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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
This novel is far more than just about the people who leave us or who disappear in our lives, it was about the dynamics of ourselves when these things happen. For a mother and a son, this is exactly what happens when the mother disappears and the son is sent adrift in another life direction because of it.
Deming Guo is ten years old when his mother, Polly, disappears from their apartment in New York City, leaving him with his soon to be stepdad and his sister. When the stepdad leaves too, the sister has no choice but to give Deming to social services in order to be placed in foster care. Leaving New York City behind, Deming is adopted by a couple in update New York and given the new name of Daniel. For the next ten years Deming, now Daniel, struggles with his adoptive parents and the mystery of why his mother left. Woven in his story is the tale of Polly, who describes her struggle in her village in China, becoming impregnated by a village boy, and struggling to make her way to New York City to give birth to Deming. Both of their stories are filled with tragedy, yes, but I also felt a severe amount of selfishness in both of them. I think this is why I never really felt connected to either Deming or Polly, because both of them were so selfish about their choices. It was hard for me to believe there could ever be any love between them or with anyone else. With both of their experiences it seemed as if they had shut off themselves to anyone, including each other. Yes, there was some character development and some moving on, but in the end it also fell short.
Perhaps I've had too many people in my own life leave. And for that I commend this book for being able to illicit these strong emotions I have about people leaving. But it also means that I did not feel very strongly about it.
Deming Guo is ten years old when his mother, Polly, disappears from their apartment in New York City, leaving him with his soon to be stepdad and his sister. When the stepdad leaves too, the sister has no choice but to give Deming to social services in order to be placed in foster care. Leaving New York City behind, Deming is adopted by a couple in update New York and given the new name of Daniel. For the next ten years Deming, now Daniel, struggles with his adoptive parents and the mystery of why his mother left. Woven in his story is the tale of Polly, who describes her struggle in her village in China, becoming impregnated by a village boy, and struggling to make her way to New York City to give birth to Deming. Both of their stories are filled with tragedy, yes, but I also felt a severe amount of selfishness in both of them. I think this is why I never really felt connected to either Deming or Polly, because both of them were so selfish about their choices. It was hard for me to believe there could ever be any love between them or with anyone else. With both of their experiences it seemed as if they had shut off themselves to anyone, including each other. Yes, there was some character development and some moving on, but in the end it also fell short.
Perhaps I've had too many people in my own life leave. And for that I commend this book for being able to illicit these strong emotions I have about people leaving. But it also means that I did not feel very strongly about it.
i wanted to like this one. i think it does everything right but the chapters about polly are so much more poignant than the book as a whole. it's well-crafted, it's emotionally complex, but it just doesn't land for me. every time it gets so close to saying something about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions (deming's, polly's, peter and kay's) it backs away and forces the reader to make a decision on what they think. i wanted it to be more bold and say the quiet parts out loud.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
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
Took me soooo long to finish this. The pacing is whack and actively pissed me off, and the ending felt rushed. A lot of interesting things to say, which made me want to finish, but could have used a lot more editing.
disappointed. writing was tedious and stale. every single character lacked a personality. they were so one dimensional and lacked energy. all the characters were inconsistent and dry.
the themes (like adoption, abandonment, race, class, etc) were introduced without getting fleshed out. so disappointing. like i said it had everything i could want in a story but the execution was terrible. by 10% , i was dreading finishing it. i only wanted to finish this because 1) i had nothing else to read and 2) i was waiting for my library hold of “funny story” -which thankfully got released to me today.
it would’ve been more interesting and meaningful if the story was written in polly’s POV. but even that (with the writing style) wouldn’t have saved this book.
i can’t say how disappointed i am. i had high hopes for this. i should have dnfd.
the themes (like adoption, abandonment, race, class, etc) were introduced without getting fleshed out. so disappointing. like i said it had everything i could want in a story but the execution was terrible. by 10% , i was dreading finishing it. i only wanted to finish this because 1) i had nothing else to read and 2) i was waiting for my library hold of “funny story” -which thankfully got released to me today.
it would’ve been more interesting and meaningful if the story was written in polly’s POV. but even that (with the writing style) wouldn’t have saved this book.
i can’t say how disappointed i am. i had high hopes for this. i should have dnfd.
I really like this book because it really expanded and changed the way I think about immigration, family, and identity. Deming’s conflict about who he is and how he fits in to his friend group, his biological family, and his adoptive family are portrayed really well and reveal a very common and poignant conflict that many immigrants face. The addition of Polly’s journey and struggle to find a home and ultimately herself adds a interesting perspective to the already captivating storyline.
Personally I really enjoyed this novel and felt that I could relate to certain parts of the story and especially Deming’s inner conflict about who he is and where he fits in to the social fabric.
Personally I really enjoyed this novel and felt that I could relate to certain parts of the story and especially Deming’s inner conflict about who he is and where he fits in to the social fabric.
I don’t understand how this book isn’t rated better. What a heart wrenching important book, now more than ever. A raw story of immigration and motherhood and how much parents give up to immigrate and give their children the best life they can. Social injustices, foster/adoption issues etc. Wasn’t expecting this book to be so moving and have as much depth as it did and was pleasantly surprised. Highly recommend especially with everything going on in our country today, books like this are so important to read.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
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:
Yes