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stephe 's review for:
Shanghailanders
by Juli Min
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book functions far better as a collection of short stories than as a novel. To be fair, my understanding is that it’s a lot easier to sell a novel than a collection of short stories, so I can’t really blame the author for that. But I’d recommend conceptualizing it as a short story collection to get the most enjoyment out of it—even were you to read the stories in reverse (and thus, chronological) order, there’s very little necessary connective tissue or forward motion, and I think the expectations set by “A Novel” on the cover are not satisfied.
All that to say, it’s not a bad story collection. Some are much better than others, and the best ones are the outliers focused on ancillary characters: the driver, the live-in childcare provider. The worst are the ones that settle into the lives of fabulously wealthy people and allow them no real introspection and self-awareness. That’s not to say they’re not what I imagine to be honest depictions, but they’re just kind of grating and unsatisfying.
I wish I wasn’t so ho-hum about this book. It’s a fun concept and intriguing premise, but aside from a handful of the best chapters, it didn’t live up to what I think it set out to offer.
All that to say, it’s not a bad story collection. Some are much better than others, and the best ones are the outliers focused on ancillary characters: the driver, the live-in childcare provider. The worst are the ones that settle into the lives of fabulously wealthy people and allow them no real introspection and self-awareness. That’s not to say they’re not what I imagine to be honest depictions, but they’re just kind of grating and unsatisfying.
I wish I wasn’t so ho-hum about this book. It’s a fun concept and intriguing premise, but aside from a handful of the best chapters, it didn’t live up to what I think it set out to offer.