Review: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle (by Jennifer Ryan)

My Rating:  4 stars

This is the third of Jennifer Ryan's novels that I've read and I enjoyed it just as much as I did her previous works.  One of the things I appreciated about this book is that, despite the similar background and setting (the home front in the British countryside during WWII) to both The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and The Kitchen Front, Ryan still managed to make this a very different story. With most of the men off fighting in the war, the women at the home front do what they can to support the war effort.  But with all the rationing taking place and the severe limitations on necessities from food to clothing, challenges abound for those trying to keep things going at home.  It is against this backdrop that we meet 3 spirited women from different walks of life who are brought together through a joint effort of wanting to help other women celebrate love by mending wedding dresses for brides across the country. 

Cressida Wescott grew up in Aldhurst village, but left when she was in her twenties due to a falling out with her brother.  After fleeing to London, she makes a name for herself as one of the country's top fashion designers — not an easy feat, especially for a single woman given the sentiments of the time and the traditions that confined most women to a life of marriage and motherhood.  All goes well until both Cressida's London home and her design house are bombed to ashes in the London Blitz and instantly, she loses everything that she worked so hard to establish.  With no other recourse, Cressida has no choice but to return to Aldhurst and stay with her niece and nephew while she rebuilds her business, all the while hoping that the two of them are kinder and more hospitable than their late father was.  While her niece Violet is thrilled that the famous aunt she never knew will be staying with them, she has her own "trouble" to worry about in the form of the conscription letter for war work that she receives, which effectively dashes her lifelong dream of marrying an aristocratic husband.  Meanwhile, Grace Carlisle, the local vicar's daughter, is engaged to be married and wants desperately to be able to wear her mother's wedding gown for the ceremony.  For Grace, it's a special way to remember her beloved mother, who died 10 years ago, and also her only hope for a traditional white wedding given the mandatory wartime clothes rationing, which has made wedding gowns a scarce commodity.  Unfortunately, her mother's wedding gown is too damaged to wear without repairing, so Grace brings it to her sewing club in the hopes that, together with the other ladies in the club, they are able to salvage it.  It is there that she meets Cressida, who decides to accompany Violet to one of the meetings, and as they come up with a plan to repair the wedding gown, the women also form an unexpected, close friendship.  Soon, the "project" of repairing Grace's wedding dress expands into the broader idea of a wedding dress exchange program where the ladies from the sewing circle mend donated wedding dresses and lend them out to other brides so they can get the chance to have a white wedding of their own.

I loved the concept of this story and felt that Jennifer Ryan did a great job writing about the time period in a way that made me feel like I was there sharing the characters' experiences. Speaking of the characters — I also loved how, once again, Ryan's main female protagonists were all strong, admirable women who had no problem standing up against the conventions of the time. The narrative alternates between Cressida's, Violet's and Grace's perspectives, and together, we get the entirety of their shared story and experiences.  While there was a little more romance in this one than I expected, especially when compared to the previous two books of hers that I had read, it didn't overshadow the rest of the story, so I was fine with it.

Overall, this was in the same vein of Ryan's previous two "home front" themed novels in that the tone was lighthearted and uplifting, though it also dealt with serious issues in a respectful, non- heavy handed way.  Having said that, I did feel that the story as a whole was a tad longer than it needed to be, especially around the midway mark, where some of the scenes felt repetitive and I felt like I was losing interest, but I kept with it and am glad I did, as the story turned out well in the end.

I enjoyed this one and definitely recommend it, especially for fans of Jennifer Ryan's previous works about women's wartime effort on the home front.  Also if you're looking for a WWII-themed read that's resonant and poignant but not too heavy, this one fits the bill quite nicely.

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Review: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy (by Jamie Ford)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

Jamie Ford is one of my favorite authors, so it shouldn't come as a surprise how delighted I was to get my hands on an advance reader's copy of his newest novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy.  In his newest work, just as he has done with his previous novels, Ford takes an event or a person in history and builds a compelling story around it, all while paying homage to his Chinese ancestry and heritage.  I love this aspect of his works.  With that said though, this book is actually a bit of a departure from Ford's prior historical fiction works in that it leans more heavily into areas of science and technology as well as spirituality and philosophy. This book is quite a bit more complex than his other novels, which is fine, but I think it's beneficial to know that going into this one, especially since it has the potential to affect the reading experience.  

