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expatpanda 's review for:
Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
After finishing Shanghai Girls, I immediately started reading Dreams of Joy, which is evidence of how engrossing the novel is as plot after plot emerges from ordinary circumstances.
The author revisits the tale of Pearl and May from Shanghai and Joy, Pearl's obstinate daughter, in Dreams of Joy. In the late 1950s, Joy flees to communist China, and Pearl follows her in an effort to bring them safely back to America.
Once Joy realizes that she has made a grave error, the only way out of the situation, which feels like scenes from a dystopian future as the atrocities of the Communist government worsen, is to flee. I must admit that Dreams of Joy's conclusion reads like a suspense novel.
I enjoyed how the narrative developed. It wonderfully brought forth Joy's transformation throughout the book. Even though Pearl made an effort to shield her from everything, she had to go through a lot of maturation and learn things the hard way, just like Pearl did.
When I read Lisa See's books, I always feel like I learn a lot about Chinese culture—especially because this is a subject I don't know a lot about. Her writing is so vividly described that you feel as though you are experiencing the same things as the character.
The plot twists in this intriguing story are undoubtedly unexpected. Be prepared to break out a box of tissues when reading this book since it is undoubtedly heartbreaking. The author conducted outstanding research on this time period. Additionally, the narrative switching between Joy and Pearl is extremely different from her previous book and adds to the book's wholesomeness by highlighting the complex mother-daughter relationship. Dreams of Joy, in my opinion, successfully wraps up Shanghai Girls.
The author revisits the tale of Pearl and May from Shanghai and Joy, Pearl's obstinate daughter, in Dreams of Joy. In the late 1950s, Joy flees to communist China, and Pearl follows her in an effort to bring them safely back to America.
Once Joy realizes that she has made a grave error, the only way out of the situation, which feels like scenes from a dystopian future as the atrocities of the Communist government worsen, is to flee. I must admit that Dreams of Joy's conclusion reads like a suspense novel.
I enjoyed how the narrative developed. It wonderfully brought forth Joy's transformation throughout the book. Even though Pearl made an effort to shield her from everything, she had to go through a lot of maturation and learn things the hard way, just like Pearl did.
When I read Lisa See's books, I always feel like I learn a lot about Chinese culture—especially because this is a subject I don't know a lot about. Her writing is so vividly described that you feel as though you are experiencing the same things as the character.
The plot twists in this intriguing story are undoubtedly unexpected. Be prepared to break out a box of tissues when reading this book since it is undoubtedly heartbreaking. The author conducted outstanding research on this time period. Additionally, the narrative switching between Joy and Pearl is extremely different from her previous book and adds to the book's wholesomeness by highlighting the complex mother-daughter relationship. Dreams of Joy, in my opinion, successfully wraps up Shanghai Girls.