All the Flowers of Shanghai

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


All the Flowers of Shanghai...Before I give my review of this book, I have to clarify that I've read many books about China, Chinese Women and the Cultural Revolution. Being Chinese my self, surrounded by older Chinese women also gave me invaluable insights into the basic struggles and values of them. The bottom line is that I probably had a higher expectation for the book than most.



The story was told in the voice of Xiao Feng, as a letter to the daughter she never raised, recounting her own and her family's history. I love the beginning of the book, where Feng described her happy childhood in Shanghai during the 1930s, spending the day with her Grandfather around town, visiting public gardens, learning names of flowers in Latin and sampling street delicacies. The author's description of Shanghai, possibly in it's most delightful and successful era of history, where all fancy merchandises from all over the world were purchasable, was accurate and enlightening. I almost didn't want her simple childhood to end. Xiao Feng in this part of the book was naive, simple curious, smart, loving and forgiving. She knew that happiness does not come from beauty or wealth, but within.



I love the last 15% of the book as well, where Feng ended up in a sewing factory during the cultural revolution, being reformed and corrected by working hard and enjoying very little. There was a glimpse into the mind and functions of the Red Army members, who were barely immature teenagers themselves. Feng, in this section, did not talk much about her feelings, yet her actions showed she was loving and forgiving, too. The ending was abrupt, leading lots of questions unanswered.



Now it brings us to the major and middle section of the book, which I found unbearable, and not only because of the boring tone of her monologue and her description of mundane things over and over again. This section begins as Feng was married into one of the richest family in Shanghai, which I could not describe how she ended up without spoilers. Her husband was not good-looking, but loved and treasured her. This part should have had lots of potential for the author to develop conflicts and relationships, whether positive or negative, between Feng and her family...but no. Feng spent all her self dwelling in self-pity, repeating meaningless things around her and describing how she resists performing the marriage ritual with her husband, night in and night out. I had no idea how she transformed from the loving girl in the beginning to this materialistic, hateful, deceitful, angry, loveless and full of revenge character overnight. I did not see the causes or events leading to it. I almost stopped reading a few times to get over the torture. Her resistance of performing wife duties was a bit unrealistic and forceful as well, especially for women of that era.

All in all, there are much better books to understand China, and the mentality of Chinese women with.











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Do I Need Another YA Dystopian Novel?

Legend by Marie Lu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another dystopian YA novel recommended by daughter, after Delirium, The Hunger Games, Matched and Divergent...

Like all other YA dystopian novels written by the young and hip set, the story is told in the present sense. The chapters alternate between the voices of June (an elite, top-of-the-line military officer of the Republic) and Day (the most notorious criminal from the poor district). The story takes place in the near future in LA, where US has become a communist-like "Republic", and plague outbreaks are everywhere. The Republic is also fighting its neighboring states, "The Colonies", although very little is said about the colonies in this book. All children are giving a physical, oral and written trial/exam at 10. The passing ones will be sent to high school, college, then work in the government. The failed ones are supposedly sent to labor camp, but...

It's hard to write reviews for YA dystopias, since there are so many similar stories out with the same formula and format, but I think this one has one of the well-developed plots of all. I was captivated from the very beginning, and had to stay up late to finish it. The author was quite good in building suspense and grabbing attention with twists, turns, actions and revelations. The story is very well-constructed.

Now...the weaknesses: I think the romance is quite predictable and it also progresses a bit too quickly in the story, which lessens the intenseness that we see between lovers in other similar YA dystopias. June and Day are also a bit alike in a way - smart, tough, lonely, fast, strong, observant and quick in decision-making. I sometimes had a hard time telling them apart reading each new chapter, since they also narrated alike. Luckily the books used different fonts for each of them, maybe for a reason?

All in all, I think this book is worth reading, especially for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games. It's a wonderful thrill-ride. I'll be waiting for the second book.



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Kristin Hannah, revisited.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Kristin Hannah's books have been recommended to me by a lot of friends, and I love the cover arts! (Who said we can't judge a book by a cover?) Unfortunately, I read The Night Road as my first book, and did not enjoy it as much as I enjoyed works by other similar authors, namely, Picoult and Chamberlain.

However, at the persuasion of more friends, I decided to give her another chance, so I chose Winter Garden as my fluff read at the end of last year to balance the stress. I was so wrong.

The story was about two sisters, who were never loved by their Mom growing up, so each was sad and broken in her own way, yet managed to lead a quite normal and successful life as an adult. When their Dad died, they returned home, and insisted to find the answer for their Mom's sadness and alienation.

I had tears streaming down my face when I tapped the last page on my Kindle, sitting at a Barnes and Noble cafe table, with people staring at me and murmuring to each other. I was wrong. This was definitely not a fluff read and indeed something with substance. It shows us the extreme of loss and grief; the pain that come with loss when we love too much. We protect ourselves from the same pain happening to us again...by not loving.

The story also taught me a bit of history of Leningrad during WWII, although, as a Chinese with extent knowledge of communism and the Cultural Revolution, nothing surprised me under the sun. However, the story still filled me with extreme sadness, regardless of the perfect ending. So, I was wrong again by judging an author with one book. My next read will be Firefly Lane...which most of my friends loved. There's nothing I love more than stories of women friendship!





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Michael Crichton's Micro...a long awaited book.

Micro by Michael Crichton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book deserves a 3.5 stars. As I said, as a long time Crichton fan, I probably came equipped with an overly high expectation. The book started out slow, with lots of loose ends that needed to be tied together, but came together nicely at around 30%. Without giving too much away, I'd have to say Crichton's high-tech, breakthrough technology is here, as well as the thrill factor, so the book is a page-turner. The general idea of the plot was good, and the story could be easily adapted into a movie like all his other books.



What I did not like about the book, is that the characters, especially the few graduate students, blur together a bit in the beginning. I had a hard time telling them apart, and I had no idea who the main characters were, until the very end; since once I developed the liking and understanding of one, she or he gets killed off. The villain is a bit too unrealistic and inhuman.



Preston was good in given reliable and descriptive scientific facts throughout the book...but weak in story telling and character development. I was quite surprised about this since his non-fictions, "The Hot Zone", and "Demon in the Freezer" read almost like a great fictional story. However, for readers who thrive on facts, you would learn a lot about insects, plants, as well as toxins in this story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think all Crichton fans should read it, but wait for the price drop first.



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