This historical fiction is set in the early to mid 1900's, between San Francisco and China. It follows the marriage of a Chinese man (Paul) and a white woman (Hope) as they marry in the USA (where that is mostly illegal) and then live much of their lives in China, where Paul is an active revolutionary (or counter-revolutionary, or some such political reformist) admidst his family's history of wealth and status under the old empire. The story is loosely based on the author's grandparents real lives, and weaves political events and upheavals along with the ups and downs of their unusual and challenging marriage.
I thought it was a great novel, very well written and very descriptive, as well as being strong in the character development of several main characters. The historical timeline I found at the END of the book would have been helpful for me to have at the BEGINNING, along with the maps of China, which I did find useful. My only complaint was a rather vague ending, so if you read the book, let me know how YOU think it ended!
It seems easy to recommend this one! 8.5/10
1 comment:
Hi Jo,
Thanks for the review on this one - I look forward to reading it. Maybe I'll borrow it at Christmas?
I just finished 'The Glass Castle' and wondered what anyone else thought - I really liked it but was quite shocked that these kids could have lived like that.
Also just finished 'In the Name of Salome' by Julia Alvarez, that I picked up at the library - I would highly recommend it - set in Dominican Republic in the late 1880's and in the US in the 1960's (goes back and forth). It is based on real people and tells the story of two women, a mother and daughter. The mothers story is told from birth to death, and the daughters story from old age to birth, and the stories come together. (it took me awhile to figure out that that was happening) It gave a good insight on the history of Cuba and Domincan Republic.
Happy Reading,
Kelly
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