For me, I had never actually heard of epigenetics prior to reading this book and even now, after reading up on the subject after finishing the book, I still don't really understand what it is, to be very honest.  While the mechanics of this science and all the terminology went completely over my head, I did catch onto the overarching concept of inherited generational trauma, which played a huge role throughout the entire story.  

The science part aside, there were plenty other aspects to the story that I loved:  the historical and cultural elements, the beautiful writing, the meticulous storytelling, and of course, the wonderfully rendered characters.  I was fascinated by the interwoven stories of the seven generations of Moy women (Afong, Lai King, Faye, Zoe, Greta, Dorothy, Annabel) in a narrative that spanned several time lines and settings — from Baltimore in 1836, to San Francisco in 1892, to England in 1927, to China in 1942, to Seattle in 2014, 2045, and 2086.  Truly this is a narrative that covers past, present, and future, with strong female protagonists at its core, each with moving, poignant backstories where they endure a defining, traumatic event— these are characters I couldn't help rooting for, even when their actions and some of the decisions they made gave me pause.

Overall, I appreciated how ambitious this book was and while I didn't always understand exactly what I was reading, it was hard not to be drawn in by Ford's masterful storytelling.  Though this wasn't my favorite of his novels (my favorite remains Love and Other Consolation Prizes), it was still a fantastic read that I wholeheartedly recommend.  Not sure how long we'll need to wait for Ford's next book, but I absolutely look forward to what he may have for us next!

Received ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley.

Review: Bomb Shelter (by Mary Laura Philpott)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

I read this for book club and overall, I enjoyed this well-written and witty memoir-in-essays.  Mary Laura Philpott begins the book with the incident that changes her life (and that of her family) forever:  the medical emergency that wakens her in the middle of the night, where she finds her teenage son unconscious on the bathroom floor. In the aftermath, Philpott wonders whether she she should've seen warning signs of her son's condition, but more broadly, she ponders the limitations of the human ability to protect and keep those we love safe.  A self-admitted lifelong worrier, yet also possessing a sunny disposition that helps her balance her anxious thoughts by focusing on the bright side of things, Philpott looks back at various aspects of her life and explores essential questions related to love, family, relationships, anxiety, death, fear, etc. — basically all the realities of human existence.

While reading this, I definitely appreciated the many insights that Philpott conveyed as well as the way she approached so many tough issues with a sense of humor.  In exploring various situations that occurred in her life, Philpott is candid and doesn't shy away from showing her vulnerability and insecurities in her roles as wife, mother, daughter, friend, or just as an ordinary person trying to live her life as best she can, in a challenging world.  There were a few essays that I related to more than others, and some I ended up skimming because I found it difficult to maintain my focus (most likely because that particular essay's subject matter didn't appeal to me).  I especially loved the essays about the turtles and also the peculiar behavior of the family dog, which I found hilarious.  The meditation chapter made me chuckle and, not surprisingly, it quickly became one of my favorite essays in the book.

Even though not all of the essays spoke to me, I still recommend reading this one, as I really enjoy Philpott's style of writing and the way she is able to infuse humor when relaying difficult topics, but in a way that is respectful and doesn't make light of the seriousness of some situations.  I would definitely be interested in reading more of Philpott's works at some point.

Received ARC from Atria via NetGalley. 

