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laurak234 's review for:
Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
Wow, I am in awe of this book. Shanghai Girls/Dreams of Joy deserves a Nobel prize or something. I've never said that before.
This was my 6th Lisa See novel, but I should have read this so much sooner. It was a look into communist China like I've never seen before, although there have been glimpses of communism in her other books. It almost feels like a book that certain people would want to ban. Although the message about communism (or at least Mao's China) varies from anxious to horrific, it also lets the reader know clearly that, "Everything China says about China is propaganda, and everything the United States says about China is also propaganda." The same goes for anything you hear about the USA.
After the traumatized ending of Shanghai Girls, 18 year old Joy runs away from her life and guilt in Los Angeles.... To Communist China. Her liberal Chicago college and "Chinese-American clubs" turned her into a communist sympathizer, which ruined her family when the government investigated. She's never been to China, although her mother and Aunt fled China in Shanghai Girls, and she thinks it will be better... or at least, she doesn't deserve to go home. It's much easier to get into China than it should be, but it's not so easy to get out (not that she wants to). Her terrified mother also goes to China to search for Joy and convince her to come home.
China wants the world (and its people) to picture China as a place where no one goes hungry, everyone is equal, and the vegetables grow to the size of houses. They try, in a terrifying and militaristic way, but no part of this is true. Everyone starves to death. I always expect to be devastated by Lisa See, but that expectation never makes it less horrible. It gets shocking.
My only "criticism" is that these books should really be re-released with new covers, like Lisa See's more recent books. These covers look dated, and they really don't send the right message about what kind of books these are. Everyone judges a book by its cover, unfortunately. These deserve more!
This was my 6th Lisa See novel, but I should have read this so much sooner. It was a look into communist China like I've never seen before, although there have been glimpses of communism in her other books. It almost feels like a book that certain people would want to ban. Although the message about communism (or at least Mao's China) varies from anxious to horrific, it also lets the reader know clearly that, "Everything China says about China is propaganda, and everything the United States says about China is also propaganda." The same goes for anything you hear about the USA.
After the traumatized ending of Shanghai Girls, 18 year old Joy runs away from her life and guilt in Los Angeles.... To Communist China. Her liberal Chicago college and "Chinese-American clubs" turned her into a communist sympathizer, which ruined her family when the government investigated. She's never been to China, although her mother and Aunt fled China in Shanghai Girls, and she thinks it will be better... or at least, she doesn't deserve to go home. It's much easier to get into China than it should be, but it's not so easy to get out (not that she wants to). Her terrified mother also goes to China to search for Joy and convince her to come home.
China wants the world (and its people) to picture China as a place where no one goes hungry, everyone is equal, and the vegetables grow to the size of houses. They try, in a terrifying and militaristic way, but no part of this is true. Everyone starves to death. I always expect to be devastated by Lisa See, but that expectation never makes it less horrible. It gets shocking.
My only "criticism" is that these books should really be re-released with new covers, like Lisa See's more recent books. These covers look dated, and they really don't send the right message about what kind of books these are. Everyone judges a book by its cover, unfortunately. These deserve more!