Review: At the Chinese Table (by Carolyn Phillips)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

 

"...a fine meal [should be] designed to feed the mind, not just the mouth and the stomach."

 

It's no secret that I love food memoirs – in fact, if given a choice between reading a regular memoir and a food-related memoir, the food one wins out every time!  The reason for this is, well yes, I love to eat, but more significantly, I'm also fascinated by the "culture" of food and the myriad ways that different experiences with food can shape our lives, often in the most unexpected ways. In this regard, Carolyn Phillips' newest work At the Chinese Table was the absolute perfect read, one that checked every single box in terms of what I look for in memoirs, yet at the same time, it also exceeded my expectations in so many ways.  It's not often that a memoir goes way beyond its stated intent of providing insight into aspects of the author's life by incorporating elements such as: a beautifully written, immersive narrative that brought various delectable food dishes to life through lush, vivid descriptions; wonderfully-rendered illustrations (all drawn by the author herself!) woven throughout each chapter that perfectly complemented the author's story; an in-depth exploration of not just a diverse and rich cuisine, but also its history and culture; easy-to-follow recipes with helpful tips and even a glossary of often-encountered terms; and ancestral stories about the Chinese family she married into, a family that inadvertently taught her so much about life, love, relationships, and food.

My experience reading this book was actually very different from all of the previous food memoirs I've read in the past due to the fact that I grew up in a traditional Chinese family just like the author's husband – a background that meant, going into this book, I already had a certain familiarity with the cuisines and the various dishes described in such vivid detail throughout the book.  With Chinese food oftentimes depicted in a homogenous, stereotypical way in mainstream American culture, it was refreshing to see Phillips (a white American woman) go the opposite direction and actually take the time to explore, recognize, and embrace the variety of flavors and nuances of Chinese cuisine  (of course, the fact that her Chinese husband is an epicurean who shares her love for good, authentic Chinese food definitely helped) — to the point that her enthusiasm and love for Chinese cuisine shines forth in every page.  I love how Phillips covers such a variety of different cuisines from all across Taiwan and Mainland China — from food stalls, street markets, and hole-in-the-wall local diners to traditional family dishes and even "haute couture" fare from fancy restaurants.  I mean, how often will you see dishes such as the following mentioned all in one book: yanduxian (one of my favorite Shanghainese dishes), dandan mein, suanni bairou (a Sichuanese dish that is spicy as hell but oh so delicious!), pidan doufu (a tofu dish with preserved egg), xianfantuan(rice roll with fried cruller and other stuffing that, when paired with a warm bowl of soy bean milk, is one of the most heavenly of Taiwanese breakfasts!), hongxiao shizitou (red-braised lion's head meatballs), fenzheng paigu(rice-covered steamed pork ribs over sweet potato — another of my favorite dishes that I rarely see mentioned anywhere!), just to name a few. It was such a delight to see so many familiar dishes (and more) given such detailed coverage (the one downside though was that I started craving these dishes as I was reading knowing full well I wouldn't be able to satisfy those cravings any time soon).  

Without a doubt, this has been one of the most personal and heartfelt memoirs I've read to date!  It's definitely a must-read for anyone who loves and appreciates the varied flavors of authentic Chinese cuisine.  Highly recommended!

Received finished copy from publisher W.W. Norton Company via BookBrowse First Impressions program.

 

Review: Diamond Hill (by Kit Fan)

My Rating: 2 stars

 

I really really wanted to like this book…actually, not just like it, but love it. I mean, how often do I come across a book written in English that is set in my birth city of Hong Kong and is actually about HK people, places, culture, history, etc.  After reading the premise, my expectation was that this would be a story that was truly HK-focused, with an authentic portrayal of the city that wasn't written from a primarily Western point of view.  Going into this, I was excited and kept thinking to myself — finally, a book about the old HK that will satisfy the nostalgia I've been feeling lately about a city I've always loved, but had become increasingly foreign to me in recent years.  I went into this with high hopes and also preparing to rate it highly.  Unfortunately, this book turned out to be nothing like what I expected (in a bad way) and after reading it, instead of feeling nostalgic, I actually ended up feeling frustrated and disappointed.

 

The biggest issue I had with this book was that the writing was very disjointed and uneven, which wouldn't have been as bad of a problem except that the story overall was also poorly executed — both of these things, along with several other issues I found, made this an extremely frustrating read for me. In fact, I had actually wanted to DNF this book several times (which is not a good sign, as I'm a stickler for finishing every book I read), but I pressed on, reminding myself every couple pages of all the things I had mentioned above about why I had been so excited to read this.  I ultimately finished, but not without resorting to skimming the last 50 pages or so (because by that point, I was already at my wit's end).