Review: Counterfeit (by Kirsten Chen)

My Rating:  4.5 stars



I started Kirsten Chen's new novel Counterfeit on Friday and it was so engrossing that I nearly finished it in one sitting. Well-written and cleverly-structured, the story revolves around two Chinese-American women, Winnie Fang and Ava Wong, who become involved in a scheme selling counterfeit luxury handbags.  As the story opens, it quickly becomes apparent that Ava is confessing her role in the scheme to a detective, while Winnie is somehow missing in action. Through Ava's confession, we learn both her backstory as well as Winnie's, with each chapter revealing more and more clues that help us eventually understand the course of events that led up to that moment.  Later on however, the story switches to Winnie's perspective and I will admit that, when I read her chapters, I started second-guessing some things that had been revealed earlier (and that's all I'm going to say about it — you will need to read the book for yourself to find out what I'm talking about).  The way the story was structured, plus the fast pace of the plot, definitely made for a fascinating read!

With all that said though, this wasn't just a superficial story about a counterfeit handbag business gone awry.  It actually went much deeper than that, as it also explored recent social, political, and economic issues such as anti-Asian sentiment, immigration and the American Dream, racism, the strained U.S.-China trade relationship, etc.  It also dealt with Chinese cultural elements (as well as stereotypes) in ways that were insightful and respectful, yet not heavy-handed. Despite some of the serious themes, there was a lightheartedness to the story that made this a well-balanced read.

 

In terms of character development, I feel that Chen did a great job with both Winnie and Ava. Even though I disagree with their actions and the decisions they ultimately made, I was able to relate to the struggles they went through as Chinese women who grew up in traditional Chinese families.  Ava especially resonated with me, as I recognized so much of her family dynamic in my own — i.e.: the pressure to choose a "prestigious" career path that ultimately leads to wealth, even if it's not a career that I would want for myself (this quote sent shivers down my spine because it's almost verbatim what I experienced: "…in my family there were only a few acceptable paths—law, medicine, engineering. Law was the one I'd disliked least. From the very beginning, I'd known my lot in life: to be good enough at my job, and to tolerate it until retirement."); the expectation to be an overachiever in school (anything less than straight A's was frowned upon) and maintain the image of the "good Chinese daughter" so as not to disappoint my immigrant parents who sacrificed so much for their children to have such opportunities; the cultural significance of "face" and the huge impact it has on how, as a Chinese woman, I'm supposed to live my life (another quote that applies almost verbatim to my own situation: "…but when you grow up as I did, schooled in the supremacy of "face"—the figurative face, the image, reputation, honor that must be fought for and preserved at all costs—breaking free from constraints to think for oneself becomes a Herculean task.").   One of the things I love about the reading experience is coming across characters whom I am able to relate to in some way (even if our life circumstances are completely different) and that certainly was the case here — this makes the time and effort spent reading this all the more worthwhile. 

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this "fun" and engrossing read, but more than that, I also appreciated the fact that it was a welcome departure from the "heavier" books that I've read lately.  Immediately after finishing this one, I put both of Kirsten Chen's previous books on my TBR, though of course, I also look forward to what she might have in store next.  

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.

Review: Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden (by Zhuqing Li)

My Rating: 4 stars

I'm quite picky when it comes to reading nonfiction books.  I tend to gravitate toward biographies and memoirs as well as essay collections, though I do also read general nonfiction when the occasion calls for it (i.e.: book club pick).  In these instances, subject matter is pretty important, especially since it takes more focus and concentration on my part to get through a nonfiction book.  In this sense, when I read the premise for linguist and East Asian scholar Zhuqing Li's Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden, and saw that it fell perfectly into these 2 categories (biography + nonfiction subject matter I'm interested in), I knew this was a book I would want to read. 

While there is some anecdotal information interspersed throughout, majority of Li's book is actually about her two aunts Jun and Hong, who came of age during one of the most tumultuous times in China's history.   Born 2 years apart into the prominent and wealthy Chen family, the sisters grew up in a beautiful villa in Fuzhou built by their father — a home they came to know as the Flower Fragrant Garden.  When the onset of World War II and Japan's invasion of various parts of China forces the Chen family to flee their home, Jun especially finds her hard-won right to further her education through attending college completely upended.  Hong also experiences hardship during this period, but she is ultimately able to finish her studies and fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.  At the end of the war, with China and the Allies victorious, the family thought they would be able to return to their former lives as well as their beloved villa in the mountains, but it was not to be.  Civil war breaks out between the ruling Nationalist Party and the Communists, with everything coming to a head when Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan and the Communist Party comes to power under Mao Zedong.  During this time, the sisters' lives are changed forever when Jun ends up stuck on an island under Nationalist control and, unable to return to the Mainland, eventually moves to Taiwan and marries a Nationalist general, which results in estrangement from her family for decades.  Hong meanwhile endures the many hardships brought about by the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and many of the other disastrous "initiatives" implemented in China during that time.  It is not until 1982, after decades apart, with both sisters having survived various hardships, that Jun and Hong are finally able to reunite.  

