All the Flowers in Shanghai

Jul 31, 2011 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thanks to Book of the Month Club for sending me this. This first novel by Duncan Jepson is outstanding! It is written as a letter to an abandoned daughter and is heartbreaking, but tells the story of China in the early twentieth century with such wonderful detail that I fell in love with it. It is rare that I scream at the end of a book, but I did this one. It just seemed impossible that I could leave these characters behind without knowing their future. But that is what Mr. Jepson does and with...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Kimberly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, china

All The Flowers Of Shanghai is a hauntingly beautiful debut novel from an extremely gifted storyteller. Duncan Jepson has painstakingly delved into the human spirit and the plight of Chinese women in order to present the reader with Feng; a woman the reader can neither love nor hate. However, in the end one cannot deny acknowledging and empathizing with her existence and the difficult choices she made throughout, as well as her attempts at redemption. This is a novel that will stay with the read...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feng enjoys taking walks with her Grandfather as he shows her different flowers and their ancient names that were used in older times when the emperor's still ruled, and ancient traditions still held sway with the people, as a child she doesn't mind that her sister is the favorite and the one destined to marry and have children while she will live at home and become the care giver for her family, this is her destiny and she is expected to live up to it. However fate takes an unexpected turn when...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Angelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Unfortunately I still am attracted to books with fancy covers. This was an interesting perspective of a woman living through an arranged marriage, before and after the major political changes in China before and after the cultural revolution.
The book is quite wordy, and not neccessarily wordy in the right places. It is actually written as a memoir to the main character's daughter. It appears to be a look into the life of a young woman forced into a lavish, but cold hearted rich family. And she...more

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May 29, 2012 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Much seemed to have been made about this book being written by a man. Jepson did a good job in telling this story, but I have read other books about women by male authors who have done better. One Thousand Splendid Suns comes quickly to mind. The woman in the story slipped back and forth between memories, the present and her dreams and it was at times difficult to tell which was which. I enjoyed the story of a young Chinese girl who was married off into a wealthy family. I was glad to see her fi...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Rose Mary Achey rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you liked Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, you will like All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson. The story of a family with two daughters in 1920 era Shanghai. The eldest daughter was afforded anything in hopes that she would marry well and bring honor to the family. The younger daughter was simply there to care for her parents in their old age.
The beautiful, charming elder sister is set to marry a prominent Shanghai businessman and she develops consumptio...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Louise rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Story Description:
For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires
For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir.
The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing...more Story Description:
For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires
For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir.
The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country.
Both a sweeping historical novel and an intimate portrait of one woman’s struggle against tradition, All the Flowers in Shanghai marks the debut of a sensitive and revelatory writer.
My Review:
Feng is forced to marry a man who was supposed to marry her sister, but after her death her parents didn’t want to lose face and she therefore was thrown into what would have been her sister’s future life.

The family was wealthy and she was unliked by her father-in-law’s first and second wives and often had to take very negative comments in stride without striking back. She was pressured to produce a male heir for the family but unfortunately her first child was a girl. Feng made the choice to do something that she would later come to regret for the rest of her life.

A few years later Feng did produce a boy but he was born with a deformed foot and her in-laws were not at all impressed and wanted nothing to do with the child. Feng through herself into motherhood, spending lots of time with her son and seeing that he was schooled and they enjoyed a very close relationship.

When her son was a bit older, a servant was hired just for him, but the girl was quite young. At first there weren’t any problems but then Feng saw the girl going into her husband’s room one day and assumed that this young servant and he were having an affair. At the same time she realized that her son and the servant were very friendly with one another. Feng was irate and assumed this young servant was having an affair with both her husband and her son. Her anger was all consuming and she beat the girl with a belt leaving a permanent scar down the side of the girls face.

Feng could no longer cope with her life and left her wealthy in-law home and took a train to Shanghai to look for the seamstress who had made her wedding dress. This was a time in China was there up an uprising and things were changing drastically. Everyone had photos of Chairman Mao up in their stores and homes and young people were taking over and holding get togethers to shout out the new politics. Feng ended up finding the woman who now managed a sewing sweatshop and she became employed there. Having brought nothing with her but the clothes on her back, the seamstress invited Feng to live with her but they were very, very poor. They had no heat and had to sleep together under one blanket each night huddled together to keep warm. Working at the sweatshop and trying to meet the demands of the large quotas everyday was taking its toll on her. Then there comes a reckoning in the end that Feng must accept.