 

The main thing about the writing and execution that frustrated me was the constant switching back and forth between style and tone — one minute, the writing would be eloquent, descriptive, even philosophical, but then the next minute, the writing would descend into profanity-laced vulgarities that seemed to come out of nowhere.  If this happened only once or twice, then it wouldn't be a problem, but the writing actually alternated between these two extremes for the entire story.  As if that weren't enough, there was also a lot of switching back and forth between English and either formal Chinese or Cantonese slang (with English translation in parentheses next to it) — normally, I would be happy to see a book written in English about Chinese culture / experience utilize Chinese characters as needed to enhance the story, but in this case, the switching was done haphazardly, in a random way that made absolutely no sense to me — for instance, randomly inserting Chinese (with English translation) in the middle of characters' dialogues or having some side character who only shows up for like a minute blurt out a bunch of profanities in Cantonese as a main character passes by.  Again, I would be fine with it if incorporating these phrases served a purpose in the story, advanced the plot, or were necessary to characterization— but none of it did…the phrases that the author chose to write in Chinese didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them.  From a character perspective, it didn't make sense for some of the characters to speak a hybrid of English / Cantonese to the extent that these characters did (yes, some Hong Kongers do mix some English in their speech, but most ordinary folks don't constantly switch back and forth between the two languages like that unless they're bicultural or they were educated overseas or in an international school where everything is taught in English).  It almost seemed like the author couldn't decide whether he wanted to write in English or Chinese and so decided to do a hodgepodge of both.  

In addition, I also found the prolific and gratuitous use of Cantonese slang words and profanities throughout the story not only unnecessary, but also annoying.  In the Author's Note at the end of the book, Kit Fan explains that he included the Cantonese slang and profanities in both Chinese and English throughout the book in order to "give a culturally distinctive inflection to a language that is under threat, not unlike the shanty town in the novel" – while I agree with the sentiment that Cantonese is a language that has increasingly come under threat over the years, I disagree with the method of sprinkling 'random Cantonese profanities + their English translations' throughout the story as a means of preserving the "vitality of the language."  Even if the author wanted to show the distinctive cultural flavor of Cantonese slang (or the language as a whole), incorporating a few phrases here and there would've been enough — but inundating the story with it, especially when majority of the slang and profanities were irrelevant to the story, that's going overboard in my opinion.  In terms of the translations in parentheses— perhaps because I am both a Cantonese and English speaker myself (as well as a translator for the Chinese/English language pairing), this method especially frustrated me, as my brain is wired to automatically compare the Chinese and English to see if it was translated correctly (quite a bit of it actually wasn't), so each time it switched to Chinese, I got jarred out of the story – basically, rather than enhancing the story or helping me appreciate it more, the Chinese words and phrases with its translations ended up being a distraction that made it difficult to concentrate on the story itself.

 

Speaking of the story – well, this was another aspect that I found problematic.  First of all, there wasn't really a plot to speak of – there were a lot of detailed descriptions of places and characters' surroundings, but little to no substance in terms of what actually happens.  If I had to summarize this book, I would say that it is essentially an "information dump about HK" – there is an abundance of name-dropping of various HK people, places, things, historical events, cultural aspects, etc., almost all of which would be recognizable to anyone decently familiar with the city, but none of it advanced the plot and very little (if any) was actually relevant to the story.  Even the characters had no depth to them -- it seemed like the main purpose of the characters was to either 1) describe their surroundings, or 2) regurgitate heaps of (oftentimes unnecessary and irrelevant) information about HK to anyone who would listen, or 3) insult others with some type of profanity / vulgarity and/or drop a random Chinese idiom in the middle of a lengthy, rambling discourse about things may or may not have been important, but I had already stopped caring by that point.

 

What bothered me most about this book though was the stereotypical way in which all the female characters were portrayed in the story.  Of course, I wasn't expecting a male author to write complex female characters completely accurately, but I was disappointed (and more than a bit miffed) that the author seemed to go the route of portraying all the women as sexual stereotypes who essentially fell into three categories:  the uptight, sex-deprived nun; the promiscuous, 'gangster wannabe' tomboy;  and the sex-crazy, possibly a little unhinged prostitute.  Though I understand that these portrayals probably weren't intentional on the author's part, as a woman, I found such depictions offensive and worrisome, especially since we've seen over the past year how harmful perpetuating such stereotypes can be.  

 

With all that said, I do believe in giving credit where it's due and so I have to say that the author did a pretty good job giving readers unfamiliar with HK a better understanding of what life in Diamond Hill was like back in the day.  The feelings of despair and uncertainty that were pretty widespread throughout HK in the years after the signing of the Joint Declaration were also well-depicted — feelings that were exacerbated tenfold after what happened in Tiananmen in 1989 (and sparked fears about the fate of Hong Kongers after the handover).

Even though this book absolutely didn't work for me, I am clearly the exception here given all the 4 and 5 star reviews I've seen for this one.  So I would say check out the other reviews so you can make an informed decision on whether you'd be interested in reading this one. 

Received ARC from World Editions via Edelweiss.

  

 

 

Review: The Maidens (by Alex Michaelides)

My Rating: 3 stars

Being one of the few people out there who hasn't yet read The Silent Patient (though I am familiar with all the buzz surrounding the book, as it seemed like everyone couldn't stop talking about it), I went into Alex Michaelides' second novel The Maidens with very few (if any) expectations. In the end, I found this new sophomore effort quite lackluster for the most part — and while I can't use the word "disappointing" (since I haven't read The Silent Patient so I don't have a comparison point) to describe this one, I can say that I would be surprised if it gets the same level of hype as its predecessor.  

