Customer Reviews

SOUR SWEET (Aventura)

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

 

 

Not quite... But I thoroughly enjoyed this sour sweet tale of Chinese immigrants in England: the sweetness is in the wonderful characters that come alive in all their diversity. The sour aftertaste has to do with the less likeable Hong Kong Triads, and it grows more powerful as you read. But all in all I enjoyed this book more than I can do justice to it. Moreover it struck a very personal chord; there's a sentence when the Chinese father, looking at his English-born son, reflects that the little one playing in the garden is born in a place where he can escape the constraints of tradition and history and live in freedom...

I think that this book - Sour Sweet - by Timothy Mo was a great and enjoyable book to read. His writing on Chinese family adapting to the British and his ending on how the life ended was great literature, but sympathizing and as a Chinese, I have never heard of such stories. So when I first read it, it touched me through my heart, and I started giving sympathy to those who are in need of help, whoever they may be. I think I liked this book because of the sympathy that Timothy Mo has given me. I think I now know that many people are struggling out there to adapt, and I would like to stop being such a spoiled child after reading this magnificent novel.

John Li

I recommend this novel without reservation. It is almost a shock to read a novel written in a classically disciplined style. Mo's writing doesn't take short cuts or skip on background. Conventional in the finest sense and bold in terms of story and character rather than style. I was swept up in the story of the Chen family and the London triad. Having lived in Taiwan for over a year, I also enjoyed all of the Chinese culture. This book made me much more sympathetic to the Chinese despite the fact that it pulls no punches in describing their peculiar ethos. Very enjoyable read.

Mo has a good sense of humor and a heart-warming way with characters. This tale of a Chinese family in England is at times a good series of lessons on Chinese culture.

Somewhat clumsily (at times) juxtaposing triad gang strife with the struggle of a family to succeed, Mo weaves a story that is fun to read.

Mo is a master craftsman of dialogue. His careful way of transposing Cantonese into English is to be praised... the reader really feels he is understanding another language.

As a student of English literature I found this book hard to follow at first. Yet reading beyond a certain point, I understood the specialness of the diverse characters and the interelations between the characters. It is a beautiful book if you are willing to take the time to read deep into the novel. I'm glad I got the chance to read this novel.

Sour Sweet enlightens Americans and Europeans whose only idea of newly-arrive Asian immmigrants is one of super-students. A great look at how they view us, instead of the other way around. A definite must read for anyone interested in Asian culture in the West.

I was able to get an out-of-print book from this seller that was in top-notch condition for the lowest price I've seen!

This story of an immigrant Chinese family is truly a wonderful insight to a culture that is with us but normally unavailable to us. The character studies of each member of the family are fascinating. I would recommend all of Timothy Mo's books, he is a gifted writer