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obryana 's review for:
Shanghailanders
by Juli Min
Shanghailanders is a story in reverse. Starting in 2040 and progressing backward toward 2014, the family saga begins (ends?) with a reflection of the past -- both partners in the marriage between Leo and Eko regretting their decision to stay with the other but finding the barriers to leaving too great to manage. As we move backward in time, we come to understand how and why things unfolded the way they did. We also come to know the daughters of the family -- Yumi, Yoko, and Kiko. Adding more color to the story are side characters whose stories we learn as they intersect with those of the family members.
I'll preface my thoughts by saying that the writing in this book was absolutely lovely. I applaud the unique approach to storytelling, as well -- reversed timeline, multi-POV. It felt fresh and interesting and always kept me wondering more about the characters. That said, I think the overall plot ARC fell a little flat due to the structure. There's a reason plots move forward in time! Starting with the conclusion, the takeaways fell less grand because we don't appreciate them, and ending the the inciting incident (in this case, Leo and Eko's courtship), the final pages of the story feel small and unresolved. I found myself more drawn to the small side stories of peripheral characters whose entire story resolved within their own vignette. For our main characters, I found myself always wanting to know what happened next (chronologically) while also knowing we'd never revisit that time period.
But it's character-driven, not plot-driven, you might say. Why can't it be both? I think we could have experienced a character-driven book where the events revealed in a reversed order lead to a similar arc of character growth that we see in other books. Or, even the same plot but with a final chapter in the future so we know what ultimately happened to everyone. More difficult to pull off, sure, but I think more satisfying to the reader.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'll preface my thoughts by saying that the writing in this book was absolutely lovely. I applaud the unique approach to storytelling, as well -- reversed timeline, multi-POV. It felt fresh and interesting and always kept me wondering more about the characters. That said, I think the overall plot ARC fell a little flat due to the structure. There's a reason plots move forward in time! Starting with the conclusion, the takeaways fell less grand because we don't appreciate them, and ending the the inciting incident (in this case, Leo and Eko's courtship), the final pages of the story feel small and unresolved. I found myself more drawn to the small side stories of peripheral characters whose entire story resolved within their own vignette. For our main characters, I found myself always wanting to know what happened next (chronologically) while also knowing we'd never revisit that time period.
But it's character-driven, not plot-driven, you might say. Why can't it be both? I think we could have experienced a character-driven book where the events revealed in a reversed order lead to a similar arc of character growth that we see in other books. Or, even the same plot but with a final chapter in the future so we know what ultimately happened to everyone. More difficult to pull off, sure, but I think more satisfying to the reader.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.