Overall, I found this to be a run-of-the-mill psychological thriller that, while entertaining, largely lacked substance.  In addition to not liking any of the characters in the story (more on this later), I felt the main problem with this book is the plausibility factor — meaning that much of the plot, the way things played out, didn't make a whole lot of sense.  In fact, some of the plot points felt far-fetched to the point that I had to suspend disbelief through most of it.  For me, one of the most glaring nonsensical plot points was to have a murder investigation team — from the chief inspector to the forensic analysts to everyone in between — be so utterly useless and incompetent, it was beyond laughable (the investigation was akin to child's play essentially — there was little to no "professionalism" to speak). Another plot point that didn't make sense was to have a therapist (the story's main protagonist Mariana) with no criminal investigation experience and who was essentially a stranger (she was an alumni of the university where the murders occurred and her niece was currently in attendance at the university) be "allowed" to keep repeatedly (and defiantly) inserting herself into the investigation (not only that, she seemed to have free reign on campus too, which I thought was odd considering she was neither faculty nor student — she was even able to book rooms and have meetings with people as though she lived there, even though she supposedly hadn't set foot on campus for over 20 years).  Speaking of Mariana, she was a character I actually couldn't stand at all — I felt like for most of the story, she was either pining for her dead husband (who seemed to get conjured up into Mariana's thoughts every couple pages) or irrationally working herself into a frenzy over some aspect of the murder cases (which, again, had nothing to do with her).  

Not surprisingly, this was actually a thriller where I figured everything out pretty early on, as it was fairly obvious in my opinion — but of course I kept reading because I was curious whether I got it right.  For this reason, the "big reveal" ended up being anti-climactic for me and there really wasn't much of a "twist" to speak of (nothing that kept me on the edge of my seat or made my jaw drop). I also felt there were way too many distractions with the storyline, most of which were unnecessary — red herrings galore that I assume were meant to cleverly distract but instead convoluted the story in a way that made it frustrating to read (at least for me).

With all that said, there were parts of the story I did appreciate, such as the atmospheric way that the university campus and its surroundings were described.  I also thought the various connections to Greek mythology were interesting and done in a way that didn't require much prior knowledge to the subject matter, so it was accessible to the average reader.

Since I already feel like I've said too much, I will go ahead and end it here.  I will say that I did like this one overall, but I didn't feel that it was anything special — it's basically a thriller I'll read once and forget about.  I know I'm probably an outlier with this one, so I would recommend checking out the other reviews for a more balanced perspective. And yes, I still do intend on reading The Silent Patient at some point — who knows, maybe my opinion will change after reading that one, especially since I was told there is a connection between both books.

Received ARC from Celadon Books via their Early Reader program. 

Review: Heavy: An American Memoir (by Kiese Laymon)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

 

Last month, when I found out that author Jesmyn Ward started a book club on Literati, I immediately went to go check it out and of course, ultimately, I couldn't resist joining.  For the club's inaugural read, Ward chose Kiese Laymon's memoir Heavy, which he wrote in the second person perspective directly addressing his mother.  I've read quite a few memoirs over the years and this one, by far, has been the most powerful and thought-provoking.  In eloquent, beautifully-rendered, poetic language, Laymon writes honestly and candidly about his  experiences – from his difficult coming-of-age growing up as a hard-headed, heavyset black boy in Jackson, Mississippi, to his complicated relationship with his brilliant but abusive mother, to his own struggles with obesity, eating disorders, gambling addiction, and a lifetime spent running away from truths he didn't want to face.  Deeply interwoven throughout Laymon's narrative is also a searing exploration of systemic racism in America as well as the complex (and oftentimes misunderstood) realities of living as a person of color in a society that largely prefers to move forward without having to reckon with its past.

 

Laymon tells his story with a raw honesty and candor that I absolutely found admirable.  It's not easy to share traumatic memories about one's life, especially memories that previously (and continues to) evoked so much pain, anger, confusion, shame, sadness, etc. – yet Laymon does not hold back, and instead, bares his soul as well as his heart.  He doesn't hide his own flaws, nor does he try to deflect or assign blame for his trauma onto others – in addition to taking responsibility for his own shortcomings and where his actions may have hurt others, his reluctance to criticize his mom despite the pain she caused him, choosing to love rather than to confront, then finally communicating his feelings to her via this book, to me, it speaks volumes.  I found his journey so heartbreaking, yet he was willing to share such a vulnerable part of himself with us – I admire and appreciate his courage!

