Customer Reviews

Song of the Silk Road

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Who of us does not imagine that one day a letter will arrive transforming our ordinary existence by bringing adventure, romance, money... My own dreams frequently have taken me to the fabled Silk Road that connects some of the world's most remote places. So I opened this new book with its luminous green cover with great expectations. I had thoroughly enjoyed Yip's previous two novels, Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky.

I am glad to say that my expectations were fully met. Indeed, I am now feeling the effects of staying up most of last night to finish it.

The heroine, Lily Lin, is living in New York and wondering where her life is going when the letter arrives. At a meeting with a stuffy lawyer she is told that an aunt, whom she had never known existed, has promised her a reward of 3 million dollars if she retraces the aunt's own exploits on the Silk Road.

Yip vividly conveys the sense of traveling along the Silk Road, one of the harshest environments on the planet. She crosses the Taklamakan desert -- the name means "Go in, won't come out" -- and ascents the high Mountains of Heaven.

There is also a love story that begins with Lily been seen by a young many while she bathes secretly in the pool of an ancient palace. Of course many obstacles arise for them. I will not say how this part ends.

There were many unexpected details that I enjoyed: Lily's friendship with a Chinese Muslim woman -- there are many in China but rarely written about -- Lily's "yin eye" -- the ability to see the spirts of the dead, the "upside-down hanging lotus position," what happens with her all-too-married boyfriend, and more that I will not reveal.

I have traveled on the Silk Road myself and can say that Yip quite vividly conveys what it is like to be this place that was once so dangerous it was said that the most common sights along the way were the bones of travelers and their camels.

If you want an enjoyable read that also expands your knowledge of a far corner of our world, where adventure and even the supernatural still lurk, pick up Song of the Silk Road.

I don't think that I have read a book set in China before. I really liked the story line as it was peppered with descriptions of beautiful locations and much cultural history. It moved along pretty quickly, changing locales and "tasks" and keeping me interested in to where Lily would have to go next and who she might meet along the way. There were many colorful characters from monks to fortune tellers to other travelers.

After starting it, I was not readily invested in the character of Lily Lin. She seemed very shallow and self-centered and sometimes the dialogue seemed a little stilted. I think that Lily comes full circle though and even though the ending contained an unforeseen twist, it had a very satisfactory conclusion.

Yip has two previous novels out, Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky that I think I will adding to my TBR list.

I was drawn to this book by the title, the cover and the idea of a beautiful, exotic journey in a foreign land. What I got was a cheap imitation of a 'journey' story with unbelievable characters, gaping holes in the plot and a bunch of time spent doing nothing.

Lily is told that if she completes her 'aunt's' instructions along the silk road, she'll inherit millions of dollars. She leaves her married ex-teacher (she's the mistress) behind (and her incomplete novel) and heads to China.

For a woman who thinks she's going to earn millions by completing this journey, Lily takes forver to get through it. She has 8 months to complete the task and she spends a great deal of time lounging (and loving) in a small village for no reason. She completes various tasks (occassionally) and ends up with a younger American she meets on her first trip. And let's talk about her 'love interest' (OK so I can't even remember his name. That's terrible!). They meet incidently and I kept thinking he was part of the 'aunt's' plot. I waited for him to have an alterior motive for wanting to spend time with Lily because his actions were so far-fetched and hard to believe. As it turns out, he's just a desperate stalker. He loves her after knowing her for about 2 minutes.

Aside from the pacing issues, the characters suddenly change and then suddenly change back. Lily isn't in love with this young student and repeatedly seeks to get rid of him or avoid him. Then, suddenly, she sleeps with him and is In LOVE. GAG. And let's talk about Lily's morals. She's the mistress of a married man, falls 'in love' with 2 seperate men in this novel and sleeps with a third because her 'aunt' instructed her to. And she just does..she 'doesn't want to' but then just does it anyway. Completely unbelievable.

And I"m not even going to get into Lily's sudden paranormal skills that have no explanation and really aren't needed.

The really unbeliveable bit is the end, which I can't get into without ruining the surprise. Needless to say, it didn't make a lot of sense and then is quickly wrapped up. While I did like what happens when she returns to New York, I also knew it was going to happen as soon as she and her teacher met up.

There were some really nice descriptions in this book and the locations were wonderful. The author obviously has a great imagination, this book was just too disjointed to work.

SONG OF SILK ROAD is a breath-taking read that is one of the best I have read so far this year. Lily is a deep character who has the ability to make her way into your heart. This is a fantastic book that goes beyond entertaining the reader. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy.

