333 reviews for:

Shanghailanders

Juli Min

3.5 AVERAGE

tracey_g's review

3.75

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

This book is told in reverse, so information is revealed slowly.

There are a lot of secrets and loneliness in this book; all of the characters seem to be carrying some significant trauma. Their relationships with each other are distant, and the result is that this is a pretty sad read.

yeah_nahnia's review

4.0

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Starting in 2040 and working its way back to 2014, this wonderful family saga follows the Yang family, with each chapter revealing more about their tumultuous but ultimately loving past together.

obryana's review

3.0

---

Shanghailanders is a story in reverse. Starting in 2040 and progressing backward toward 2014, the family saga begins (ends?) with a reflection of the past -- both partners in the marriage between Leo and Eko regretting their decision to stay with the other but finding the barriers to leaving too great to manage. As we move backward in time, we come to understand how and why things unfolded the way they did. We also come to know the daughters of the family -- Yumi, Yoko, and Kiko. Adding more color to the story are side characters whose stories we learn as they intersect with those of the family members.

I'll preface my thoughts by saying that the writing in this book was absolutely lovely. I applaud the unique approach to storytelling, as well -- reversed timeline, multi-POV. It felt fresh and interesting and always kept me wondering more about the characters. That said, I think the overall plot ARC fell a little flat due to the structure. There's a reason plots move forward in time! Starting with the conclusion, the takeaways fell less grand because we don't appreciate them, and ending the the inciting incident (in this case, Leo and Eko's courtship), the final pages of the story feel small and unresolved. I found myself more drawn to the small side stories of peripheral characters whose entire story resolved within their own vignette. For our main characters, I found myself always wanting to know what happened next (chronologically) while also knowing we'd never revisit that time period.

But it's character-driven, not plot-driven, you might say. Why can't it be both? I think we could have experienced a character-driven book where the events revealed in a reversed order lead to a similar arc of character growth that we see in other books. Or, even the same plot but with a final chapter in the future so we know what ultimately happened to everyone. More difficult to pull off, sure, but I think more satisfying to the reader.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

nomefriegues's review

5.0

---

I feel like I immediately want to go back and read this book again to dig into all the little details. I actually really enjoyed the narrative working backwards; instead of seeing someone's childhood and how that shaped them into an adult, we saw adults and teens and got to solve some of the mystery of what made them this way, how they loved and hurt and shaped one another. The writing is really evocative, and Min did a great job of capturing the different voices that narrated each chapter. There are a lot of story gaps in this book, which is a side effect of the structure and changing narrators, and the fact that I wanted to know more is indicative of how interesting these characters are. I felt big feelings--protective, angry, frustrated, loving--towards the entire Yang family, and wanted to read more about them.

One of the rare books that I feel I need to buy in print so I can revisit it.

sucy524's review against another edition

3.25

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

The backwards time line was an interesting concept and kept me curious. The chapters read more like short stories and the gaps in the timeline left me wanting more. Overall it was en entertaining read.

cjg0316's review

3.75

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tonyf111's review

3.75

challenging informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nanikeeva's review

2.0

---

starts out promising, but the thread of the story deteriorates over the course of the book. so many missed opportunities.

naturn's review

4.0

---

Beautifully written novel that left me itching to know what happens to each family member. Does the family find out about Kiko's SW career? Will she ever become famous? One criticism I have is that I don't think the future aspect works well for this story. I find it hard to believe that 2040 is near identical to the 2020s. The story easily could've spanned from the 1990s-2020s. Gorgeous, atmospheric novel nonetheless.

paris_herbert_taylor's review

3.0

---

Rounded up to 3.5, I liked this story about a family, but I didn’t know going in that we’d go back in time and never revisit the characters where we met them first, which threw me off. Still, an interesting new voice, and love these international stories