 

Not surprisingly, this was a difficult book to read, not just because of the "heavy" subject matter, but also because of the visceral emotions that reading about Laymon's experiences evoked.  On a personal level, I was able to relate to so many of Laymon's struggles, whether it was within himself, his family, or society as a whole, despite the fact that we both come from different cultures and backgrounds (he is a Black man who grew up in Mississippi while I'm a Chinese woman who grew up in California) due to having experienced some of the same issues that he did.  I recognize the pain from having been a victim of abuse and the impact it can have on your sense of self and well-being.  I understand confusion of having a parent-child relationship where you love each other dearly, yet somehow can't step yourselves from hurting each other over and over again (as well as the cycle of shame and guilt that goes along with it).  I know what it feels like to grow up in an environment where, no matter how hard you try or how much you are able to achieve, you'll forever be considered "less than," merely because of your skin tone or facial features.  Laymon talks about the ills of systemic racism and the ease with which it allows some people to weaponize "blackness" against him, and against his fellow black brothers and sisters, akin to ways that I've seen the "model minority" label weaponized against many in the Asian community.  

Given the weight of the topics and the tremendous ground that Laymon covers, it is nearly impossible to reconcile the many stirring insights and revelations that he sets forth in these memories that he shares so candidly with us.  This is a highly recommended memoir, one that is both heartfelt and heart-rending, but a must-read nevertheless.  

People We Meet in Vacation (by Emily Henry)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

 

This was a light, fun, escapist read – exactly the type of book I needed at the moment after a slew of heavy reads.  With that said though, I'm not a huge fan of rom-coms and while I liked both of the main characters Alex and Poppy well enough, there were times when the dynamics of their relationship frustrated me.  I don't take well to "angsty" love stories where the main characters (both single and unattached) clearly and obviously love each other, but intentionally suppress their feelings and choose not to communicate it, then proceed to "torture" themselves by pining for each other for majority of the story.  Nothing wrong with this type of setup of course, it's just that, for me personally, I don't have the patience it.  The structure of the story also didn't really help things, as the jumping back and forth between Alex and Poppy's past summer trips and the current one was confusing and while I understand this was meant to show the evolution of their relationship, it actually made it harder for me to stay invested, as I felt it got too repetitive after awhile. 

 

Overall, I would say that I did enjoy this one while I read it, but there wasn't anything special about it that would make me remember it later on or want to re-read it.  The travel aspect was a nice touch though, especially during this time period with most of us having been cooped up at home for the better part of a year – I had fun traveling around the world and seeing which exotic locaiton Alex and Poppy would end up in next!   The humor in the story I also felt was spot on – in fact, the best part of the book in my opinion was the witty banter between Poppy and Alex, which I definitely had a lot of fun reading.

 

I had read this author's previous book Beach Read last year (in May / June, so around the same time as now), also with the intention of taking a break from heavier reads  (as well as everything else that was going on in the world at that time) and in looking back at my review of that book, I found that my sentiments toward it were very similar to how I felt toward this one (which I guess isn't too surprising since the stories themselves are kind of similar): both were well-written, smart, funny, and altogether enjoyable reads, albeit this one had a slower moving plot than I would've liked and also took me longer to read.  Readers who enjoy rom-coms will probably love this one, so if that's you, I'd definitely recommend picking this up! 

 

 

Review: Malibu Rising (by Taylor Jenkins Reid)

My Rating: 3 stars

I've been wanting to read a Taylor Jenkins Reid book for a while now and actually have several of her previous works on my shelf, it's just that I haven't had time to get to them yet (which I intend to at some point) -- so of course, I was excited when I was able to get my hands on an ARC of Reid's newest novel Malibu Rising (which is scheduled to release on June 1st).  Reading the premise of the book, I originally thought this would be right up my alley, with a story revolving around the evolution of a family over several generations (I love family stories) against the backdrop of a setting (Southern California) and timeframe (1980s era) that I'm more than familiar with having myself grown up in Los Angeles in the 1980s.  Based on these reasons, I thought I would be able to connect with the story at least somewhat – unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.

 

Before I go into what didn't work for me though, I do have to say that I actually didn't have much issue with the writing.  In fact, given the unique structure of the story, the descriptive language, the vivid imagery, as well as the use of allusion and foreshadowing woven so seamlessly throughout the narrative, I have no doubt in Reid's abilities as a writer and a gifted storyteller. For me, the problems I had with this book had more to do with it perhaps being not the right book for me, and also going into this with certain expectations and being disappointed by the outcome.

In terms of the story, the first half of this book was actually pretty solid (even though, admittedly, I couldn't stand a few of the characters – but more on that later) and if the trajectory of the rest of the book had continued on in a similar vein, I'm sure this would've been a solid 4+ star read for me.  But instead, the second half of the book — which started with the first hour of the party and covered the entire timeframe though to the end — unraveled to the point that I almost didn't want to bother finishing the book, except that I was already so close to the ending and didn't want to feel like I had wasted my time reading up to that point. Ironically, in the end, even after finishing the entire book, I still felt like I wasted my time because most of the Riva family's story arc (which had been so well developed in the first half and I had been looking forward to in the second half) got lost in the shuffle of the wild and crazy, over-the-top play-by-play of the party (which I honestly felt was wasted plot space and highly unnecessary).  I mean, yes, I knew from the beginning that the party would be an important part of the plot and I was expecting a few pages, perhaps even a few chapters, to be dedicated to the party — what I wasn't expecting was for nearly every aspect of the party to be painstakingly detailed and drawn out over the course of 150+ pages. (Disclaimer:  I didn't actually count the pages, but part 2 started around the 53% mark on my Kindle and with the book clocking in at 384 pages, I figured 150 is a close enough midway page count).  I'm sorry, but there is only so much of "the rich and famous behaving badly" that I am able to stomach (especially when that "behavior" consists of getting drunk, having sex, doing drugs, destroying things, etc., then rinse and repeat on overdrive every 2 pages or so) before I feel like I want to vomit.  Given how the party concluded in the end, I honestly wasn't sure what the point of including all those scenes was.

