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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I read this without having read its predecessor, [b:Shanghai Girls|5960325|Shanghai Girls|Lisa See|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255570412s/5960325.jpg|5991850] but that didn't matter too much. (Though there were so many references to it the story may have been richer had I read it. As it is, I now know too much about the plot in Shanghai Girls to want to read it.) This is the story of Joy, their daughter, who runs away from her family's home in Chinatown, Los Angelos, to find her biological father and "to help build the People's Republic of China" circa 1958 +/-. Of course, what Joy discovers is that the socialism and communism preached is not the same as what actually evolves in China.
What I like about this book is what seems to be a firsthand account of what life was like both in the city of Shanghai and in the countryside of China during the late 1950s. The story is very accessible to readers, but the devastation that happened is significant. At one point, Joy compares her experience with the tyranny and starvation with what she learned about Jews during WWII in German concentration camps, and understands their utter helplessness. This comparison is important because it highlights how helpless one is in the situation itself, where we who are outside can easily judge; "Why didn't they fight back?". This would make a good novel for a comparison ISU for a high school student.
What I didn't like about the book is its American ending. Enough said.
I also didn't care for the narrator of this e-book, because even though it was very tragic, she made everything come across as devasting, panicky, and melodramatic. Also, there was no difference in her voice between chapters narrated by Pearl and those by Joy, so if I came back in the middle of a chapter, I was sometimes confused as to which person had the POV.
What I like about this book is what seems to be a firsthand account of what life was like both in the city of Shanghai and in the countryside of China during the late 1950s. The story is very accessible to readers, but the devastation that happened is significant. At one point, Joy compares her experience with the tyranny and starvation with what she learned about Jews during WWII in German concentration camps, and understands their utter helplessness. This comparison is important because it highlights how helpless one is in the situation itself, where we who are outside can easily judge; "Why didn't they fight back?". This would make a good novel for a comparison ISU for a high school student.
What I didn't like about the book is its American ending. Enough said.
I also didn't care for the narrator of this e-book, because even though it was very tragic, she made everything come across as devasting, panicky, and melodramatic. Also, there was no difference in her voice between chapters narrated by Pearl and those by Joy, so if I came back in the middle of a chapter, I was sometimes confused as to which person had the POV.
Author Lisa See's latest historical novel provides a vivid and harrowing depiction of China between 1958 and 1961 where 30 to 45 million Chinese died of starvation and disease during Mao's "Great Leap Forward". Taking up where "Shanghai Girls" left off, See's protagonist, 19-year-old Joy, discovers that the woman who raised her, Pearl, is not her mother, but is her aunt, and that Pearl's husband, Sam, who committed suicide after being branded a communist sympathizer, is not her father. Feeling betrayed by her family and fueled by misguided idealism, Joy travels to China to seek her birth father Z.G. Li, a respected artist, and to build the New Society. As she has in her prior novels, See uses rich detail (e.g., descriptions of how menstruating women used leaves, grass or sand upon the arrival of the "little red sister" and how denizens of the commune presented dead flies, mice, rats, and sparrows to their Brigade Leaders to insure adherence to the newly-instituted cleanliness policy)to tell the story of Joy's life at the Dandelion Number Eight People's Commune.
Although the narrative sputters in the opening chapters when See quickly explains the familial relationships (for those who are not familiar with May and Pearl, the heroines in "Shanghai Girls"), and American-born Joy's naivette astounds (giving up her "reactionary" bra upon entering China is one thing, but her passport!), the book picks up steam when Joy unites with Li, and Pearl returns to her family home in Shanghai to be near her estranged daughter. Without losing sight of the family drama, See explains how mismanagement of the farms by urban commune leaders resulted in starvation. While the story is grim, a reader will not forget scenes such as how the crowd turned on a woman with bound feet who could not work the fields, or how families reduced to cannibalism to survive traded their infant children in the "Swap Child, Make Food" campaign.