In this chronicle of her two aunts' extraordinary lives, Zhuqing Li tells the story of her family line set against the backdrop of China's turbulent post-WWII sociopolitical history and the evolution of the country's fraught relationship with Taiwan.  I actually started this book last week and finished it on Saturday (June 4th), which happened to be the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre (a coincidence that only dawned on me after I finished reading the book).  Though this particular story isn't about Tiananmen Square (despite that event still being mentioned in the book, albeit briefly), its significance in terms of China's political history is, of course, not lost on me Even though I was only 11 years old when the Tiananmen Square massacre occurred and of course, having already immigrated to the U.S. years before that, I was thousands of miles away, but that didn't make it any less impactful, especially as a Chinese girl coming of age during that time.  In that context, this was, without a doubt, not an easy read by any means — hearing Jun's and Hong's stories, with the unflinching descriptions of harrowing experiences they had to endure,  the political undercurrents that dominated their entire lives, it was hard not to be moved by the resilience and endurance of these two remarkable women.

Regardless of background, this will undoubtedly be a difficult read for those who decide to pick this one up, but it is well worth the effort.  On the surface, this may seem like simply a story of two sisters separated by war, but much deeper than that, it is also an insightful look into Chinese history, culture, politics, and much more.

Received ARC from W. W. Norton via Bookbrowse First Impressions program.

Review: Our Last Days in Barcelona (by Chanel Cleeton)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

I've read all of the books in Chanel Cleeton's Cuban series about the Perez family and have enjoyed each one (though some more than others).  Of course, the one that will always be my favorite is the first book from 2018, Next Year in Havana, which introduced us to the Perez siblings and the entire extended family.  Though that first book was essentially from the perspective of the third Perez sister Elisa, it did such a great job laying the story groundwork for this fascinating family that by the end of it, I was hoping we would get additional books for each of the other sisters as well.  That wish was granted in 2019 when Cleeton published her second book in the series, When We Left Cuba, which is from the perspective of fiery and passionate second sister Beatriz (who, remains one of the most beloved characters from the Perez family saga).  After that, as Cleeton indicates in her Author's Note, she took a break from writing about the Perez sisters and instead, came out with 2 novels about the lives of 2 different Perez ancestors — the sisters' aunt Mirta Perez in The Last Train to Key West and their cousin Rosa's grandmother Marina Perez in The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. With her newest novel (which published this month), Cleeton returns to the Perez sisters, this time giving us eldest sister Isabel's story with Our Last Days in Barcelona. 

Picking up essentially where When We Left Cuba ended, Our Last Days in Barcelona has Isabel heading from Palm Beach, Florida to Barcelona in Spain to locate her sister Beatriz, who is involved in dangerous intelligence work with the government.  Once there though, Isabel finds herself partnering with an unlikely ally, Beatriz's friend Diego, with whom she eventually forms a close bond.  But that's not all — in Beatriz's apartment, Isabel discovers a photograph of herself at barely 2 years old, sitting with her mother Alicia Perez in a Barcelona cafe meeting with a mysterious man — though when Isabel asks her mother about the photo, she vehemently denies ever having been in Barcelona.  While looking for her sister, Isabel also unearths additional fragments of the story behind the photograph, which eventually changes her life in profound ways. In an alternating timeline between present day (1964) and the past (1936), the story of Isabel's mother Alicia as well as her father Emilio's cousin Rosa unfold.  Later, both timelines intertwine as Isabel faces some of the same struggles and family expectations that her mother did 28 years ago — in the end, will Isabel choose the same path her mother does or will she follow her heart instead?  