As for the characters, I honestly didn't like any of them (especially the parents, whose horrible decisions caused so much unnecessary pain and difficulty in their children's lives).  Probably the only character that I felt a little bit of sympathy for was Nina…everyone else was downright annoying, frustrating, and, in the case of Mick Riva, a disgusting piece of trash!   The second half of the book consisted of a ridiculous parade of characters that I found exhausting to read about — after awhile, I just ended up skipping pages because I figured I wasn't missing anything anyway…

Obviously, I didn't enjoy this book much and under normal circumstances, would've probably rated this way lower than I did — but I thought the first part was truly well done and the second part would've worked if not for the overload of irrelevant party scenes that overshadowed the main story line.  Instead of being the powerful, moving story about love, loss, the bonds of family, resilience in the face of sacrifice, etc., that it could've (should've) been, this turned into a frustrating-to-read story about a rich and famous family whining about their messed up lives and their messed up relationships — a family that, by the end of the book, I could no longer bring myself to care about.

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Review: Swimming Back to Trout River (by Linda Rui Feng)

My Rating: 5 stars

I actually finished this book a few days ago but held off on writing the review because I needed some time to gather myself after such an emotional reading experience.  Linda Rui Feng's debut novel Swimming Back to Trout River is poignant, powerful, and beautifully written — a touching story about endurance in the face of repeated tragedy, about resilience and hope, about love and family and the complexity of human relationships, about loss and grief and regret, about history and culture and how what happens in the past can continue to haunt the present as well as the future.  

As the story opens, we meet 5 year old Junie, who is sitting on her mother Cassia's lap as they travel by bus to Junie's grandparents' house in the little village of Trout River in China.  Cassia is about to leave for America to join her husband Momo, with the intention for Junie to join them in a few years' time.  Meanwhile though, Junie will be left in the care of Momo's parents in the little village where Momo himself grew up alongside his two brothers.  Junie adjusts wonderfully to life at Trout River and grows to love the idyllic countryside as well as the grandparents who raise her — which is why, when she is 10 years old and receives a letter from her father in which he promises to return by her twelfth birthday to bring her to America for a reunion, Junie's immediate reaction is that of impending doom.  Precocious by nature, Junie is determined to stay put and never leave her beloved grandparents' side — at one point, she tells her grandfather that if she were forced to leave, she would find a way to return back to them, even if she has to swim from America back to Trout River to do so. What Junie doesn't know is that her parents, living thousands of miles away in their adopted country, are estranged and struggling to deal with lingering feelings of grief and loss from past tragedies.  Intertwined with their story is that of Dawn, a former classmate of Momo's who is also a talented violinist — having lost her parents at a young age, Dawn was raised by her grandfather, who helped cultivate a musical sensibility within her.  The narrative alternates between the perspectives of these 4 characters whose destinies end up intersecting in ways both familiar and unexpected.

This was such a sad and heart wrenching story, yet also hopeful and tender in its depiction of the characters' struggles and endurance.  From the moment I was introduced to Junie on the very first page, I was absolutely smitten with her, to the point that I continue to hold her dear to my heart even now, days after having finished this book. I loved Junie's closeness with her grandparents — a sentiment that of course wasn't surprising since she was raised by them (this is actually an all-too-familiar situation for many Chinese children who are often left behind in the care of grandparents or relatives in their home countries while the parents try to get situated in another country, with most only reuniting with their children after they feel they've built a stable enough future for them) — having said that, a part of me still felt a little sad at Junie's lack of familiarity with her parents.  My favorite scene in the novel (which occurred fairly early in the story) was also the most heartbreaking one — where Junie tells her Grandpa that she will swim back to Trout River to be with him and Grandma — I had tears streaming down my face when I read that scene (I don't want to spoil the story so I'm not going to explain further, but those who've read the book and met Junie in its pages will probably understand why this scene had such an impact).

This is one of those books that actually requires discussion, as there is so much here thematically, it's impossible to cover everything in such a brief review.  A few of the themes that stood out were those pertaining to water as well as music.  The one that stood out to me the most though was the idea of "motion" or "movement" — from Junie's "other means of locomotion" to the various ways that the characters "move" through the story, whether physically or figuratively.  I had read somewhere that the author, Linda Rui Feng, also writes poetry, which explains the lyrical and metaphorical nature of the writing, as well as all the imagery rendered so beautifully throughout the story.

