! I had trouble keeping track of family relationships in the audiobook, and it only got trickier as the family drama unravelled. There were also some interesting literary things about embodying previous generations by living through their stories, but it was a bit dizzying to follow who was narrating near the end. Also, after the second time, it became predictable that every single dramatic reveal and secret kept in this book was about incest . Bleh.
The characters were well-fleshed out; a common thread among them was an utter unwillingness to share their true motives and feelings with each other. There seemed to be so much weight on family expectations and tradition that honesty would weaken one's position. It was a bit sad to me, so different from my own family dynamic, but I think the way it was written so pervasively through the generations, even as each subsequent generation tried to shake it off, had a powerful effect.
Mixed take on this one. Would not recommend on audio, but I did get value from it.
The characters were well-fleshed out; a common thread among them was an utter unwillingness to share their true motives and feelings with each other. There seemed to be so much weight on family expectations and tradition that honesty would weaken one's position. It was a bit sad to me, so different from my own family dynamic, but I think the way it was written so pervasively through the generations, even as each subsequent generation tried to shake it off, had a powerful effect.
Mixed take on this one. Would not recommend on audio, but I did get value from it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
gladiolus17's review against another edition
The premise and lovely language drew me in, but the lack of direction in the plot made me put it down.
The sudden murder mystery through me through a loop. I don’t mind it, but I wasn’t expecting it and it wasn’t foreshadowed.
As well, I went into this book blind, and when the incest started happening, I had to put it down. That’s not something I can handle.
As well, I went into this book blind, and when the incest started happening, I had to put it down. That’s not something I can handle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Racism
danajoy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Excrement
kierscrivener's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An intergenerational tale of a Chinese Canadian family from 1892 to 1987, five generations of miscommunication, racism, immigration, misogyny and family secrets and tragedy.
It has parallels to One Hundred Years of Solitude a novel that I hated right down to the incest, but the absence of rape and the incest being a result of miscommunication and affairs, the sisters not knowing that the men they met were half brothers and their parents refusing to tell them the truth even after they enter romantic relationships with them made a plot line that normally disgusts me a thematic exploration. I understand why it existed and what she was trying to utilize through including it, and outside of the ickiness of Morgan when he was older I think it was handled with care and not the dangerous tropes that can so often exist whenever incest is present.
Lee as a female author focuses on the matriarchs of the family and the daughters, highlighting the misogyny and critiquing it and the racism and anti-immigration laws in Canada.
Overall, it was a compelling, thought provoking important book that reads like modern books in the vein of Everything I Never Told You, City of Girls, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, or The Vanishing Half despite being published in 1990. I do think that a reread could tighten up the plot for me as it was balancing five generations back and forth, but I found it generally easy to attach and interesting and Sky Lee told a story that were underheard in 1990 and now.
Content Warnings: incest, racism, anti-immigration, abuse of Asian workers, misogyny, affairs, miscarriage, death of children, adult-minor relationship, teen pregnancy, Asian and Indigenous slurs and probably some I am blanking on
It has parallels to One Hundred Years of Solitude a novel that I hated right down to the incest, but the absence of rape and the incest being a result of miscommunication and affairs, the sisters not knowing that the men they met were half brothers and their parents refusing to tell them the truth even after they enter romantic relationships with them made a plot line that normally disgusts me a thematic exploration. I understand why it existed and what she was trying to utilize through including it, and outside of the ickiness of Morgan when he was older I think it was handled with care and not the dangerous tropes that can so often exist whenever incest is present.
Lee as a female author focuses on the matriarchs of the family and the daughters, highlighting the misogyny and critiquing it and the racism and anti-immigration laws in Canada.
Overall, it was a compelling, thought provoking important book that reads like modern books in the vein of Everything I Never Told You, City of Girls, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, or The Vanishing Half despite being published in 1990. I do think that a reread could tighten up the plot for me as it was balancing five generations back and forth, but I found it generally easy to attach and interesting and Sky Lee told a story that were underheard in 1990 and now.
Content Warnings: incest, racism, anti-immigration, abuse of Asian workers, misogyny, affairs, miscarriage, death of children, adult-minor relationship, teen pregnancy, Asian and Indigenous slurs and probably some I am blanking on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
kayjay34's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Why was there so much unchallenged and celebrated incest?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Suicide