Reviews

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I have loved Ford's previous books, and I heard from a podcaster that this was excellent, so I was so excited to receive a digital copy. This was such a compelling, evocative read. It's a feminist genre mashup of historical fiction, science fiction, and mystery, involving Dorothy Moy's past five generations of trauma, and how she goes about coming to terms with that trauma and finding peace for herself and her daughter. The POV switches between the generational women, and the longer chapters help the reader really get to know each character and start to find connections between them. I learned about historical events I knew nothing about, but I also loved the views from 2045 and later as Ford imagines them to be. I was not sure how Ford was going to bring it all together at the end, but it was so empowering. The author's note at the beginning and the acknowledgements at the end really tie it all together. 5 stars!

kchen1004's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

daumari's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Oh gosh, so when I initially picked this up and got 60 pages in, I hadn't gotten far enough to really grasp the epigenetics of it all (or really, I should've, judging by the author's note). Picked it up almost half a year later to finish, and between the generational trauma of the female Asian American experience and genetic memory, this really feels like it was made for me. After reading [b:The School for Good Mothers|57846320|The School for Good Mothers|Jessamine Chan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639314979l/57846320._SY75_.jpg|75401540] last year, I was afraid of how dark this could get (and to be clear: it does go to traumatic places), but resolves beautifully with hope for the future.

Dorothy reconnecting with her ancestors reminds me a lot of the premise of the first several Assassin's Creed games, lol (which I haven't played but through cultural osmosis I understand to also be exploring the memories of your ancestors?) I also saw a production of [b:The Chinese Lady|52022823|The Chinese Lady|Lloyd Suh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612838642l/52022823._SX50_.jpg|76728005] in Portland a few years ago which also tells the story of Afong Moy (with a more sympathetic and less horrific male translator/companion character) over time. If you get a chance to see it, do it- incredible depth for two actors to go through over time. It was one of the first theater productions I saw after 2020, so on one hand it felt like live theater was budding up again, but in the wake of an increase in anti-Asian (and specifically Chinese) xenophobia, felt like the refrain of a familiar song coming back again. Lai King's chapters especially resonated for this (as Jamie Ford noted in his acknowledgements suggestions for further reading).

This is the first Jamie Ford book I've read, though I have visited Seattle (and the International District specifically where the titular [b:Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet|3367956|Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet|Jamie Ford|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348332221l/3367956._SX50_.jpg|3407295] was highlighted). Definitely interested in reading more of his work, especially as a 3+ gen Chinese American.