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booksillremember's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I enjoy books that draw me into everyday life in a different culture and I have a soft spot for in-between characters who belong neither here nor there. The characters are complex and their actions make sense given their past. I've seen a lot of criticism of them not being likeable, I think they are in some ways and not in others, they are just flawed. I rarely see this type of criticism of the likeability of characters brought up towards male authors. Some of the most prestigious novels ever have very unlikeable characters.
Minor negative: I found the interactions and the spelling out of "the moral of the story" a bit repetitive and the ending felt like everything fell into place too neatly.
I appreciate how the rape scene was portrayed and handled. This kind of "non-violent" rape (in quotation marks because the act itself is violence) and what it does to the victim deserves more representation.
Minor negative: I found the interactions and the spelling out of "the moral of the story" a bit repetitive and the ending felt like everything fell into place too neatly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm
plasticpansy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism
jchinzi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Racism and Suicide
_inge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This book gripped me from the second I started it. I really enjoyed the first half; Alva’s story was a great coming of age story, Lu Fang’s story felt less captivating to me, as it didn’t really tell me anything new and was too focused on whether he’d get into a relationship or not. Gradually Lu Fang’s character changed and his story therefore did get more interesting for a while. The writing is quite good too, though sometimes a bit too descriptive for me. Some words got repeated quite a lot too, like ‘squirt of sperm’ or ‘partner’, meaning those words lost their emotional meaning quickly. But still, I initially found this a captivating read.
Unfortunately, about midway through both Alva and Lu Fang’s storylines got too bleak for me. In the first half there’d be hope for better times, but as both Lu Fang and Alva face traumatic experiences that hope got lost. At certain points it felt like the author was piling on misery to get the story to continue, even though what I’d enjoyed in the first half was the subtle frictions or discussions on identity. How Alva is perceived in her school environment was really interesting to read about, as was seeing how she perceived herself. This got lost in the traumatic events that unfolded in the second half.
Unfortunately, about midway through both Alva and Lu Fang’s storylines got too bleak for me. In the first half there’d be hope for better times, but as both Lu Fang and Alva face traumatic experiences that hope got lost. At certain points it felt like the author was piling on misery to get the story to continue, even though what I’d enjoyed in the first half was the subtle frictions or discussions on identity. How Alva is perceived in her school environment was really interesting to read about, as was seeing how she perceived herself. This got lost in the traumatic events that unfolded in the second half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Rape, Child death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Racism, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Car accident, and Physical abuse
baileyanabella's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not a bad book, just not really my favorite type of story. This is a portrait of two characters lives, a deep look at the intricacies of their personalities. But I didn't find them particularly interesting or relatable characters, so this unfortunately just didn't hit for me. The setting was interesting and not one I've seen much of before so I did have fun with that and it kept me intrigued when the story didn't. Overall just left me feeling sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Animal death
kaddictwithapen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Suicide, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Toxic friendship, Racism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, War, and Violence
adoras's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual assault, and Classism
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
River East River West opens with 14 year old Alva attending the wedding of her mother Sloane to their landlord, wealthy businessman Lu Fang. To say she’s not happy is an understatement. The story then unfolds in two timelines. We continue to follow Alva in Shanghai in 2007 and also follow Lu Fang’s backstory beginning in 1985 in Qingdao. Through their perspective we also learn a lot about Sloane. This book explores issues like identity, belonging, migration, class, coming-of-age and mother-daughter relationships, all things I enjoy. What makes this book stand out from the pack is that it does things that I have read less often, if at all. Top of the list is that it’s not the story of Asian migration to America and characters dealing with these issues there, but rather the reverse. For Sloane moved to China from the US, and Alva, who has an unknown Chinese father, has been raised there and never so much as visited the United States. This is a source of tension between the two with Alva wanting to at least visit America, or failing that to attend an international school, both things Sloan adamantly opposed. Alva eventually gets her way on the latter, which allows the author to shine a light on ex-pat communities in China. Suffice to say it’s not a pretty picture with rich people behaving badly; the condescending attitude shown to local Chinese being the least of the problems. The conspicuous consumerism was jaw dropping, as was the way teens were left to their own devices, and the casual racism and inherent belief in their superiority which seemed rife in the expat community, a community that lived very much in its own bubble and had limited contact with any Chinese beyond those they employed. This book offered me a fresh perspective on China in that it was set more recently- the 2007 storyline especially - and primarily in a large urban centre. It seems much of my reading on China has been focused on rural areas and on the period up to and including the Cultural Revolution. This book is one of the first I’ve read that explores Chinese rising economic fortunes, the reopening of the country to the west, and a more contemporary urban childhood. The characters are irritating at best, unlikeable at their worst but the payoff is getting to read less common perspectives, to see traditional tropes upended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
kirstym25's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Suicide and Child death
Minor: Emotional abuse
gabrieyell's review against another edition
emotional
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship