Bookworm

[#1]

One of my favorite authors, Lisa See, once again weaves a brilliantly told story about the lives and times of Chinese women and their families. In this sequel to her 2009 Shanghai Girls, we now find Pearl and May, (the two sisters who were forced to flee the country as Japanese bombs demolished their homeland), living in L.A.’s Chinatown.

It’s 1957 and Joy, Pearl’s 19-year-old spirited daughter, bucks the McCarthyism that is sweeping the country and decides to secretly return to China in search of her real father. She enters the People’s Republic just as Mao Tse-Tung’s Great Leap Forward campaign hits full force.

In the countryside, independent farmers and land owners have been replaced with harshly monitored communes and collectives. The coming’s and going’s, conversations and actions of each member is watched with scrutiny. Anyone with an appearance or hint of disloyalty is swiftly disciplined.

Pearl is full of political vigor, and slow to pick up the harsh realities of communal life. As Mao’s campaign and poor agricultural tactics begin to fail miserably, she finally grasps the reality of her situation.

See’s novel is loaded with fascinating details of this troubled era in Chinese history. Her development of colorful characters and situations that align with true historical fact makes it a must-read.

But be warned…this is one of those can’t-put-it-down books that may keep you reading through the night.

 

By the Bed

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

by Jamie Ford

[#2]

this sounds great....i like when novels combine historical realities with fictional embroideries... this sounds very moving... thanks for another recommendation...

[#3]

I finished The Joy Luck Club a while back and was looking for something else about Chinese history since I really enjoyed that book. This one looks pretty interesting, thanks!

[#4]

Cool... I'd suggest reading Shanghai Girls first, just to give you some background on these charachters (since it's a sequel - but if you want to jump right to Dreams of Joy, it's also is a good stand alone book.)  Another great writer of Chinese historical (and current) fiction is Amy Tan.  She and Lisa See are two of my favorite authors.  

Lisa See has also written some good China-based mysteries...The Interior, Dragon Bones and Flower Net. They're set during the building of the Three Gorges Dam - and provides some interesting detail into the hundreds of villages (and archeological sites) that were displaced or flooded during it's construction. 

[#5]

Thanks for the tip. You know, it never occurred to me that Amy Tan had probably written some other books in the same vein! I'll have to check those out

[#6]

I can recommend a bunch of others. One of my favorite writers is Chang-Rae Lee whose Native Speaker was amazing. He's written a bunch of other books since which have gotten rave reviews. Another writer I'd recommend is Maxine Hong Kingston; her Woman Warrior was powerful.