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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Great book. Read Shanghai Girls first and continue the journey with this one. They compliment each other.
Well written. The story reignited my interest in learning more about Communist China and its people. The main character, Joy, at first drove me crazy with her naivety and youthful stubbornness but I eventually realized that her character early on was necessary to show the amount in which she grew and matured over the course of the book.
Worth a read, for sure.
Worth a read, for sure.
Dreams of Joy begins the night Joy learns that her aunt is her biological mother, and her mother is her aunt. Joy blames herself for her father's recent suicide, and she's furious at being lied to about her biological parents, so she runs away to China. It's 1957, and the Communist Revolution is in full swing there, and Joy is awash with enthusiasm for the New Society.
I want to like this book, but I just can't make myself finish right now. I listened to seven of the thirteen CDs, so I made it more than half way. I simply can't take any more of Joy's selfish, self-centered, naive blindness! Her enthusiasm for all things Red China never wanes, and she doesn't see that she's run away to do the very thing that caused her father's death, really. She willfully ignores the disparity between life in the countryside and the flashy parties with Chairman Mao in the cities, choosing instead to believe the propaganda, no matter how idiotic it is. It makes me want to scream!
Joy's mother, Pearl, I find more likable, although not enough right now to pull me through to the end of the book. And Joy's biological father, Z.G., isn't compelling enough for me to understand why Pearl & her sister May have been in love with him for the past 20 years.
May and Pearl are the eponymous characters from See's earlier book, Shanghai Girls, which I haven't read. Perhaps I should have started there; maybe I'd like this book better if I'd read the first. I may someday get back to finishing this one and reading the first one, but I'll have to wait for my blood to stop boiling first.
For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways
I want to like this book, but I just can't make myself finish right now. I listened to seven of the thirteen CDs, so I made it more than half way. I simply can't take any more of Joy's selfish, self-centered, naive blindness! Her enthusiasm for all things Red China never wanes, and she doesn't see that she's run away to do the very thing that caused her father's death, really. She willfully ignores the disparity between life in the countryside and the flashy parties with Chairman Mao in the cities, choosing instead to believe the propaganda, no matter how idiotic it is. It makes me want to scream!
Joy's mother, Pearl, I find more likable, although not enough right now to pull me through to the end of the book. And Joy's biological father, Z.G., isn't compelling enough for me to understand why Pearl & her sister May have been in love with him for the past 20 years.
May and Pearl are the eponymous characters from See's earlier book, Shanghai Girls, which I haven't read. Perhaps I should have started there; maybe I'd like this book better if I'd read the first. I may someday get back to finishing this one and reading the first one, but I'll have to wait for my blood to stop boiling first.
For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loved this book - a compelling sequel that stands alone in its own right. Also found the depiction of PRC under Mao to be absolutely horrifying.
I wonderful conclusion to Shanghai Girls. Much more than I expected from reading the first book. The pain and struggle these women face is amazing.
This review originally posted on my blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2011/07/dreams-of-joy-book-review.html
As soon as I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See last week I was anxious to start reading the sequel Dreams of Joy. The ending of the first novel would have been frustrating if I didn't already know that there was a second book. And fortunately, it was already waiting on my night stand.
I've been hearing the buzz about Lisa See's novels (especially Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I hope to read very soon) for years but these are the first of her novels that I have had the privilege to read. I have definitely become a fan.
Dreams of Joy picks up right where Shanghai Girls ends. Joy, deeply upset by the family secrets and a new believer in The New China, she sets off to China. Pearl, determined to find and save her naive but determined daughter, returns to her homeland.
It's been nearly twenty years since Pearl escaped the Japanese invaders of China and immigrated to the United States of America. Since then, China has undergone vast changes. Now under the leadership of Chairman Mao Tse Dung and a Communist country, it is hardly the home she left. Yet, Pearl only wants Joy to be happy and safe and she'll try her best to assimilate in this new world. Pearl will renew old friendships and find love.
Reading of the rule of Chairman Mao, Communism and the socialistic changes in China, reminded me of the popular dystopian novels. However, this is all too real and painful. Millions suffered and starved under this rule. The important and essential family unit was broken. Pearl and Joy are determined not to have their free spirits destroyed. Reading of their brave struggles and harrowing trials in China, also made me even more grateful for the freedoms I enjoy in America.
Lisa See's characters are richly developed. Each has his or her own flaws and strengths. While I found myself frustrated with Joy and her decisions, I also admired her determination and personal strength. The plot moves along steadily. The history and details of Communist China are vastly important but are woven into the plot so expertly that they do not detract from the characters and the story. See's style is effortless and readable while maintaining an almost conversational tone between the main characters and the readers.
Powerful and compelling, Dreams of Joy is a novel that surpassed the first. It is a valuable and enlightening piece of literature.
As soon as I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See last week I was anxious to start reading the sequel Dreams of Joy. The ending of the first novel would have been frustrating if I didn't already know that there was a second book. And fortunately, it was already waiting on my night stand.
I've been hearing the buzz about Lisa See's novels (especially Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I hope to read very soon) for years but these are the first of her novels that I have had the privilege to read. I have definitely become a fan.
Dreams of Joy picks up right where Shanghai Girls ends. Joy, deeply upset by the family secrets and a new believer in The New China, she sets off to China. Pearl, determined to find and save her naive but determined daughter, returns to her homeland.
It's been nearly twenty years since Pearl escaped the Japanese invaders of China and immigrated to the United States of America. Since then, China has undergone vast changes. Now under the leadership of Chairman Mao Tse Dung and a Communist country, it is hardly the home she left. Yet, Pearl only wants Joy to be happy and safe and she'll try her best to assimilate in this new world. Pearl will renew old friendships and find love.
Reading of the rule of Chairman Mao, Communism and the socialistic changes in China, reminded me of the popular dystopian novels. However, this is all too real and painful. Millions suffered and starved under this rule. The important and essential family unit was broken. Pearl and Joy are determined not to have their free spirits destroyed. Reading of their brave struggles and harrowing trials in China, also made me even more grateful for the freedoms I enjoy in America.
Lisa See's characters are richly developed. Each has his or her own flaws and strengths. While I found myself frustrated with Joy and her decisions, I also admired her determination and personal strength. The plot moves along steadily. The history and details of Communist China are vastly important but are woven into the plot so expertly that they do not detract from the characters and the story. See's style is effortless and readable while maintaining an almost conversational tone between the main characters and the readers.
Powerful and compelling, Dreams of Joy is a novel that surpassed the first. It is a valuable and enlightening piece of literature.
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A wonderful sequel to Shanghai Girls, this novel had me wanting to grab Joy and smack some sense into her! This is a tale of how strong a mother’s love can be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death