This was a great novel which I read in one sitting and would highly recommend it to anyone. For a debut novel it was well written.
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Jan 16, 2012 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

While I've never really had all that much interest in China (I've always been more of a Japan girl), I have this weird fascination with books about China. I LOVE reading about Chinese history and Red China and Mao Tse Tung and foot binding and, well, if it involves Chinese history in any way, I want to, have to read it! So I of course jumped at the opportunity to review Duncan Jesper's first novel, All the Flowers in Shanghai.

And mostly, I wasn't disappointed. This story, written in letter forma...more While I've never really had all that much interest in China (I've always been more of a Japan girl), I have this weird fascination with books about China. I LOVE reading about Chinese history and Red China and Mao Tse Tung and foot binding and, well, if it involves Chinese history in any way, I want to, have to read it! So I of course jumped at the opportunity to review Duncan Jesper's first novel, All the Flowers in Shanghai.

And mostly, I wasn't disappointed. This story, written in letter format, is the tragic tale of a Chinese woman, Xiao Feng, whose life, via some pretty unexpected circumstances, takes a turn for the worse and doesn't go according to plan. At all. It's about the choices, both bad and good, that she makes throughout her life, and how they affect her. It's about how the communist regime swept in and affected the priveleged before they could even notice a change, and thus the story of how communism changes Xiao Feng and causes her to look back on her choices.

This book takes a close look at all of the good, the bad, and the ugly that was China in between the times of foot binding and communism. It's a passionate story of hate and learning what love is, the love between a mother and daughter, between a mother and son. But it's also a tragic story of things lost forever due to bad choices and heart-wrenching sacrifices. It is beautifully written and will warm your heart while at the same time making it feel somewhat icy cold.

The thing I liked most about this book was that, from the beginning to the end, it took me places that I wasn't expecting to go. And it's to the point story-telling allowed me to catch a real glimpse of what life must have been like for elite women in China, whose sole purpose, it seems, was to have an heir. The prose was simple, but the imagery of lifestyle was vivid, and nothing was spared.

What I didn't like so much was the lack of vividity in the descriptions. In a sense, it was fitting. The story was written in the form of a letter, and what Xiao Feng was seeing was, without a doubt, dulled by her life experiences. However, she was also surrounded by so much beauty, and I felt like Jepson's descriptive pose didn't really give that beauty the justice that it deserved. I would have liked to see a little bit more intricacy of description.

Also, because it was written as a letter, we only got the point of view of Xiao Feng. Sometimes, this work, but I feel like, in this case, the letter format occasionally led to some awkward phrasings and unnecessary side-notes that came out of nowhere and didn't really fit. I also felt like All the Flowers in Shanghai could have really benefited from multiple perspectives. As opposed to taking away from or changing Xiao Feng's story, I felt like it would have really added some heavy emotion to understand what the people around her were thinking.

All in all, a wonderful read that I definitely recommend. You won't be disappointed by this touching story of Xiao Feng, a woman trying to reconcile her past and move forward despite the bad choices that she made in the past.

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Jan 08, 2012 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, china, depressing, for-review, historical, edelweiss

Another review that got deleted. Why, Goodreads, why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm going to do this review a little bit differently because I don't have a whole lot to say, and the easiest thing to do when this happens is to form lists. So while it goes against all of my other review writing, it will help me talk about specific points.

LIKES:

-I loved the story in this novel. It was epic and sweeping and it may me feel a whole range of different emotions. I couldn't wait to see what happened ne...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Patty rated it 2 of 5 stars

This books shares the story of a very young, very naive girl in pre-revolution China, Feng. She is the second born and all of her mother's energy has been poured into her elder sister. Her mother longs to enter "society" and is using the marriage of her first daughter to try and achieve this goal. When the seamstress comes to make the wedding dress Feng meets his son and imagines herself in love with him as she shares time with him in the family gardens.

When her sister dies Feng is basically sol...more This books shares the story of a very young, very naive girl in pre-revolution China, Feng. She is the second born and all of her mother's energy has been poured into her elder sister. Her mother longs to enter "society" and is using the marriage of her first daughter to try and achieve this goal. When the seamstress comes to make the wedding dress Feng meets his son and imagines herself in love with him as she shares time with him in the family gardens.

When her sister dies Feng is basically sold into the marriage her mother so much desired - to save face. Feng is totally unaware of the world around her except for the Latin names of all the flowers in the garden taught to her by her grandfather. He is against the marriage but he leaves rather than stand up to the force of his daughter in law.

Feng enters into her new family totally unprepared for living in such a rigid household. No one has told her anything about life. My first problem with the book was that a seventeen year old girl, even in this time period could be THIS clueless. Feng did not even know what marriage was let along sex. She didn't realize that she would be leaving her family. I found it hard to believe. She read more like a pre-teen than a seventeen year old.