Even though only about a third of the story takes place in the United States (the setting for majority of the story is China), this was also an immigrant story at its heart, albeit a very different one from what we may be used to seeing.  In terms of China's cultural and historical elements — from the hardships of the Cultural Revolution period to the insights into the concept of family and filial piety embedded in Chinese culture, etc. — all of it was incorporated so seamlessly and flawlessly into the story…which I guess should come as no surprise given the fact that Feng is a scholar and teacher of Chinese history and culture.  

I loved nearly everything about this book:  the realistic yet endearing characters, the gentle and reflective nature of the story, the nuanced exploration of family and human relationships, the subtle way that so many different themes were woven into the narrative — the Chinese concepts of yuanfen and zhaohua (I love the way Feng explained both of these in the story — remarkable given how difficult it is to translate either concept into English accurately and correctly), the idea of inevitability versus coincidence, fate and destiny, and whether it's possible to change the trajectory of your life even with the most sincere of efforts. 

With all that said, my biggest complaint with the story is that we didn't get to see much of Junie (most of the story was about her parents and the evolution of their relationship) — disappointing not only because I loved Junie so much as a character, but also because of the crucial role she played as the character who tied the entire story together (without her presence, the story definitely would not have been as powerful).  

As I mentioned earlier, this was an emotional read for me, and I definitely recommend it, though with the caveat that the metaphorical language might take some effort to parse, especially since there is a philosophical aspect to the language as well (for me, it was well worth the effort).   The story is also the quiet, slow-burn type where there really isn't much of a plot, for one, and two, there's very little "action" to speak of — this is a absolutely a character-driven story with a strong sense of place (two elements I love in books) that, in my opinion, is almost guaranteed to move the reader in some way.  I recommend reading this one with a box of tissues handy, especially for the scenes at Trout River with Junie and her grandparents.  I do hope that Linda Rui Feng writes another novel — when she does, I know I will absolutely want to read it!

Received ARC from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss.

Review: The Plot (by Jean Hanff Korelitz)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

Two years ago, I had read Jean Hanff Korelitz's previous novel You Should Have Known (which is now famously known as the book that the HBO series "The Undoing" was adapted from) and while I liked the story overall, I remember how tedious of a read it was for me, mostly because the story meandered quite a bit and went off on various different tangents that didn't seem to have a whole lot to do with the plot.  And the book was long (400+ pages) — which normally wouldn't matter, except that the story was written in such a convoluted way that, by the time I got to the end, I was just glad it was over.

Given the above experience, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I went into Korelitz's newest book The Plot with a bit of trepidation, despite the fact that, as soon as I had read the book's premise, I had immediately wanted to read it.  My concerns didn't go away even after starting the book, as the story progressed really slowly for the first 50 pages or so — not only that, I also started noticing some of the long, meandering, overly-descriptive passages that had irked me in her previous book. But I stuck with it and am so glad I did, as this ended up being such a wonderful read! 

The story centers around a writer named Jacob Finch Bonner, a once successful author of a bestseller who hit a snag with his second book and is now struggling to move his career forward. While teaching at a low residency MFA program, Jake encounters a student, Evan Parker, who shares with him the plot of a story he plans on writing that he believes will be "a sure thing." Several years later, as Jake still struggles with his writing and has just about given up all hopes of reviving his career, he inadvertently finds out that Evan Parker has died, supposedly without having finished the "sure thing" novel he had bragged about during the MFA session.  At this point, Jake does what he feels any self-respecting writer would do — he takes the plot that Evan had told him about and turns it into a widely-read, bestselling novel.  Jake instantly becomes famous and also wealthy beyond measure.  One day, as he is riding the highs of success in both his personal and professional lives, he receives a mysterious message that contains four terrifying words: "You are a thief."   But it doesn't stop there — as Jake receives more and more threatening messages, to the point that he can't ignore them anymore, he sets off on a race against time to find out who his harasser is in the hopes of confronting them before they expose him.

As I mentioned earlier, I initially didn't have very high expectations going into this book (despite all the hype it has gotten so far) because I thought it would be a convoluted, drawn-out story that would take me longer than preferred to read.  But this book turned out to be opposite of what I was expecting — not only was it a quick read for me (I finished it in 2 sittings, with majority of the book completed in the second sitting because I just couldn't bring myself to put it down), the story was also tightly-plotted and absolutely brilliantly written.  Of course, there were still moments throughout the story where certain passages veered into the "overly-descriptive" category, but not to the extent as her previous book, in my opinion.  Having said this, in researching the author and her other works, I've come to realize that this is actually her distinctive writing style, which is good to know.  

In addition to a cleverly-crafted story however, one of the things that makes this book stand out is the way the characters are rendered, especially the main character Jake.  As a character, Jake is entirely fictional, however the way his struggles as a writer and the angst he goes through all came across so realistically, it really made the character come alive for me — to the point that I found it difficult to figure where I stood in terms of what he did.  Here, Korelitz did a masterful job weaving in recent "discussions" about certain aspects of the publishing industry and literary community that have been concerns over the years: issues such as appropriation versus inspiration, who should get to tell what story, the writing process and the trials and tribulations of being a writer, and most interesting of all, an inside glimpse into the publishing world and the role of the writer in that world. 