This book is a must read! Its very well written and it keeps the reader engaged in what's going on the entire time. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a little adventure.

Meet Lily Lin, an aspiring novelist currently working as a waitress at Shun Lee Palace in Manhattan. She lost both of her parents when she was 28 years old. Her lover Chris Adams is her former creative writing professor, and he is also married with a son.

When she is 29, Lily receives a letter that she has a bequest of $3 million dollars from an aunt named Mindy Madison that she had never known existed, and dismisses it as a scam. When David Mann, an attorney at Mills and Mann Associates, contacts her directly, she pays a visit to the attorney offices, and finds out that in order to gain the money, she must first retrace and travel her aunt's route on the Silk Road in China - over 1,000 miles. She is given a period of 6-8 months to do so, and $50,000 as her "travelling money". She is also given a list of tasks to complete on the journey, including having sex with a specific monk in the "upside down lotus" position. Her only clue that it will be the correct monk is if he says a certain word when he climaxes.

Journeying with Lily is a mixed bag; there are fascinating descriptions of Chinese traditions, folklore, remedies, and sites. I enjoyed meeting some of the people she met, including Keku, her young landlady in the village she eventually establishes as her home base.

Lily meets a strangely persistent young American named Alex at her first stop, and rejects his offer to travel with her. As he continues to show up, eventually she relents and actually has a meal with him, which leads to a friendship and more.

Lily's gift of "seeing" comes in handy in some of her adventures, and when she finally completes her mission, she meets her aunt in a most unlikely place, and finds out that there is more to her own family background than she ever knew.

I initially looked to see if this novel was translated; the writing style was formal and somewhat stiff, as I would expect from many translations. I couldn't find anything stating that it was. I struggled with my reaction to this story. Much of the dialogue was overblown and includes some rather crass sexual talk and scenes. BUT .. at other times, during the descriptions of past (and some present) events and on hearing the background of Lily's family, I was totally caught up. I would go from eye-rolling at the dialogue to being submerged in another part of the story.

All in all, I'm glad to have read it; I even learned some traditional Chinese remedies! Oh, and LOOK at the gorgeous cover (I'm superficial like that). I think this novel would work even better for a reader who is into steamy romance scenes .

QUOTES (from an ARC; may be different in final version):

He went on to tell me some amazing stunts of qigong masters. His grandfather would direct qi from his fingertips to extinguish five lit candles and send a row of people stumbling back without even touching them.

Almost all older generation Chinese believe in yixing buxing - one shape boosting another similar one. Thus chicken feet are said to build dexterous finger, animals' bones your bone (especially menopausal women), pigs' kidneys to strengthen your kidneys, chicken heart, your heart . . .

But more sand had come between his fiery desire and my deep, mysterious valley. Undeterred, he spit, then kissed again.

Writing: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Plot: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Characters: 3 out of 5 stars

Reading Immersion: 3 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Growing up in Hong King, Lily Lin, an orphan at twenty-eight, lives in New York. There she is writing her Chinese-American family biography, attending graduate school at NYU, waiting tables at Shun Lee Palace, and in a nowhere relationship with her married Professor Chris Adams.

Mills and Mann law firm contacts Lily to inform her that she inherited a fortune from a late maternal aunt Mindy Madison who she never knew existed. However, Aunt Mindy placed several stipulations that were placed on the three million. Although she has doubts, Lily, knowing she risks little as her assessment is that she has little decides to take up the gauntlet her aunt placed on her. Lily must perform specific tasks while traveling the Silk Road of the Taklamakan Desert.

This is an intriguing coming of age romantic adventure as the heroine finds her groove and love in the Chinese desert. Lily is a fascinating lead who keeps the story line focused even when her male counterpart seems more like the star of the Perils of Paul. Although the ending is too neatly tied up after such a harrowing trek, readers will enjoy accompanying Lily as she traverses the Silk Road.

I read several chapters of the book and then asked myself why I kept picking it up. It is nothing but sex scenes interspersed with geographical descriptions, tied together with an extremely loose plot. I don't particularly like reading about sex, and that was the only interesting part of the book.

...poorly written. The sex scenes especially are completely laughable and unnecessary. Lily comes off as a stupid, self-centered, slut, and halfway through the book I start hoping that bandits will off her in the desert.

I've enjoyed this journey in China's desert, especially the people described as locals & their ancient beliefs. The narrative was light and easy to follow. Many Chinese quotes were fascinating! I found a lot of similarities with Judaism (which is my set of beliefs and tradition)like, the reverence of one's elders & re-incarnation.