Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Reading debut novels has been refreshing, mostly on books that contain topics that I'm fond of. I recall Shanghailanders being a part of a giveaway on Storygraph (which I did not win). I also saw the same novel featured on Indiebound (a newsletter I sometimes pick up at my local bookstore, to see what new novels are out there and if novels are interesting enough to be on my TBR).
What interested me about this novel is how the structure is set up; it's going in a backward-linear, the first chapter starts in the "present" (circa 2040) and the story goes backward to 2014. In addition, each chapter features a specific character, whether Yumi, Yoko or Kiko, Eko or Leo, or another character integrated into the lives of the Yangs (like their driver or a live-in nanny). What ties all the chapters together is a tiny little detail that showcases the butterfly effect, whether it's Yumi's first ex-boyfriend, a cabin in the woods, or Ai-Yi (an auntie) that one of the kids recalls. From my perspective, the way the author puts the story together gives the reader an understanding of something in the past triggered this current event that's happening, but instead of showing the past to the present, the author tells you about the present, and for the reader to figure out in the next chapter how things are linked.
As the jacket states, this linkage shows the strong bonds between family, and everyone has their past secrets that trigger what happens in the present. (Example would be in Rouge Allure, two later chapters explain a bit more between the conversations of Eko and Yoko.)
What interested me about this novel is how the structure is set up; it's going in a backward-linear, the first chapter starts in the "present" (circa 2040) and the story goes backward to 2014. In addition, each chapter features a specific character, whether Yumi, Yoko or Kiko, Eko or Leo, or another character integrated into the lives of the Yangs (like their driver or a live-in nanny). What ties all the chapters together is a tiny little detail that showcases the butterfly effect, whether it's Yumi's first ex-boyfriend, a cabin in the woods, or Ai-Yi (an auntie) that one of the kids recalls. From my perspective, the way the author puts the story together gives the reader an understanding of something in the past triggered this current event that's happening, but instead of showing the past to the present, the author tells you about the present, and for the reader to figure out in the next chapter how things are linked.
As the jacket states, this linkage shows the strong bonds between family, and everyone has their past secrets that trigger what happens in the present. (Example would be in Rouge Allure, two later chapters explain a bit more between the conversations of Eko and Yoko.)
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This powerful novel opens in Shanghai in 2040 and moves backward in time, revealing moments in the lives of the Yang family: Leo, a wealthy structural engineer and Shanghai native; his wife Eko, born in Japan and raised in Paris; their three daughters, Yumi, Yuko and Kiko; and glimpses of the staff whose lives are temporarily interwoven with theirs. Fascinating, beautifully written, and deeply tragic.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Infidelity, Abortion