Another unique aspect of this book is the way Korelitz utilizes the "story within a story" method to tell Jake's story by incorporating excerpts from his book (the one with the "stolen" plot) interspersed throughout the story, culminating in a fantastic coming together of the plot to create a "fiction vs reality" twist in the end.  I don't want to say too much so as not to give away the ending, but I will say that this was one of the most propulsive, surprising endings that I've read in awhile.

Lastly, I just wanted to comment on why I ended up rating this one 4.5 stars rather than the full 5 stars.  The main reason for this is because I actually was able to figure out aspects of the ending early on, which made the "big reveal" (specifically as it pertained to the person sending the messages to Jake) less impactful — though with that said, the last couple scenes were definitely unexpected and very well-done.

This literary thriller is definitely a "must-read" in my book!  It's clever and creative and even though I did figure out parts of it early on, I still found much of the plot to be unpredictable in terms of the direction things ended up going.  Already, this book is getting a lot of buzz, and deservedly so, in my opinion!  And I wouldn't be surprised if this one also gets optioned for a movie or TV series at some point — I would definitely be interested in watching if that were to be the case!

Received ARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley

Review: The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

My Rating: 4 stars

So far, I have read all 4 of Chanel Cleeton's historical fiction novels and have enjoyed all of them.  Starting with Next Year in Havana, which first introduced us to the Perez family and their subsequent exodus from Cuba, then later her follow-up novel When We Left Cuba, where she continued the family's story after their arrival in the United States, to last year's standalone novel The Last Train to Key West, and now her most recent release The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, Cleeton not only pays tribute to her own Cuban heritage, she also sheds light on a few little-known historical events that have been fascinating to learn about.  

 

This time around, in her latest work, Cleeton tells the story of Evangelina Cisneros, a real-life Cuban woman who was part of the fight for Cuba's independence from Spanish occupation at the end of the nineteenth century.  At the age of only eighteen, Evangelina  was separated from her family and unjustly thrown into a Havana jail notorious for its squalid conditions.  When Evangelina's situation is brought to the attention of an American audience via New York newspaper reporters stationed in Cuba, she suddenly finds herself thrust into the international spotlight – in addition to being dubbed "the most beautiful girl in Cuba" by the media, she also becomes a rallying cry on the political front for those pushing American intervention in Cuba.  At the same time, Marina Perez is separated from her beloved husband Mateo when he goes off to join the Cuban revolutionaries – shortly afterward, she and her 7-year-old daughter Isabella and mother-in-law Luz lose everything they own when Spanish soldiers burn down their farm and force them into reconcentration camps where, in order to survive, Marina secretly works as a courier passing messages  to the revolutionaries.  Meanwhile, in New York, Grace Harrington lands a dream job as a female journalist at the Journal, run by famous newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, where she hopes to catch that one big scoop that will allow her to be taken seriously as an independent woman trying to prove herself in the ruthless world of news media.   The lives of these 3 women converge and are changed forever when the situation in Cuba becomes most dire and the United States is spurred into war with Spain for control over the territory.

 

Once again, Cleeton tells a compelling story from the alternating perspectives of 3 women whose backgrounds and circumstances couldn't be more different, yet they are brought together with the common goal of fighting for freedom – whether for themselves as individuals or for their country.  As was the case with Cleeton's previous books, the story features strong female protagonists who defy convention as well as the restrictions placed upon them by society, ultimately rising above their circumstances with courage and grace.   Having said that though, there was one slight difference I noticed this time around:  with Cleeton's previous book, which was also narrated from the different perspectives of the 3 main female characters, I had actually liked all 3 story arcs equally – with this one though, I actually preferred Marina's and Grace's story arcs to Evangelina's, which is a bit ironic given Evangelina's story is technically the main arc that everything else revolves around.  It didn't occur to me at first, but after I read the Author's Note -- where Cleeton explains how, with Evangelina's story, most of the sources available, including the autobiography of her life, were written by people associated with Hearst's New York Journal newspaper, which was locked in a fierce circulation battle with the rival paper run by Joseph Pulitzer at the time, so unfortunately, much of the information was sensationalized and likely overdramatized in order to attract buyers, making it hard to separate the true facts of Evangelina's life from the embellished ones – it made sense why Evangelina's story arc felt a bit "off" to me (I realize now that what was "off" with the story was that it felt too incredulous and farcical – by comparisons, both Marina's and Grace's stories felt much more realistic). For me, I would've preferred Marina's story to be the main one — I think the book overall would've been more powerful and emotional if that had been the case.

With all that said, I still enjoyed this quite a bit.  Chanel Cleeton is a great storyteller and writer — when reading her books, it's easy to become absorbed and lose yourself in the stories she crafts based off her thorough and extensive research.  I also love the way she weaves a connection to the Perez name through all of her books (some more subtly than others) — every time I read one of her books, I feel compelled to go back and re-read Next Year in Havana again to find the connection. Cleeton's books have definitely become "must-reads" for me and of course, I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us next, both from a story and character perspective (and yes, I will continue to look for the Perez connection as well)!

Received ARC from Berkley via Edelweiss.

Review: The Downstairs Girl (by Stacey Lee)

My Rating: 5 stars

Reading Stacey Lee's YA novel The Downstairs Girl was truly a delightful experience – one that I honestly was not expecting.  As I've mentioned before, I don't read much YA because I'm not the target audience for the genre and, as such, I feel like it would be harder for me to appreciate the story and/or the characters.  With the last few YA novels I've read though, I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I've enjoyed them.   As an avid reader, one of the things I always hope for in any reading experience is the possibility of encountering a book that will resonate with me in ways I wasn't expecting.  With Lee's book, this is exactly what happened – so much so that even now, a few days after finishing the book, I am still thinking about the characters and longing to revisit with them again.  

 

The year is 1890 in Atlanta, Georgia.  17-year-old Jo Kuan works as a milliner's apprentice making hats for society's wealthy elite.  Though the pay is meager, it's a job that Jo is good at and is grateful to have given that she is a girl who, by necessity, has lived in the shadows all her life.   Abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, Jo was taken in and raised by the elderly Old Gin, who works as a caretaker on the estate of one of the wealthiest families in Atlanta.  Jo and Old Gin live quietly in a dilapidated basement that used to be a hideout for abolitionists – a basement located underneath a print shop owned by the Bell family, who have no idea that the space (or the Kuans) exist.  When Jo is fired from her job unexpectedly (due to her being "too opinionated" according to her employer Mrs. English, though the real reason is because Jo is Chinese), she has no choice but to return to the Payne estate and work as a house maid for the family's cruel daughter Caroline (who hates Jo with a passion).  One night, through a pipe in the basement, Jo overhears a conversation between the Bells and their son Nathan that inspires her to start an advice column in their newspaper, using the pseudonym "Miss Sweetie."  The column, which focuses on addressing society's ills from the female perspective, becomes wildly popular, but also garners backlash from those uncomfortable with society's fixed notions being challenged.  When Jo discovers a letter that provides clues to her past and who her parents are, she must decide whether to remain hidden or risk coming out of the shadows.

 

This is one of those books that proves, once again, that we shouldn't judge a book purely by its genre.  I know this book is largely categorized as YA, but to be honest, it really doesn't read like a typical YA novel.  In addition to the story being very well-written, with endearing yet realistically-drawn characters, I also thought the historical and cultural elements of the story were really well done – most impressive though, was how the author, Stacey Lee, was able to so seamlessly weave in complex social commentary about race, class, privilege, identity, etc., which actually made this an unexpectedly timely read despite its setting in the 19^th century.  Reading about society's prejudices back in the 1890s and the discrimination that people of color faced during that time, it both frustrates and saddens me to be reminded, once again, that, even though our society and our country as a whole have both a come a long way, many of the attitudes and biases haven't changed all that much.  With that said, I am heartened by the increasing presence of books like this one in society nowadays — books that don't hold back in terms of bringing important issues to the forefront and helping to initiate necessary conversations about social justice and the need for change in our society.  I absolutely love the fact that the main protagonist in this story is a young Chinese woman who defies the typical gender and cultural stereotype — a woman who is smart and feisty, opinionated, yet kind and compassionate, and most admirable of all, bravely rises above her circumstances and stands up for her beliefs, even in the face of society's harsh criticisms and prejudices.  I also love how all the main characters — the most well-drawn and endearing characters — were either Chinese (Jo and Old Gin) or Black (Noemi and Robby).

Thinking back to my own childhood, growing up as a Chinese girl in a city as supposedly diverse as Los Angeles, it was nearly impossible to find books with Asian supporting characters in them, let alone Chinese characters (and female ones at that).   I remember back then, the only way for me to read fiction books with characters in them who looked like me, was to have relatives buy books in Hong Kong and send them to me here.  I wish there had been books like this back then that do a way better job of educating youths about diversity and acceptance than school textbooks; that would've been way more helpful for a Chinese girl like me — one of only 3 Asian faces in the entire school — to actually stand up for myself, rather than constantly shrink into the shadows, stay quiet, keep my head down, and draw as little attention to myself as possible; that would’ve helped me navigate the contradictions of my identity and understand that it didn't matter whether we were born here or grew up here, by virtue of our "foreign" faces, this will never truly be our home and we will never truly belong — but yet we must strive to make our situation more tolerable, if only for survival's sake.   

There were so many scenes in the book that I was able to relate to;  that had me nodding my head in agreement at how true to life many of Jo's and Old Gin's experiences were; that had me both laughing and crying at various moments throughout the story.  For me, one of the most heartbreaking scenes was that last segregated streetcar scene near the end of the book, which powerfully summed up what the Chinese experience has been for many of us in America. 

There is a lot to unpack with this book and it's impossible for me to do justice to it in such a brief review.  I definitely recommend taking the time to read this one — if anything, for its glimpse into history and culture.  Yes, this is ultimately a triumphant story and perhaps even a predictable one in terms of plot, but it is an absolutely worthwhile read — one that I'm sure will continue to stay with me for a long time!