After she enters the marriage and makes her "terrible revenge" she turns into a femme fatale with her husband. Where did this woman come from? A girl who knew nothing about sex now, with no further conversation or teaching from her husband is suddenly a tease extraordinaire? This change was a bit of a stretch for me.

The back and forth of this woman in her feelings of love and hate were like whiplash. I could totally understand why she would hate her situation but the ways she chose to deal with it were a bit extreme to say the least. It made the book less believable and that's a shame because the writing was so good. I found myself drawn into the time and place with the flow of the words. I felt the emotions when they rang true but so many situations just felt so wrong. Maybe it is cultural? I don't know - I have read many a book that has taken place in China in different time periods and have not felt like this. It was definitely worth reading but I won't read it again.(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Betty-Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Despite having finished All the Flowers in Shanghai several weeks ago, I have been finding it difficult to write a review, mostly because I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the book.

I requested this book fully aware that the premise was not a completely new one. Also, while I have read many books set in China, especially dealing with the nature of relationships and the particular conditions experienced by women in that culture, I enjoy the genre and look forward to new stories along the same...more Despite having finished All the Flowers in Shanghai several weeks ago, I have been finding it difficult to write a review, mostly because I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the book.

I requested this book fully aware that the premise was not a completely new one. Also, while I have read many books set in China, especially dealing with the nature of relationships and the particular conditions experienced by women in that culture, I enjoy the genre and look forward to new stories along the same line. I was hoping, therefore, for a new perspective from Duncan Jepson, possibly replete with the kind of historical detail I particularly love.

The main character, Xiao Feng, grows up in a household which includes her parents, sister and grandfather. The men are weak and ineffectual, both of them unable to place any constraint on the behavior of Feng’s mother and sister. Feng spends all of her time in the shadow of her more beautiful sister. Their mother places all her hopes of entering ‘society’ on Sister marrying into one of the most powerful and influential families in Shanghai. When this duty is forced on naïve Feng instead, she blames her parents, especially her mother, for the situation in which she finds herself. She becomes very bitter and her behavior leads her to an action which she comes to regret.

One of the biggest difficulties I had with the book was the fact that Feng’s life was so isolated, first by her naivety and then by her absorption into her husband’s household. It meant the history of the time didn’t really come through in the story, because the narrator was woefully unaware of much of it until the end of the book, and even then it was still marginal.

Feng herself is not a very sympathetic character, but at the same time, did understand the author’s intention to show that the situation she was forced into caused her to react the way she did. As much as I didn’t particularly like her, I have to admit that a sense of her character has stuck with me.

I did enjoy the descriptions of the flowers and the use of that theme in the story. It added an element of beauty that threw the character’s personalities and experiences into stark relief. I can’t say I really enjoyed the book, and it is not likely I would ever re-read it … still, for some reason, I can’t completely dismiss it.
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Jan 02, 2012 Selena rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 14, 2011 Gaby rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I've long been interested in 1930s China so I thought that I'd enjoy All the Flowers in Shanghai. The story focuses on Xiao Feng, a beautiful young girl born into a middle class family with a socially ambitious older sister and mother. Xiao Feng grows up with little interest in wealth, power, or status while her older sister is groomed for a glamorous life and an advantageous marriage. But when the older sister is unable to fulfill the marriage contract that would tie their family to the wealthy...more I've long been interested in 1930s China so I thought that I'd enjoy All the Flowers in Shanghai. The story focuses on Xiao Feng, a beautiful young girl born into a middle class family with a socially ambitious older sister and mother. Xiao Feng grows up with little interest in wealth, power, or status while her older sister is groomed for a glamorous life and an advantageous marriage. But when the older sister is unable to fulfill the marriage contract that would tie their family to the wealthy and respected Sang family, Xiao Feng is maneuvered into taking her sister's place.

Xiao Feng is intimidated by her husband's family and is unprepared for the role of First Wife to the First Son. As the more powerful members of the Sang family humiliate and bully, Xiao Feng loses the naivete and innocence. Xiao Feng sees that her power lies in the sons heirs that she might bring to the Sang clan. Xiao Feng starts assert herself. Unfortunately, while the younger Xiao Feng was sweet and likable, the new Xiao Feng takes on the same cruelty and spitefulness of her tormentors. Xiao Feng undertakes an act of revenge so cruel that it's hard to comprehend and it destroys much of the sympathy that I had for her.

