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librosycafe25 's review for:
When Sleeping Women Wake
by Emma Pei Yin
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The blurb: "...a mother, her daughter, and their maid—are each forced on a journey of survival during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II, 1941."
I love historical fiction, and this one tells the rarely told story of the Chinese resistance fighters. The story doesn't start with the war; there's a slow buildup. The descriptions are visual and sometimes a little over the top, using two or three adjectives per sentence. The characters were not emotionally engaging, but they were interesting, especially the daughter and the Chinese resistance fighters.
I found the romance between the mother and Henry to be melodramatic and not engaging. However, the relationship aspect with the daughter and those who fell in love with her was much more interesting.
What may put some readers off, and it did me too (I wish there were content warnings), was the intense violence, both physical and sexual.
Overall, this read is a mixed bag of good writing and average character development, with too much graphic violence.
I love historical fiction, and this one tells the rarely told story of the Chinese resistance fighters. The story doesn't start with the war; there's a slow buildup. The descriptions are visual and sometimes a little over the top, using two or three adjectives per sentence. The characters were not emotionally engaging, but they were interesting, especially the daughter and the Chinese resistance fighters.
I found the romance between the mother and Henry to be melodramatic and not engaging. However, the relationship aspect with the daughter and those who fell in love with her was much more interesting.
What may put some readers off, and it did me too (I wish there were content warnings), was the intense violence, both physical and sexual.
Overall, this read is a mixed bag of good writing and average character development, with too much graphic violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail