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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
So, I really, really liked this book. It was a wonderful sequel in this two part 'Beautiful Girls' series and definitely should be read if you've already finished Shanghai Girls. The best story (technically stories if counting the first) I've read about true family changes and growth. Joy was sometimes pretty irritating though. Makes you feel every emotion and gives an insight into some of China's past (although I'm not sure how accurate it is).
Viața unei mame și fici în China comunistă a anilor 1957-1958. Tradus mot-a-mot ,,Vise de bucurie” sau ,,Vise îmbucurătoare” titlul oglindește naivitatea tinerei Joy care pornește în căutarea tatălui biologic. Pornește de acasă cu speranța și voința de a găsi o viață mai bună. O viață ce-i va satisface nevoia unui loc pe care să-l numească acasă.
Visul lui Joy a fost o lectură zguduitoare. Parcurgerea acestei relatări m-a ținut cu privirea în zare cu mult timp după ce i-am mângâiat toate paginile.
Există oameni care te schimbă la un nivel profund. Te inițiază.
Simboluri
-femei cu picioare legate;
-folosirea nisipului pus în cârpe pentru menstruație;
-10 frunze pe viață. Frunza unui arbore special care absoarbe sângele, era folosită în mod repetat de mai multe ori.
-numele de familie este luat din clanul în care se află sau intră (prin căsătorie, adopție, naștere) persoana respectivă
E una să ai parte de un fel de aventură în aer liber într-o vilă pentru câteva săptămâni și cu totul altceva să fii nevoită să trăiești așa pentru tot restul viețiiVisul lui Joy se va converti, însă, într-un coșmar pe măsură ce va realiza ceea ce a pierdut: o casă iubitoare. Joy va realiza asta odată cu venirea pe lume a fetiței ei.
Visul lui Joy a fost o lectură zguduitoare. Parcurgerea acestei relatări m-a ținut cu privirea în zare cu mult timp după ce i-am mângâiat toate paginile.
Există oameni care te schimbă la un nivel profund. Te inițiază.
Simboluri
-femei cu picioare legate;
-folosirea nisipului pus în cârpe pentru menstruație;
-10 frunze pe viață. Frunza unui arbore special care absoarbe sângele, era folosită în mod repetat de mai multe ori.
-numele de familie este luat din clanul în care se află sau intră (prin căsătorie, adopție, naștere) persoana respectivă
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
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
I remember reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan years ago, and LOVING it. I also recall really liking Shanghai Girls - which I also read a while ago. This book is a sequel to Shanghai Girls, and there's a chance I might have gotten more out of it if I had a better recollection of the first book.
This took a really long time to get moving for me. For the first half or so, I wasn't exactly disinterested, but I wasn't particularly eager to pick the book back up. It picked up as I get farther along, and the story did get to be pretty compelling by the last third or so... it was also fascinating to read about The Great Leap Forward, since I don't know anything about it.
I think that's a big part of what is compelling about Lisa See's books - detailed research and history into periods of time and places most of us don't know anything about. But this book didn't quite have the same emotional heft or investment of the other books I read and liked. Maybe it's because I found the main character, Joy, to be fairly ridiculous at the beginning, so it was hard to be really invested in the (misguided) decisions she was making.
I'm glad I read it... but I'm glad I got it from the library.
This took a really long time to get moving for me. For the first half or so, I wasn't exactly disinterested, but I wasn't particularly eager to pick the book back up. It picked up as I get farther along, and the story did get to be pretty compelling by the last third or so... it was also fascinating to read about The Great Leap Forward, since I don't know anything about it.
I think that's a big part of what is compelling about Lisa See's books - detailed research and history into periods of time and places most of us don't know anything about. But this book didn't quite have the same emotional heft or investment of the other books I read and liked. Maybe it's because I found the main character, Joy, to be fairly ridiculous at the beginning, so it was hard to be really invested in the (misguided) decisions she was making.
I'm glad I read it... but I'm glad I got it from the library.
I wanted to like this book more than I did because I enjoyed Shanghai Girls so much. Pearl and Joy lost their personalities and seemed more like a convenient way to show the Great Leap Forward than actual characters who grow and learn. Joy in particular was so naive and bland that I had very little sympathy for her until another person's fate depended on hers (I won't say who so I don't spoil it). The historical details that I've loved in other Lisa See novels were wonderful, as was the descriptive writing. Worth the read if you like the author, but not her best work in my opinion.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did find this sequel to Shanghai Girls engaging, though I wasn't fond of the writing style.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A continuation of "Shanghai Girls". Takes place in China during Mao's cultural revolution. A great story that personalizes some of the atrocities that took place during that time.