Customer Reviews

Interior

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have to admit I have read every one of Lisa See's books. The Inspector Liu/Attorney Stark books are very different from her other books (Peony in Love, Snow Flower & the Secret Fan, On Gold Mountain), but what I love about this author is that each of her book is unique and full of surprises. I came across Dragon Bones first and was hooked! At that time it was very hard to get a copy of The Interior. I ended up paying an outrageous amount to get a used one, and I am delighted --for Writer See and her other fans -- that it's now out in paperback. (I would have saved money if I waited, but I just couldn't wait. LOL.) The Interior is my favorite of the three books in this genre (Dragon Bones & Flower Net being the other two). The characters are complex, the plot sophisticated. These books do not have the literary value of See's other books, but I gave this book a 5 because it's among the best in this genre. I have e-mailed Writer See, asking when she will come out with her next Red Princess mystery. She promised there will be another. I can't wait!

I first read Lisa See's Flower Net and couldn't wait until I read The Interior. Both books are beautifully and complexly plotted with betrayals that one does not see coming but, when they come, seem just right. The complexity of Chinese society, so much that is so positive yet also so much that seems enignmatic and/or corrupt to a Westerner, is conveyed beautifully by having both an American and a Chinese protagonist. The first book dealt with the drug trade (but not a conventional one), the second with entrepreneurial corruption and avarice, as well as with love in a variety of forms. See does not focus just on Beijing but on the countryside, not just on the role of the investigator but also that of the factory worker, not just on those who are prominent in Chinese society but on those who are poor and often exploited, not just on the situation of women but also of men, and, lastly, not just on those who are professionals today but on those who lived during the Cultural Revolution. Both books are long, but I wanted neither to come to an end. Now I look forward to Dragon Bones!

The previous reviewer doesn't seem to have actually read The Interior -- at least not the same book I did. I was struck from the beginning of this book by just how different it is from your average thriller. Just the information about what life is like in rural China was enough to keep me reading -- it seems like See has done a lot of research on the subject (either that or she has a great imagination...) In any case, I felt that she used this very specific local, and lifestyle as a jumping off point for what turned out to be a great story as well. I just love the character of Liu Hulan -- she's new new twist on the detective fiction heroine -- and her relationship with David Stark is one we can all identify with in this global village we live in. How can people from two such different backrounds make a relationship work? This book is much more than a thriller - it's a rich and complex novel.

The best feature of "The Interior" is its setting. Lisa See brings China alive for the reader. She sets most of this novel in the countryside of modern day China and she uses flashbacks to fill in the background of the story. She has the characters speaking in transliterated Chinese, which adds to the verisimilitude and to the colorful nature of the narrative. I like the complexity of the characters, especially Liu Hulan, who is extremely flawed, yet fascinating. The author also effectively uses topical subjects to make the book come alive, such as the use of child labor in China to make products for export, the "action-figure" craze (which brings to mind Pokemon and the like), the exploitation of workers who labor under terrible conditions for little pay, and the shaky relationship between the United States and China. The mystery is not bad, but it is a little too complicated and melodramatic at the end. The book could have been cut as well. It is almost 400 pages, which seems a little long. However, Lisa See has a freshness and an originality that is missing from most of the formulaic fiction that is written these days.

This book is clearly not for the simple minded. Brilliant, complicated and original - if you like mysteries (and like to think) The Interior is the book for you. Following in the steps of Pearl S. Buck, Lisa See has once again proven herself to be one of America's top writers.

With this book you will understand that not all the things are as they look, the chinese police were investigating a murder of a girl who worked in an american factory, they found that the factory was completely out of the chinese law, they found that the general manager was almost a killer, the factory which was closed because of their problems with the workers didn't have anything to do with this murder, read this book you will enjoy it.

With the publication of The interior, Lisa See shows her staying power and ability to build an existing character in the personality of Liu Hulan, a detective in Communist China's Ministry of Public Security.

See uses her considerable knowledge about Chinese life in China to ad depth to her characters and a tangible landscape within to unfold a complex tale of cross cultural international intrigue.

If you are interested in straight forward characters, and a clear idea of who the good guys and bad guys are, then maybe this novel is not for you.

But if you are hungry for complex characters operating in difficult cultural and political circumstances, then this book is highly recommended.

I believe we will see more of See, and it will not be on anyone elses coat tales. The interior shows an increased level of maturity and focus in her writing which I am sure will continue to grow with her characters and novels.

I spent 6 wks in Xian working in a hospital. The rules of etiquette were shocking to me until I caught on. This book mirrored for me the nature of interpersonal interactions as I experienced them in China. The novel felt so authentic that it felt like I had been afforded a trip to the interior of the country that I was unable to accomplish while I was in the country.

The story-line was fascinating and I was caught up almost from the start. The characters were so well drawn that I felt I could actually see them in my mind's eye.

I miss China. Thanks for the trip back there, Lisa See. And thanks for a gripping, terrific tale.

As a reader of detective fiction and sometimes thrillers, I found The Interior a very pleasant surprise. I read about it in the paper, so I thought I'd pick it up. I read a lot of books with female protagonists (Sue Grafton, etc.), and I really enjoyed the character of Liu Hulan. It brings a whole new twist to the female lead when the character is Chinese. There are so many cultural hurdles that Hulan has to jump just to do her job (as a Chinese police detective), not to mention to keep her relationship with American attorney David Stark intact. I felt like I really learned a lot about China and its culture, while also reading a good mystery/thiller. I highly recommend The Interior.

"The Interior" is a very apt title for the second novel in the Red Princess series. Not only does it refer to the interior of China but also to the need of Hulan and David to see beneath the masks of the many characters around them as well as their own.

The characters stand out - especially the women: Suchee, Miaoshan, Peanut, and Hulan. Hulan says at one point that to solve Miaoshan's murder, she needs to understand Miaoshan. The reader is prone to add that to truly understand the first two Red Princess novels, she has to understand Hulan, who continues to remain a woman of mystery, torn by many conflicting feelings and memories of her past. Her comment to David that she has never received unconditional love says a lot about her. And encompassing everything once again is the mystery of China itself.

As for David Stark, in one sense, he is the traditional hero - intelligent, strong, principled, and loving. He also serves as the eyes and ears of the reader. We see him mostly in China, where he doesn't understand much about Chinese languages or China's rituals and culture. As he admits himself, although he is a very able attorney, he knows little about Chinese law.

Although a former prosecuting attorney, he sometimes seems to trust people too much, as Hulan herself states. If a friend tells him something, he tends to believe it without verifying the facts. If he is told by associates in the States that financial transactions he is becoming involved in are completely legal and above board, he accepts this on their word.

In terms of plot, See has once again done a good job of crafting an exciting complex narrative in which everything fits together at last. The plot centers on the tendency of both Chinese and American businessmen to exploit China for profit and power. The mistreatment of the women working in a Chinese toy factory is treated with carefully presented detail and empathy.

See is especially effective in concluding scenes.. The Epilogue focusing on Suchee working in the fields, unable to forget the painful past, is deeply moving. Even the Acknowledgments are warm, touching, and totally in keeping with the novel.

All in all, "The Interior" is a worthy successor of "Flower Net".