Customer Reviews

Beautiful as Yesterday: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Fan Wu's second novel, BEAUTIFUL AS YESTERDAY, is a story that displays and reflects on identity and culture. In particular, the experiences, which Chinese and Chinese American women have had to deal with as they relate to China's Communist past, Mao's Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square. Wu does not intensely intertwines the historic aspects with the contemporary story, but subtly shows the relationship and significance of these events with the main characters who happened to be academically inclined, Mary Chang, a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry, her sister Ingrid who aspires to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing, their mother and father, and numerous friends and relatives that help to interconnect their world.

Wu's story may fall within the same lines as most Amy Tan books. There are the major themes of culture and tradition as well as the continuous examination of East versus West that is situated underneath the experiences that each character encounters, misconceptions, myths, and romanticism that is evoked with the so-called orient; the issues that are addressed in the book range from the twisted and skeptical perceptions that arise that may have something to do with the clash between political, social, and cultural boundaries, Communism versus Christianity and the generation gap. But beyond the important topics and issues, there are interesting parts of the book that may entice and intrigue the reader, which is shown with intimacy and compassion and appear somewhat provocative.

In essence, BEAUTIFUL AS YESTERDAY is a thought provoking and insightful book that is a welcome addition to this genre of literature. Wu's contribution to the literary world helps to continue to bridge an understanding of Asian culture and society, especially for those who have experienced different perceptions from two lenses as immigrants and natives. It is a unique story that resonates China's historic past but also moves forward toward a fruitful future.

Great fiction can be magic, taking us within the minds of characters who illuminate our own dilemmas. Halfway through this beautiful and evocative novel, the reader realizes that this is something more than an exploration of three Chinese women in America.

Mary Chang has Americanized her first name from Guo-mei. She's married to a man who is Chinese by blood and totally American in culture. Her younger sister who she has sponsored to come to America goes by Ingrid. Mary brings her mother to her home in Silicon Valley on a six month visa and Ingrid relocates to San Francisco to be close while their mother is visiting.

On the surface, these three women don't get along and don't understand one another. The reasons slide and interlock as the novel shows us their inner lives, but the reality is this: none of these women comes from the same China and none of them experiences the same America.

Secrets from the past are to blame, secrets the older generation conceal from the younger. Thus the past always looks beautiful, when in reality it was just as complex and ugly as the present.

The author has a clear prose style which pulls the reader along. I found myself caught up in the lives of these characters, seeing the ending looming like an iceberg from the bow of the Titanic and then seeing rescue at hand. This novel is never so joyful as when it deals with the natural sorrow of life; never so simple as when it reveals the complexity of life in all its glory. Highly recommended!

Fan Wu wrotes a realistic novel that captivates the reader from the start by her crystalline clear descriptions of places, people, thoughts, feelings and experiences. She writes about the differences in personality and character of two Chinese sisters Mary and Ingrid who immigrated to the United States and built very different lives for themselves. It is a book about growing up during difficult times, family dynamics, relationships and shared history which is viewed from the unique perspective and personal viewpoints of the two sisters. Although they both live in the same family and had the same parents their perceptions of the past varied for many reasons. The author does a superb job of weaving the past and present through flashback memories of the main characters. One of the sisters is tempted to have an affair with an old Chinese boyfriend who visits the United States on a business trip. It is interesting to see how she deals with this situation. The other sister recalls her participation in the student protests at Tianeman Square and its aftermath. Her father had begged her not to be there on that day. She now feels ashamed of how she treated him at the time. The author describes the restrictions, fears, political repercussions and ramifications of living under Communism during the reign of Mao. There are many surprises in this book which makes it a fascinating reading experience.