In this novel, Cleeton does the same wonderful job as she did with her previous 4 novels conveying the historical context related to Cuba, though this time, it's the country's relationship with Spain and the civil war that occurred there that provides the backdrop for Isabel's and Alicia's stories.  One of the reasons I like reading historical fiction is to learn about historical time periods, events, people, places, etc. that I didn't know about, which has certainly been the case with Cleeton's works.  Though the Perez family is fictional, Cleeton has done such a great job developing these richly nuanced characters (especially the Perez women) that I couldn't  help feeling as though I was reading about a real family (as mentioned in my review of the first book in this series, Cleeton herself is Cuban-American and actually wove in some of her own family's history as well as experiences fleeing from Cuba into the Perez family story).  Each time I read one of Cleeton's books featuring a character from the Perez family, I feel like going back and re-reading Next Year in Havana all over again (the only thing holding me back from doing a re-read of any book is my overflowing TBR and a dogged determination to get through every single book on the list), since that's the book that kicked things off and first introduced us to the family.  

Speaking of the characters— up until this point, my favorite Perez sibling was Beatriz and while I still love her dearly (especially her fiery and defiant personality), I've also come around to Isabel too now and consider her a favorite as well.  I also appreciated how we were given additional insight into Alicia as a character and the background of some of the things that happened in her life during her youth that eventually shaped the woman she became later (especially in the context of her role as wife, mother, and Perez family matriarch).  I'm not sure whether Cleeton will write another book about the Perez siblings (my guess is yes, as there is still one more Perez sister's story left to tell — youngest sister Maria's), but having followed this fictional family from the beginning, there's no doubt that I will want to read that book as well (if / whenever it comes into being).  While technically it's not necessary to read the previous 2 books about the Perez sisters in order to read this one, I do recommend doing so only because you get the full background of the family history — which, for me, makes a huge difference in terms of reading experience.  Even if Cleeton's next novel won't be about the Perez sisters specifically, I'm pretty sure she will incorporate another character from the Perez family into it — identifying the connection between the characters in each of her books to the ones in the original story (as well as to her other books) is part of the "fun" of reading her novels, at least for me.

Received ARC from Berkeley Books via Edelweiss.

Review: The Latecomer (by Jean Hanff Korelitz)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

I read Jean Hanff Korelitz's fantastic literary mystery The Plot last year and was very much blown away by how cleverly (and creatively) the story was written (in fact, I would even say it was one of the best literary mysteries I have ever read).  Given that context, I was of course super excited to land an early copy of Korelitz's newest work, The Latecomer — not only that, going into this, my expectations were also extremely high in that I was anticipating another intricate, brilliantly written literary mystery that would give me the same thrilling reading experience as The Plot did. Unfortunately, in the end, that's not how this one turned out.  Instead of giving The Plot vibes, this one ended up hewing closer to Korelitz's earlier work You Should Have Known (the book that the HBO series The Undoing was based on) in both story and structure.  Don't get me wrong — You Should Have Known was a good book overall, but its biggest problem was that it meandered way too much, making the story way more convoluted and confusing than I felt it needed to be (I go into much more detail in my review of that book).  

With The Latecomer, the writing was indeed intricate, with an overabundance of descriptive details that Korelitz lays out in a sophisticated and meticulous, but also incredibly "slow burn" way.  In addition, it felt like Korelitz was trying to cram as many recent / contemporary events and complex society issues into the story as possible — for example:  the pandemic, the previous administration, identity politics, infertility and reproductive rights, surrogacy, racial discrimination and social justice, PTSD, social media, religious freedom and exploration, politics, parent/child relationships, higher education and academia, love and marriage, fidelity, homosexuality, etc. (believe it or not, I am only scratching the surface here in terms of the tremendous amount of ground covered in the story).  And as if that weren't enough, all of it was woven into a complicated web of drama and dysfunction courtesy of the Oppenheimer family — parents Salo and Johanna, triplets Harrison, Lewyn, Sally, and "the latecomer" fourth child Phoebe.  All in all, this made for a tedious, exhaustive read that, in the end, became a chore to get through.

