Reviews

Footprints by Janice Y.K. Lee

threegoodrats's review against another edition

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5.0

My review is here.

oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition

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An intriguing book about shallow people who either find and embrace their hidden depths, or... waste away.

I think this is more complicated than it appears to be; no one here behaves with nobility or heroism. Just people trying to make the best of the hands they'd been dealt (or failing to change the hands they'd been dealt, or sometimes making them worse).

I did like Claire, as flawed as she was, and as cruel and naive, there was still something... admirable? or endearing about her interior struggles, her attempts to reconcile who she was discovering herself to be versus what she wanted herself to be. She's not particularly likable perhaps but she did interest me. Will I gradually found wanting, and truthfully, none of the other characters really came 100 percent alive for me, not even Trudy. But I did feel for them; most of the time I wanted to grab them all by the lapels and shout at them. Though what I'd shout... I don't really know.

A bit too much exposition and telling by the end, I felt. A slow build followed by a rapid descent, but still, ultimately an ending that satisfied.

trin's review against another edition

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3.0

Historical fiction, covering the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. Those aspects of the story were fascinating to me—I've read tons of WWII stories, but never one that covered this region. Lee's descriptions of life during the occupation are vivid and harrowing; she does a fantastic job realistically portraying the many ways people come together and fall apart under such horrific circumstances.

Unfortunately, as seems to be de rigueur for this sort of book these days, there's also a more modern component, and a *~*mystery*~* to be uncovered. This portion of the book, and even more notably the way the two relate, is much weaker. It doesn't help that, after everything, the BIG SECRET is revealed in such a hum-drum way. It's sort of as if the end of The Empire Strikes Back had gone like this:

Lando Calrissian invites Chewbacca and C-3PO to tea.
Lando: So, I heard that Vader is Luke's father.
C-3PO: I say!
Lando: Hey, just thought you should know.
Chewie: Rowarrrk!

But yes! The occupation scenes are seriously great, even if they don't have any Wookies in them. This is Lee's first novel, and it's got a lot to recommend it for a debut. I'll definitely be checking out her next one.

effortlessly_uncool's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

elemmire's review against another edition

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1.0

Just boring and tedious. Not much more to say about it.

lemouse's review against another edition

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dark 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

5.0

I did not expect this book to be a five star read for me. However, it took me by surprise with its brutally honest writing and beautifully complex characters. 

mllejoyeuxnoel's review against another edition

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4.0

Amazingly compelling. A must-read for those who enjoy historical fiction - particularly stories from WWII.

debbiecollectsbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

Great Read!

book_concierge's review against another edition

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3.0

Audio book narrated by Orlagh Cassidy
3.5***

Summary info from the dust jacket: In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese, with terrible consequences for both of them and for members of their fragile community, who will betray one another in the darkest days of the war.
Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter’s piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the colony’s heady social life. She soon begins an affair … only to discover that her lover’s enigmatic demeanor hides a devastating past.

My reactions/observations
I’ll admit that I was expecting a lighter chick-lit type of historical romance, but I was pleasantly surprised by the added depth to this story. Once again I found myself reading a book with dual time lines, and alternating stories; the book begins with Claire’s arrival in Hong Kong in 1952, then transitions to January 1941 where we are introduced to Trudy. For several chapters the timeline alternates, then we spend a considerable amount of time in WW2 as the Japanese take control of Hong Kong, evacuating non-Chinese residents to “safe havens” which are really POW camps. Part three returns us to Claire’s story as she begins to piece together what really happened and how the people she has met were connected.

I seem to be reading quite a few novels lately that have dual timelines, which is a difficult writing device to handle well. Lee does a pretty good job, especially for a debut novel. Leading each chapter with a date certainly helps the reader keep the timelines straight. It does take several chapters before we make the first connection between the two stories, but I was quickly caught up in these interwoven tales of love, loss, secrecy and betrayal. Claire reminds me of The Painted Veil’s Kitty Fane, though she isn’t drawn quite so fully as Maugham’s character. Will Truesdale is almost as puzzling to me as he is to Claire, but I rather like that Lee left the reader to discover him rather than spell everything out. I certainly didn’t see the revelation towards the end coming. The writing is evocative of time and place; I’ve visited Hong Kong several times (while it was still a British Colony), and can easily picture the settings, the oppressive heat and humidity, and the “aliveness” of the markets. This is Lee’s debut, and I would certainly read another novel by her.

Orlagh Cassidy does a fine job of narrating the audio version. Her pacing is good, and I had no trouble keeping the characters or the timelines straight.

eilleen's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0