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A review by kierscrivener
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
This is novel about a Chinese girl in 1890s Atlanta who spends her days as a lady's maid and her night's writing an advice column and creating change.
I really loved how this captured era, this was a time of extreme change around the world as women were lobbying for their rights and the world was being thrust into the modern era. I thought the conversation around race and feminism was amazing. Especially the Asian community is erased from many narratives especially historical.
My biggest complaint was that I thought that the supporting characters could use a lot of development and that the climax/end was too easily wrapped up. I would have liked it to be longer and maybe less easy. But that is me falling more on the realism than hopeful side of the spectrum.
Overall, a beautifully written and well developed world without a perfect execution.
If you are looking for diverse historical fiction I would recommend!
I really loved how this captured era, this was a time of extreme change around the world as women were lobbying for their rights and the world was being thrust into the modern era. I thought the conversation around race and feminism was amazing. Especially the Asian community is erased from many narratives especially historical.
My biggest complaint was that I thought that the supporting characters could use a lot of development and that the climax/end was too easily wrapped up. I would have liked it to be longer and maybe less easy. But that is me falling more on the realism than hopeful side of the spectrum.
Overall, a beautifully written and well developed world without a perfect execution.
If you are looking for diverse historical fiction I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Sexism
sexual harassment