Convoluted story and structure aside though, I felt that Korelitz did a good job in terms of character development (which I also found with the two previous books of hers that I had read).  Korelitz takes her time flushing out the characters, giving us detailed insight into their thoughts and motivations as well as how each one evolves throughout the story — to the point that we as readers feel like we know this family intimately.  One thing I found interesting with the way the characters were written was that they were all quite unlikable (some more so than others — Harrison, for example, who acted like an arrogant bastard pretty much throughout the entire story), yet instead of loathing them like I normally would with these types of characters, I actually found myself pitying them (which, for the record, doesn't mean I condone any of their actions — in fact, I had the opposite reaction in that I was frustrated and angered by a lot of the things they did).  I'm not sure if I'm explaining this correctly — I guess the closest comparison would be that each character had redeeming qualities that, while far from canceling out their flaws, did make it difficult to completely despise them.

One thing I feel it's important to mention is that I went into this book thinking it would be either a literary mystery in the same vein as The Plot or a psychological thriller similar to You Should Have Known (the only 2 previous books of Korelitz's that I had read up to that point) — it turns out I was wrong on both fronts.  In fact, this book doesn't fall into the mystery / thriller / suspense genre at all (if I had to classify it, I would say it falls under contemporary fiction or literary fiction). Normally, this wouldn't matter much, but in this instance, because I had placed it in the mystery / thriller category, I was anticipating a big reveal / plot twist (maybe even multiple plot twists) somewhere along the line — it wasn't until I got to almost the end (400+ pages into the story) with no plot twist to be found, that I realized my mistake.  I bring this up in case this kind of thing matters to those who decide to pick this up, so you don't make the same mistake I did.

Overall, I did "enjoy" this one and am glad I read it, but it was definitely unnecessarily long, and also the story was way more convoluted than it needed to be (in my opinion at least).  If you decide to pick this one up, just know that it will require quite a bit of patience (which may or may not be worth it in the end).  With all that said, I like the way Korelitz writes her characters and I have no doubt that I will continue to read her works, though I will probably need to make sure I plan out the time better given the amount of patience needed to get through her novels.

Received ARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley

Review: Wonder (by R.J. Palacio)

My Rating: 5 stars

This book has been on my TBR for quite some time already, but of course, with so many books on my list, I never got around to reading it. Recently though, my nephew's school assigned this one for all the students to read, so I figured I would read along as well. I'm so glad I did, as I ended up loving it so much! From the first page, as August Pullman narrated his experience attending middle school for the first time after being home-schooled most of his life, I couldn't help falling in love with this smart, funny, precocious kid — a kid who had to endure more than his share of grief and pain in life because of his face, yet always managed to take everything in stride. Auggie knows he is different and by now, he is used to all the stares as well as the weird looks and whispering behind his back — but even so, that in no way prepares him for what he ends up experiencing at school or the various challenges that cropped up in his interactions with his classmates. As Auggie navigated these challenges, encountering both good moments as well as bad ones, I also couldn't help rooting for him every step of the way.

While majority of the story was told from Auggie's perspective, there were also chapters told from the points of view of various people in Auggie's life, such as his sister and her boyfriend, his classmates, his sister's childhood friend, etc. This narrative structure took me by surprise, yet I loved the way it was done, as it gave so much more depth to the story and also made the characters come alive. The narrative from the perspective of Auggie's sister Via moved me the most, followed by his classmate Jack's narrative as well as the one by Justin (Via's boyfriend).

Not surprisingly, this was an emotional read from beginning to end. Auggie's journey is heart wrenching but also uplifting, and It's impossible not to be moved by his courage as well as resilience. Even though I knew throughout the time I was reading this that the story is fictional (and R.J. Palacio emphasizes this fact in her Author's Note when she talks about her inspiration for the story), it nonetheless felt so real to me that, at times, I I would forget that Auggie isn't a real person — regardless though, what he stands for and the powerful impact of his story is the most important. Despite being marketed as a novel for children, the story actually contains life lessons for all ages and absolutely deserves to be read — though of course, be ready for the roller coaster of emotions that will undoubtedly accompany this one (I cried pretty much the entire time I was reading this, so it was a good thing that I read the entire book all in one sitting).

