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lillimoore 's review for:
Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
Thank God Lisa See gave us a satisfying ending to the stories of Pearl and May Chin. I listened to the audiobook for both this book and its predecessor, which both were read wonderfully by Janet Song, and I can't believe how quickly I listened to this book. See is a riveting author who knows how to maintain your attention, only getting better at doing so throughout the tale of these two sisters. Most of my review of this book would just echo the one I wrote for Shanghai Girls so if you're interested in a more elaborate review, please refer to that one.
The one new thing that really intrigued me in this book was learning more about "Red China." We are so caught up in our own abundances and accomplishments that we fail to learn much about the histories we are not apart of. I'm fascinated by the look into communist Chinese culture and resistance against it, and this was not a subject I had previously given much thought. See also does an excellent job of continuing the important themes of sisterhood, motherhood, and womanhood altogether.
If there is one criticism I have of this series, it is how juxtaposed the strong and well-rounded women are versus the men. Even the men in this series that are decent humans (and there aren't a lot) don't have the depth that any of the women do... Maybe that's just a reflection of real life ;) I only wished for more depth in their characters because I was so rooting for every woman to have a true love--even Joy, who I disliked for a good portion of this novel until motherhood had her growing on me. Also, I missed May in this novel. She is an excellent and complex character just like her jei jei (I think, but don't say.) Ha! I love how many times in both books Lisa See uses that expression. People do have a tendency to lean into their personal sayings.
All in all, Shanghai Girls and its sequel Dreams of Joy have become true favorites of mine over the past few weeks I've been reading them and I'm so excited to recommend them to friends!
The one new thing that really intrigued me in this book was learning more about "Red China." We are so caught up in our own abundances and accomplishments that we fail to learn much about the histories we are not apart of. I'm fascinated by the look into communist Chinese culture and resistance against it, and this was not a subject I had previously given much thought. See also does an excellent job of continuing the important themes of sisterhood, motherhood, and womanhood altogether.
If there is one criticism I have of this series, it is how juxtaposed the strong and well-rounded women are versus the men. Even the men in this series that are decent humans (and there aren't a lot) don't have the depth that any of the women do... Maybe that's just a reflection of real life ;) I only wished for more depth in their characters because I was so rooting for every woman to have a true love--even Joy, who I disliked for a good portion of this novel until motherhood had her growing on me. Also, I missed May in this novel. She is an excellent and complex character just like her jei jei (I think, but don't say.) Ha! I love how many times in both books Lisa See uses that expression. People do have a tendency to lean into their personal sayings.
All in all, Shanghai Girls and its sequel Dreams of Joy have become true favorites of mine over the past few weeks I've been reading them and I'm so excited to recommend them to friends!