As the book goes on, we learn more about Xiao Feng's life as a wealthy society matron, the friends that she makes, and the life that she carves out. The first half of the book was reminiscent of Memoirs of a Geisha but instead of developing as a character, Xiao Feng becomes less interesting and less sympathetic as the story develops. I found that I wasn't invested in Xiao Feng - even Duncan Jepson's skilled writing couldn't get me to care about Xiao Feng. Also, I would have enjoyed the story more if Duncan Jepson devoted more attention to the what was going on in Shanghai during Japanese occupation and the Cultural Revolution. We know that the Sang family suffered, but this is told in passing and doesn't move things forward much.

Overall, All the Flowers in Shanghai is very well written but the second part of the story doesn't meet the promise of the book's beginning. Towards the middle of the book, I stopped caring about the main character and began to sympathize with her husband. While I was disappointed in the latter portions of All the Flowers in Shanghai, Duncan Jepson is a talented writer and I plan to read his next novel.

ISBN-10: 0062081608 - Paperback $14.99
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (December 27, 2011), 320 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Program and the publisher.(less)

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Nov 20, 2011 Beverly rated it 2 of 5 stars

I rated this book 2+

This is a novel of cultural mores and betrayals. Up until she is seventeen, Feng has been taught her obligation in life is to care for her aging parents. Without any considerations of her desires or preparation, Feng is thrust into the haughty suffocating world of upper class Shanghai in the 1930s. Feeling betrayed by those she thought loved her and hoping to avoid a life of humiliation, Feng puts in place, a plan of revenge, and this is the story the readers will follow.
Desp...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This first novel by Jepson gets off to a good start: Feng, a teenage girl in 1930s Shanghai, has been ignored by her parents all her life. Her mother has put all her attention and money into the older daughter, grooming her to marry into one of Shanghai’s top families. As the second daughter, Feng exists to never marry and to take care of her parent’s in their old age. Her grandfather, though, loves her and teaches her the Latin names of the plants in a public garden in Shanghai. Here she meets...more This first novel by Jepson gets off to a good start: Feng, a teenage girl in 1930s Shanghai, has been ignored by her parents all her life. Her mother has put all her attention and money into the older daughter, grooming her to marry into one of Shanghai’s top families. As the second daughter, Feng exists to never marry and to take care of her parent’s in their old age. Her grandfather, though, loves her and teaches her the Latin names of the plants in a public garden in Shanghai. Here she meets Bi, a poor young man whose mother is a seamstress. Their budding relationship is severed when Feng, through a quirk of fate, finds herself propelled into an arranged marriage with a member of Shanghai’s richest family. Thrust into a world she knows nothing about, Feng is utterly lost. She doesn’t know her new husband, she doesn’t know how to behave in this environment, and she doesn’t know anything about sex. She is changed radically by this turn of events; at the same time, China itself is undergoing radical change as the Japanese occupation ends and the Maoist revolution begins.

This is a set up for an incredible story of a person’s and a country’s growing pains. But that is not what we get; Feng simply turns into a raging bitch, completely centered on herself. She takes on all the worst attributes of the Chinese upper class of that time and place. How the country is changing around her affects her hardly at all until the end; even then she has it much, much easier than many did at the time.

It’s sad. I liked the author’s writing style; I hope he writes more because I feel he has great potential. The picture he paints of Shanghai in that era is marvelously written. But the characters are not well done. Feng evokes great sympathy at first and none at all later. Feng’s personality swings too far from one end of the spectrum to the other to be truly believable. I actually had more empathy with her husband, because, flawed and weak as he was, he at least was trying to change and grow.
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Aug 17, 2012 Gigi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell birthed in me a fascination for Shanghai. I literally picked up All the Flowers in Shanghai at Costco simply because it contained Shanghai in the title. It did not disappoint.

From the haunting words of regret in the first paragraph, the narrator wins my attention and captures my affection. Xiao Feng weaves a story of regret and at times is not a likable character. Perhaps her honesty and the rawness of her story soften the reader's heart toward her. She i...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Lydia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mixes feelings on this one. I find the time period and place fascinating. Quick summary: the second daughter is forced to marry her dead sister's fiance...and enters a world of upper class society. In bitterness she strikes out at those close around her. There were so many moments I was so frustrated with the main character...she spends so much of her life focused acting the exact horrible way of those she despises...yet she is so critical of them. There was also way to many pages I simple had t...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Serena rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson is set in 1930s Shanghai and is told by Xiao Feng as she writes down her past, beginning with the courting of her beautiful sister who has been spoiled by her parents. Her mother’s ambitions lie with her sister, and Feng is on the sidelines watching her sister be paraded in front of other families with prominence in society and wonders where their ambitions will lead. The prose is easy to read and captures attentions easily with its bright colors and...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

