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A review by darcey_orchid
Love and Other Moods by Crystal Z. Lee
4.0
ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.
4 positively BEAUTIFUL stars.
This book was everything I didn’t know I needed, all wrapped up in a gorgeous coming of age story (about people at the age of 20-30, because not all of us figure out our life purpose at 18 years old). A novel about the wonders, mistakes and beauty of life, love and loss, all in Shanghai. Love and Other Moods was intense, realistic, stunningly-written and a little bit heartbreaking. Crystal Z. Lee did a wonderful job of bringing the wonder of Shanghai to her readers, managing to make Shanghai as easy to imagine as the town you’ve grown up in your whole life. Through the stunning description and flowing lyrical language used, Lee managed to turn Shanghai into a city that, yes, has it’s problems, but is also an extraordinary world power and brilliant place in which one can discover who they are, what they want to do with their lives and how to love.
“Why Shanghai?
…It’s because we believe in certain ideas about this city – that it has the potential to be invincible, that it could be ours.”
(The author explaining why she chose Shanghai as the basis for her novel.)
The characters in Love and Other Moods may not have been perfect. They made mistakes, they hurt others and themselves, they broke hearts and remade them again. And, for these reasons, they were, so, so human. These characters were some of the most believable, most realistic characters that I’ve ever read about, and I loved it. They weren’t necessarily good people, it’s true. But they tried. They tried to fix their mistakes and make themselves as good as they could be, and I really loved that. And they always tried to help those they loved, and stick with their family, which was really touching to see.
“Home is our mental as much as it is a physical space. It’s where we choose to root our existence, where we decide to build our bliss, our lives, ourselves.
… Some people made anywhere feel like home.”
(Naomi talking about what ‘home’ is for her.)
I also really loved the overall message of the story, about home and finding where you belong, and I loved the idea of having homes all over the world. And oh god, the food descriptions?? PLEASE HELP, my stomach has never rumbled so much because of a book! The descriptions were killing me, and I guess that proves just how well Lee was writing.
Thank you so much to Favourite Pages and the author for the free (physical – eee, so pretty!) copy in exchange for an honest review :)).
4 positively BEAUTIFUL stars.
This book was everything I didn’t know I needed, all wrapped up in a gorgeous coming of age story (about people at the age of 20-30, because not all of us figure out our life purpose at 18 years old). A novel about the wonders, mistakes and beauty of life, love and loss, all in Shanghai. Love and Other Moods was intense, realistic, stunningly-written and a little bit heartbreaking. Crystal Z. Lee did a wonderful job of bringing the wonder of Shanghai to her readers, managing to make Shanghai as easy to imagine as the town you’ve grown up in your whole life. Through the stunning description and flowing lyrical language used, Lee managed to turn Shanghai into a city that, yes, has it’s problems, but is also an extraordinary world power and brilliant place in which one can discover who they are, what they want to do with their lives and how to love.
“Why Shanghai?
…It’s because we believe in certain ideas about this city – that it has the potential to be invincible, that it could be ours.”
(The author explaining why she chose Shanghai as the basis for her novel.)
The characters in Love and Other Moods may not have been perfect. They made mistakes, they hurt others and themselves, they broke hearts and remade them again. And, for these reasons, they were, so, so human. These characters were some of the most believable, most realistic characters that I’ve ever read about, and I loved it. They weren’t necessarily good people, it’s true. But they tried. They tried to fix their mistakes and make themselves as good as they could be, and I really loved that. And they always tried to help those they loved, and stick with their family, which was really touching to see.
“Home is our mental as much as it is a physical space. It’s where we choose to root our existence, where we decide to build our bliss, our lives, ourselves.
… Some people made anywhere feel like home.”
(Naomi talking about what ‘home’ is for her.)
I also really loved the overall message of the story, about home and finding where you belong, and I loved the idea of having homes all over the world. And oh god, the food descriptions?? PLEASE HELP, my stomach has never rumbled so much because of a book! The descriptions were killing me, and I guess that proves just how well Lee was writing.
Thank you so much to Favourite Pages and the author for the free (physical – eee, so pretty!) copy in exchange for an honest review :)).