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A review by carolpk
China Dolls by Lisa See
3.0
The Hook - I'm a fan of Lisa See. After reading many high fives for China Dolls I decided I was in. When I needed a new audiobook China Dolls won the toss.
The Line β βThe fear of death is a powerful aphrodisiac.β
The Sinker β I've waited a few days to comment onChina Dolls. I wanted to give myself time to think what went wrong for me in this book. I expected to be wowed but came away feeling conflicted. There were many things I liked, each woman's story and their struggle and determination to be reach the top, the pre-World War II setting in San Francisco's China Town, the examination of race and culture as it pertains to the Chinese and Japanese in a world on the brink of war, and its nod to real life events of that period, including the real Forbidden City and Charlie Low. I liked the descriptions of their clothing, hairstyles, dance routines, and mores of the day. So why conflicted? Something was just off. Like others who gave this less than good marks, the characters and dialog seemed stilted to me. Perhaps some of my disconnect came from the listen rather than the printed page. I had trouble with the narrator, Jodi Long. When she kept to her own voice, all was fine, but her change in vocalization for each of the characters, Grace, Helen and Ruby, just didn't work for me. Interestingly, Jodi Long narration of China Dolls is an Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award Winner, an award given for "Earphones to truly exceptional presentations that excel in all the following criteria:
Narrative voice and style
Vocal characterizations
Appropriateness for the audio format
Enhancement of the text
I enjoyed the historical aspects enough to want to read Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970. I have already watched Arthur Dong presents "Forbidden City, U.S.A." at the San Francisco Public Library
. I also plan to listen to this These Nightclub Entertainers Paved The Way For Asian-Americans In Showbiz
my link text from NPR.
The Line β βThe fear of death is a powerful aphrodisiac.β
The Sinker β I've waited a few days to comment onChina Dolls. I wanted to give myself time to think what went wrong for me in this book. I expected to be wowed but came away feeling conflicted. There were many things I liked, each woman's story and their struggle and determination to be reach the top, the pre-World War II setting in San Francisco's China Town, the examination of race and culture as it pertains to the Chinese and Japanese in a world on the brink of war, and its nod to real life events of that period, including the real Forbidden City and Charlie Low. I liked the descriptions of their clothing, hairstyles, dance routines, and mores of the day. So why conflicted? Something was just off. Like others who gave this less than good marks, the characters and dialog seemed stilted to me. Perhaps some of my disconnect came from the listen rather than the printed page. I had trouble with the narrator, Jodi Long. When she kept to her own voice, all was fine, but her change in vocalization for each of the characters, Grace, Helen and Ruby, just didn't work for me. Interestingly, Jodi Long narration of China Dolls is an Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award Winner, an award given for "Earphones to truly exceptional presentations that excel in all the following criteria:
Narrative voice and style
Vocal characterizations
Appropriateness for the audio format
Enhancement of the text
I enjoyed the historical aspects enough to want to read Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970. I have already watched Arthur Dong presents "Forbidden City, U.S.A." at the San Francisco Public Library
. I also plan to listen to this These Nightclub Entertainers Paved The Way For Asian-Americans In Showbiz
my link text from NPR.