books_baking_brews's reviews
229 reviews

River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lescure really pulled something off here. I mean I just didn't like a single character. They were terrible to each other and the people they were supposed to be there for. They used each other and people in their paths so thoughtlessly. The worst by far was Sloan. They are all thwarted by missed opportunities and longing to feel special and to distinguish themselves as such; I don't think they ever knew contentment, and that sort of conniving, grasping nature is hard to read. But despite your dislike you keep reading because it's sorta like watching a train wreck and the backdrop is so interesting and by the end you think what just happened here. This book covers a lot: the undercurrents, or in some cases "over" currents, of how expats move to a country and use it and lay claim to it without ever really having to suffer for it, without ever truly loving it outside of what it can get for them; the impact of China's one-child policy and the "re-education" of urban youth policy--the so-called lost generation; the fetishizing of Asian women; and the idolization of Americanness. It's all in there plus more.

Content Warnings