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pris_asagiri 's review for:
Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
Definitely my least favorite of See’s. For newbies to China culture and history, this probably will suffice into the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, but I cannot really recommend it. The smaltzy melodrama of mother-daughter angst had me eye rolling through most of it. I read this many years after reading Shanghai Girls and that’s a mistake. This story is built on an understanding of what happened in the first story and since I didn’t remember the story much, most of the references went over my head. But my main complaint was that this story seemed to pander to the Western reader’s expectation of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, something I have never thought See did. There is no “balanced” take needed, but not giving the readers more background on the how and why these peasants allowed this situation to occur means many readers will walk away with even more disparaging images of China and its people.
I’d rather you read [b:The Garlic Ballads|251392|The Garlic Ballads|Mo Yan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348734465s/251392.jpg|1770054] by [a:Mo Yan|121407|Mo Yan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1349980514p2/121407.jpg] or [b:Dream of Ding Village|9248289|Dream of Ding Village|Yan Lianke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328823990s/9248289.jpg|14128756] by [a:Yan Lianke|723205|Yan Lianke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397367121p2/723205.jpg]. Both give critical looks at the sufferings endured but paint a broader context. Many Chinese stayed because it was their home. ZG gives a hint of this attitude but it crumbles in the end. As terrible as things are, walking away isn’t always the best choice. It’s the same reason Germans stayed in Nazi Germany and then again in East Germany. Why Floridians stay despite the hurricanes. I think See could have told this side much better.
It’s not a terrible book. It’s not my kind of book so I may not be the best judge. But I think her other books are much stronger and better written.
I do not like the narrators they have hired to do her books. They do the story a disservice as I think a lot of my dislike stems from me not liking the narrator and her reading choices.
I’d rather you read [b:The Garlic Ballads|251392|The Garlic Ballads|Mo Yan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348734465s/251392.jpg|1770054] by [a:Mo Yan|121407|Mo Yan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1349980514p2/121407.jpg] or [b:Dream of Ding Village|9248289|Dream of Ding Village|Yan Lianke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328823990s/9248289.jpg|14128756] by [a:Yan Lianke|723205|Yan Lianke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397367121p2/723205.jpg]. Both give critical looks at the sufferings endured but paint a broader context. Many Chinese stayed because it was their home. ZG gives a hint of this attitude but it crumbles in the end. As terrible as things are, walking away isn’t always the best choice. It’s the same reason Germans stayed in Nazi Germany and then again in East Germany. Why Floridians stay despite the hurricanes. I think See could have told this side much better.
It’s not a terrible book. It’s not my kind of book so I may not be the best judge. But I think her other books are much stronger and better written.
I do not like the narrators they have hired to do her books. They do the story a disservice as I think a lot of my dislike stems from me not liking the narrator and her reading choices.