Lastly, I know there was a movie adaptation of the book and while I'm not a fan of adaptations in general, I heard that the movie was particularly well done, so this is one I definitely intend to watch at some point.

Review: Bloomsbury Girls (by Natalie Jenner)

My Rating: 4 stars

Natalie Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls can best be described as a companion novel to her 2020 debut novel The Jane Austen Society.  While the story itself is completely different, with an essentially new cast of characters, there are a few overlapping characters from the original story who also make appearances this time around.  First and foremost, of course, is Evelyn (Evie) Stone, the servant girl from the Chawton Great House who was a side character in that story, but is one of the main characters this time around.  Evie, along with Vivien Lowry and Grace Perkins, are the only female employees at Bloomsbury Books in London, a centuries-old bookstore helmed by general manager Herbert Dutton and his unbreakable fifty-one rules.  Though the Second World War is over and the city has pretty much returned to normal, struggles in society still exist, especially for the women who find themselves back in a world run once again by men who feel that the workplace where business is conducted is "no place for a woman."  It is against this backdrop that Evie, who despite her scholarly achievements (a degree from Cambridge as part of the first female graduating class), impeccable work ethic, and several years of meticulous research work, is passed up for a research assistant position in favor of a male colleague who did less work, but managed to ingratiate himself with the powers-that-be at the school.  Through her connection to fellow Jane Austen Society member Yardley Sinclair (the director of museum services at Sotheby's), Evie is able to secure a position at Bloomsbury, where she is tasked with cataloging the bookstore's collection of rare books on the third floor. There, she meets the stylish and vivacious Vivien Lowry, an aspiring writer whose job it is to man the front desk in the fiction department on the first floor, as well as Grace Perkins, a wife and mother who works to support her family (a rarity at that time) as the secretary for the general manager.  Together, these three women navigate an environment where they are expected to conform to certain roles, are largely taken for granted, and most frustratingly, must deal with the daily biases of the well-intentioned but misguided male staff who run the store.  As Evie, Vivien, and Grace seek to pursue their dreams and try to build a future for themselves outside of the conventions allowed by society, they are assisted along the way by some of the most famous names from the literary and publishing world of the time, such as Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, etc.

Going into this book, I wasn't sure at first whether I would enjoy this as much as I did Jenner's first book, since this time around, I knew the story would have nothing to do with Jane Austen (as I wrote in my review of that book, I'm a huge Austen fan).  Even though I recognized Evie's name as one of the characters from The Jane Austen Society, I honestly didn't put two and two together until about halfway through the Prologue, when Mimi's name came up, then Yardley's, then recollections of Chawton and the Great House and the auction — that was when the details of that story started coming back to me. The realization that this was a "sequel" of sorts to that book definitely changed the reading experience for me, especially as I anticipated, perhaps, there would be the chance to reunite with some of the other endearing characters from that story.  While I was delighted that this happened to be the case (though only two of those characters had cameos, but that's fine, lol), I also ended up liking the characters in this story as well.  As an avid reader, I also loved the literary bent to this story, with the bookstore setting and the literary references, plus all the famous literary figures who interact with the various characters. This made for a fun and interesting read — in fact, Jenner did such a good job incorporating the literary figures into the story that I actually felt transported to that time period (to the point that I found myself fangirling over Daphne Du Maurier at the moment Vivien meets her and realizes who she is, lol). 

The "fun" part aside though, Jenner didn't skimp on addressing some of the societal issues that were prevalent during that time, such as gender bias and the role of women as well as discrimination towards those of a different race (through the character of Ashwin).  With this story, I felt the balance between serious and lighthearted was quite well done.