The author skillfully brings together the past and present when Wang Fenglan their mother visits the United States and lives with Mary, her oldest daughter. The two sisters, Mary and Ingrid are as different as night and day in their personalities, values and approach to life. There is a very good explanation why they are so different which becomes the biggest surprise and unexpected twist in the book. They learn much about their lives as well as their family's history when their mother visits. When she visits, the two sisters make peace and strengthen their bond of love. They learn of much about their parents courage, sacrifice and hardwork, of the difficulties they overcame to have a life under Mao in Communist China. The two sisters view their own lives through new understanding which now includes compassion and love. They iron out their misunderstandings and differences as they learn what is most important in life. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

This turned into a good story but it was really hard for me to get into. I actually struggled to keep reading. Like another reader mentioned, Mary's character is hard to become interested in and Mary is the character Wu opens with. I usually really enjoy reading about Chinese culture especially because my mother is from Taiwan and her culture is something which has always fascinated me.

Reading these stories within this book was nothing very fascinating for me. It was interesting to read how certain events affected the lives of a Chinese -American but none which really made this a page turner.

set in early 21st century in Silicon Valley of two sisters who immigrated from China in the 80s and 90s. Though they have lived in the western world for over a decade and even married American-born Chinese, they grew up in China with the memory of parents tortured in Cultural Revaluation and the younger sister's own participation in the 89 Tiananmen Square. They are a very different subgroup of Chinese Americans who not only speak Mandarin but deeply may never be able to forget their Chinese roots.
Amy Tan's stories are largely about American born Chinese who may or may not ever visit China nor did they witness in their own eyes the recent Chinese historical events like the first generation Chinese immigrants did. The two sisters in BEAUTIFUL AS YESTERDAY truly brought in the perspectives of the first generation immigrants in a nicely-paced story-telling way. Through the lives and memories of the sisters and their mother, what I really appreciate is the historical background that gives me a peak into the 60s' to 80s' real China.

Like her characters, the novelist Fan Wu moves between two names, two worlds, two cultures. She writes in English, although she was born and raised in China, came to the U.S. for graduate school, and began writing here in the closing years of the old millennium.

"Beautiful as Yesterday" is a lyrical, understated story about sisters, mothers, daughters; about how history is made of people and becomes an invisible motif in family lives.

The story opens in late 2000. Mary Chang is a Silicon Valley professional with a rote job at a high-tech company and a husband who works too hard at a startup. Ingrid is Mary's younger, taller, free-spirited, freelancer sister, who drifts unattached between New York and San Francisco, and places in between. The sisters are preparing for their mother's visit from China.

Fan Wu describes contemporary Chinese immigrant experiences, but her themes are universal: family tensions; secrets from the past; and memories of suffering and upheaval (the Japanese invasion of China, the rise of Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen Square), which rise up and push for resolution. The story closes in China, in a moment of uncertainty that's also forward-looking and hopeful, a prayer for continuity between past and future.

Fan Wu's appetite for the rhythm and craft of writing and the pleasure she takes in transmuting English are among the delights of this read. In "Beautiful as Yesterday," the storyteller's voice is soft-spoken, but self-assured; artful, but never intrusive. Buoyed by the momentum of her confident prose, the author ends on an upbeat, a gentle sense that resolution can come without abandoning the old country. It's a refreshing read for a summer weekend.

Chinese is the flavor of the month in literary circles. But I'm a fan of Chinese-American fiction from way back - Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan in books, Ang Lee and Alice Wu in the movies. So, given that this award-winning author came with rave reviews from the critics, I was looking forward to an enjoyable read.

I couldn't finish the book. Certainly the plot and setting were interesting, and even personal (I lived in Silicon Valley, grew up in NYC, and had relatives who were first-generation). But the author writes in a style best described as third-person neurotic. In a cyberpunk novel I would expect that every appliance mentioned would include its make and model number. In a Harlequin romance I might expect the emotional backdrop of every interaction to be drilled down. But this level of detached detail just doesn't work here, or maybe it just doesn't work for me.

If possible, read a few pages of this novel before buying it. If you like the style, more power to you. If not, better to find out ahead of time.