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A review by tinahudak
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
3.0
"I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time in a while to see how I might seem to a stranger." (p 142)
This historical fiction story is fascinating in many ways. The two time periods and places - Eastern Turkestan, 1923 and London, present day - present alternating chapters that are seemingly disparate, but the reader knows that somewhere along they will intertwine, complement, and explain one another’s bond. And, so they do although somewhat abstruse.
In the first setting one has a visceral understanding of the place and time as seen through the eyes of a young woman, although somewhat an outsider in her thoughts, but raised in London’s 1920s. Her story has the most unusual twists and turns presenting understanding at times and clashes at others not only with the Eastern culture, but that of her sisters’ views who are with her in this missionary expedition. The “present day” story is again told from the point of view of another young woman, who also feels like an outsider and possesses an empathic understanding of Eastern culture due to her work.
Joinson gives the reader panoramic story with the first, certainly, but limited with the second. Additionally, while the author does not "hit you over the head" with direct connections among characters, she does include elements, such as the bicycles, eye twitches. It is up to the reader to see and make these subtle links. Perhaps too subtle?
This historical fiction story is fascinating in many ways. The two time periods and places - Eastern Turkestan, 1923 and London, present day - present alternating chapters that are seemingly disparate, but the reader knows that somewhere along they will intertwine, complement, and explain one another’s bond. And, so they do although somewhat abstruse.
In the first setting one has a visceral understanding of the place and time as seen through the eyes of a young woman, although somewhat an outsider in her thoughts, but raised in London’s 1920s. Her story has the most unusual twists and turns presenting understanding at times and clashes at others not only with the Eastern culture, but that of her sisters’ views who are with her in this missionary expedition. The “present day” story is again told from the point of view of another young woman, who also feels like an outsider and possesses an empathic understanding of Eastern culture due to her work.
Joinson gives the reader panoramic story with the first, certainly, but limited with the second. Additionally, while the author does not "hit you over the head" with direct connections among characters, she does include elements, such as the bicycles, eye twitches. It is up to the reader to see and make these subtle links. Perhaps too subtle?