While it's not necessary to have read The Jane Austen Society in order to read this one, I'm actually glad I did, as having the familiarity with Evie's backstory definitely enhanced this story for me.  I look forward to reading what Jenner has in store for us next!  

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Review: Forbidden City (by Vanessa Hua)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

In her third book (and second novel), journalist Vanessa Hua explores the political history of the years leading up to and during China's Cultural Revolution from an angle that is rarely brought up or written about in mainstream works that discuss China: Mao Zedong's fascination with ballroom dancing and the resulting practice of recruiting dance troupes to entertain him as well as other Communist Party elite at various gatherings.  Hua states in her Author's Note that seeing documentary footage of "Chairman Mao surrounded by giggling young women in tight sweaters" intrigued her, but when she tried to find more information, there unfortunately wasn't much.  By piecing together some revelations about Mao's habits and proclivities relayed by his doctor in his memoir, it was understood that these young women existed, but rarely ever mentioned or acknowledged in official records.  So based on this information as well as what is publicly known about Mao's complicated relationship with his personal secretary Zhang Yufeng (who met Mao when she was 18 years old and he was in his sixties), Hua created the fictitious character of peasant girl-turned-revolutionary Mei Xiang in the hopes of giving a voice to the "impoverished women who have shaped China in their own ways yet remain absent from the country's official narrative."

Growing up as the youngest in a family of 3 daughters in an impoverished village in China, Mei Xiang dreams of becoming a model revolutionary and a patriotic heroine adored and worshipped by many.  During one of the Communist Party's recruitment schemes in the villages, Mei Xiang jumps at the opportunity to leave her plight behind.  Arriving at the capital, she comes to understand that the "duty" she was recruited for involves dancing with Party elite as part of a specially trained dance troupe.  It is at these dances that she meets the Chairman, the head of the Party as well as the country — a man that she (as well as most of the population) has been taught to idolize ever since he come to power years ago.  Soon, Mei Xiang becomes the Chairman's close confidante and paramour, and when the Chairman starts to involve her in his political missions, Mei feels she is finally on the path to achieving her dreams.  But as the Cultural Revolution becomes a reality and Mei witnesses the atrocities that result from it, she begins to doubt the truth of what she had been told her entire life.  It's not until she moves toward disillusionment that Mei starts to understand what this realization will ultimately cost her. 

Vanessa Hua's previous novel — her debut  River of Stars — covered a topic that I rarely (if ever) saw written about in fiction: birth tourism.  This time around, with her second novel, Hua once again explores yet another rarely-discussed topic — one that often gets buried when it comes to discourse surrounding China and the Cultural Revolution.  As familiar as I was with this time period and the historical context of China's Cultural Revolution, the angle of Mao's relationship with the women in his inner circle and him possibly using them in his political machinations was an altogether less familiar topic for me.  Hua's research in this regard was meticulous, with both the historical and cultural elements especially well-rendered.  Having said that though, I have to admit that I enjoyed Hua's debut so much more than this one, mostly because I found it difficult to overcome my disgust with the relationship at the center of this story (a powerful man in his sixties manipulating a disillusioned sixteen-year-old girl). Even though I understood the reality and plausibility of such an arrangement during that period historically, it was still uncomfortable to read, particularly when it came to the more graphic details of the Chairman and Mei's relationship (much of which I honestly felt was unnecessary).  Structurally, while I liked the writing, I felt that the pacing overall was a bit off and he story dragged a bit too much towards the middle, with some of the plot points also a bit repetitive.  I also found most of the characters difficult to like, which I guess isn't surprising given the nature of the story.  With that said, I did feel empathy for Mei Xiang and her harrowing, heartbreaking story — a coming-of-age story no doubt, but also one of self-discovery as well as self-preservation.

Even though I wasn't too keen on the subject matter this time around, I'm still glad I read this, if anything, for the insights it provided.  One of the things I appreciate most about Vanessa Hua's works is that she doesn't shy away from controversial topics and takes up the challenge of an uncomfortable story head-on (which probably has a lot to do with her journalist background).  I look forward to seeing what Hua will write about next!

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.