Although the narrative sputters in the opening chapters when See quickly explains the familial relationships (for those who are not familiar with May and Pearl, the heroines in "Shanghai Girls"), and American-born Joy's naivette astounds (giving up her "reactionary" bra upon entering China is one thing, but her passport!), the book picks up steam when Joy unites with Li, and Pearl returns to her family home in Shanghai to be near her estranged daughter. Without losing sight of the family drama, See explains how mismanagement of the farms by urban commune leaders resulted in starvation. While the story is grim, a reader will not forget scenes such as how the crowd turned on a woman with bound feet who could not work the fields, or how families reduced to cannibalism to survive traded their infant children in the "Swap Child, Make Food" campaign.
Beautiful! Great sequel, better than the first.
I couldn't put this down and enjoyed it much more than Shanghai Girls (and that was good, too!).
I was very disappointed- I had been waiting for this sequel- it just did not live up to the one before it.
4.25 stars. I really, really enjoyed this, much more than I expected to. It was really heartbreaking and harrowing in parts - to the point that some parts were quite difficult to read. I liked the characters, especially reading about the mother-daughter relationship between Joy and Pearl. The story was so compelling that I was looking for excuses to listen so that I could find out what happened! Another great book by Lisa See!
At first it was hard to get into but as it progressed I was engrossed.
A story of a daughter who finds out her life was a lie, ends up leaving her family and heading to China to find her real father. She finds him and with these big ideas of helping with "the great leap forward" it ends up not being what she dreamed about. A brainwashing, communist country that ends up starving the people to death. She and her family must get out.
A great read and I learned a little something along the way.
Here's the wiki link about the "Great Leap Forward" what a trajedy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
A story of a daughter who finds out her life was a lie, ends up leaving her family and heading to China to find her real father. She finds him and with these big ideas of helping with "the great leap forward" it ends up not being what she dreamed about. A brainwashing, communist country that ends up starving the people to death. She and her family must get out.
A great read and I learned a little something along the way.
Here's the wiki link about the "Great Leap Forward" what a trajedy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
informative
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
It took me forever to get through this book. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but mainly just because I haven't had much time to read. Time for audiobooks yes, time to sit down and actually read, not so much. Then a couple library books I was on the waiting list for became available so I had to read those first.
This book pretty much picks up right where Shanghai Girls left off. I know very little about the history of China and found the historical/culture elements of the book fascinating in a very disturbing way. I cannot believe how difficult life was for these people. No, the book is not a true story, but I believe the setting is well researched and accurate.
I found myself annoyed with Joy through out most of the book. I just wanted to shake her and tell her she was being selfish and stupid. Granted she's young, but I don't think that means you must be a fool! I hate books that just sort of leave you hanging with out wrapping up the story, and I felt a little like that was the case with Shanghai Girls, however this book continues the story and provides a satisfying conclusion.
This book pretty much picks up right where Shanghai Girls left off. I know very little about the history of China and found the historical/culture elements of the book fascinating in a very disturbing way. I cannot believe how difficult life was for these people. No, the book is not a true story, but I believe the setting is well researched and accurate.
I found myself annoyed with Joy through out most of the book. I just wanted to shake her and tell her she was being selfish and stupid. Granted she's young, but I don't think that means you must be a fool! I hate books that just sort of leave you hanging with out wrapping up the story, and I felt a little like that was the case with Shanghai Girls, however this book continues the story and provides a satisfying conclusion.
Dreams of Joy is the superior of the two book series that includes Shanghai Girls. The topic of communist China in the 1950's was fascinating. This book was filled with drama, suspense, and surprises.
I came to truly respect Pearl and forgave her sister May for her behavior in SG. Joy, she made me want to pull my hair out with her immature, rash behavior, but I loved how life's circumstances and motherhood changed her for the better.
I came to truly respect Pearl and forgave her sister May for her behavior in SG. Joy, she made me want to pull my hair out with her immature, rash behavior, but I loved how life's circumstances and motherhood changed her for the better.