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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching story of family ties and reconciliation, July 14, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The three women in this book lived three very different lives, even though they were all from the same family, mother, and two daughters. Each was shaped by circumstances of history, and traumatic events in their lives that isolated them from each other. The mother grew old, the sisters grew up, and they went their separate ways, holding misunderstandings and resentments mingled with familial love and duty.
All this changed when Mary, the eldest daughter invited her mother Fenglan to visit and emigrate to the United States. This event brings the three together, at first awkwardly, almost as strangers. But when her mother reveals a shameful family secret to Mary, she starts to see everything differently about her mother and her father. She started to understand what love and sacrifice meant and how that glue held her parents together and reflecting on the hardships they went through, Mary started to feel closer to her younger sister, instead of always resenting her or controlling her. The book ends kind of slowly, and meanders about, after the major revelations and reconciliations. But it gives us a glimpse of what life was like for the people left in China after the Communist takeover, and the effect it had on those of the lost generation of the Cultural Revolution and their children.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and moving story, August 2, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Fan Wu shares with us a history of the lives of Chinese women here and in China. The two sisters, Mary and Ingrid, have moved to the U.S. to study and have stayed to work and live. The character of Mary is the least likeable of the three women, while the Mother, Fenglen, is the most likeable character, or at least the one I can relate to the most.
Mary is pious, selfish, and demanding of her family. She is resentful of her sister's vagabond behavior after she paid her way to this country and helped her get an education. At first I really disliked Mary, but I did grow to care about her as the story unfolded. Ingrid is also resentful and troubled by her past including her experience at the Tiananmen Square massacre. Fenglen, too, has suffered many hardships that her children can never understand. She seems old beyond her years.
In the past few years I have had to opportunity to host several Chinese men college students in my home. Reading this novel helped me to understand some of the cultural differences that I had not quite grasped. I do not think that any of us who have not experienced the history of the Chinese people can possibly understand what they have gone through. Fan Wu helps us to go forward slightly in our understanding.
I found this book difficult to read at first because the writing gets in the way of the story. She changes tenses constantly, first writing in present tense and then going to past tense without warning. She tends to get bogged down in very small details that really don't help the story move forward. I never did get used to the writing style and found it tedious at times. But I am very glad I read the book. I was quite touched by the story and was sad to have it come to an end. I wanted to know more about how the various characters' lives turned out.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
women of two generations, July 22, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This novel told the stories of three women from China, and how the historical events of that country affected their lives.
Wang Fenglan is the widowed mother, who still resides in China. Her family came from Nanking, and was affected by the famous sacking of that city in the WW2 years. Later her family was caught up in the Communist take over and her own married life was strongly affected by the Cultural Revolution. Fenglan is a survivor.
Mary Chang is the older daughter, living in the US with her American born husband and son. She is living the life of a yuppie in the greater Bay area. Underneath the facade of a perfect wife and mother and church goer lies a seething bed of frustration and resentment.
The younger daughter, Ingrid, is a survivor of the Tiananmen Square massacre, where her college boyfriend died. She is estranged from her older sister, and lives a bohemian life in New York City.
When Mary brings the mother from China to California for a prolonged visit, it brings the three women together - and they must work on their strained relationships and face secrets from their pasts.
I was not sure about the historal/political content of the book going in - I was a bit worried that it would make the book a rather grim read. But the writing was smooth, and the author balanced the more depressing scenes from the past with the fact that the three women were able to go on and make decent lives for themselves anyway. perhaps they are emotionally scarred, but they are unbeaten.
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