A rather tragic little story of a woman in pre-communist China who is forced into a marriage not of her chosing. However she is also thrust into a life of privilege and comfort. Her bitterness at her position prompts her to get rid of her first born child because it is a girl. She eventually produces a boy but he is handicapped, but she loves him nevertheless and in time comes to love her husband as well. But the past comes to haunt her and as Mao and his cronies slowly take over the country she...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Eileen Granfors rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, environment, families, friendship, historical-fiction, local-color, marriage, politics, war

Duncan Jepson, a Eurasian author, has written a book that explores Chinese culture from a woman's point of view. If you are a reader who enjoyed "The Good Earth," "Snowflower and the Secret Fan," or "Memoirs of a Geisha," Jepson's tale is one to teach and entertain you.

He focuses on Feng, the younger sister of a very modern (1930s) Chinese girl. Her sister learns Western dances and wears Western clothes. She is to be married into a rich family, earning more respect for the family she comes from....more

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Mar 29, 2012 Alexis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

My mother, who needs to update her goodreads books, said that this book is disappointing. I agree.

Here's why-

1. Mom and I have read 80 billion books about China and Chinese history. I'm guessing that we are very familiar with these types of stories and are a bit picky. We want to learn something new. We are hard core readers of the genre and we expect more. People who are not familiar with Chinese culture or history might enjoy this book more.

2. The author doesn't really focus on the Communist p...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Cindi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Writing and publishing a novel titled All the Flowers in Shanghai not long after the success of Lisa See's novel Shanghai Girls and then including a cover line comparing this work to Lisa See's work can have several consequences. If you're lucky, readers of Lisa See's books will be intrigued, buy and read your novel (the ultimate goal). However, the downside of this is that you will always be compared to Lisa See. Good luck with that.

Duncan Jepson, the author of All the Flowers in Shanghai, tell...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Georgette rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.
Feng is a young girl growing up in Shanghai in the 1930's. It's a tough road to walk. Feng's older sister is to be married, but she passes away before she can marry her suitor(arrranged marriage, of course). Feng's parents, determined not to lose face and stature in Shanghai, arrange for her to be married to the suitor instead. Feng loses what's left of her childhood and settles into a harder life than she's used to. She finds a way to become strong and independent of...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, history, asia, women-s-fiction, child-narrator

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

The story was told in the voice of Xiao Feng, as a letter to the daughter she never raised, recounting her own and...more All the Flowers of Shanghai...Before I give my review of this book, I have to clarify that I've read many books about China, Chinese Women and the Cultural Revolution. Being Chinese my self, surrounded by older Chinese women also gave me invaluable insights into the basic struggles and values of them. The bottom line is that I probably had a higher expectation for the book than most.

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

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

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

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

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Oct 07, 2011 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'll read anything about 1930s Shanghai. So I was naturally drawn to Duncan Jepson's debut novel, All the Flowers in Shanghai. I was impressed by the way it transcends several eras in modern Chinese history: the rigid imperial family structure, the roaring decadence of 1930s Shanghai, and the Communist Revolution (good and bad, but mostly bad).

The main character, Feng, is a shy girl from an upper-middle class family that aims to marry into a wealthy family. Feng's sister, simply named Sister, i...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, asian-literature

I picked this out because of the lovely smiling woman on the cover. Yet, I didn’t see a relationship between the cover and the main character in 'All the Flowers in Shanghai". This story was set in the time just before the Chinese revolution and then immediately after. That period and the following one was a very cruel and scary one for China so I did not expect a lot of smiles and contentment but I was hoping for a sympathetic main character.

At first, I liked the main character, Xiao Feng. Even...more I picked this out because of the lovely smiling woman on the cover. Yet, I didn’t see a relationship between the cover and the main character in 'All the Flowers in Shanghai". This story was set in the time just before the Chinese revolution and then immediately after. That period and the following one was a very cruel and scary one for China so I did not expect a lot of smiles and contentment but I was hoping for a sympathetic main character.

At first, I liked the main character, Xiao Feng. Even though she didn't get love and support from her mother and sister, her grandfather provided her with kindness and caring. Xiao Feng seemed to take after him by learning the botanical terms for the garden flowers and feeling bad for the poor people at the market. This was when was she was a young girl.

Her situation changed and she changed with it. She became mean and vindictive. It doesn't seem possible that this is the same person. I don't understand that. How can a person cast off their old personality and take on a new so completely. Hatred and anger seemed to pour out of the book. I started to not want to read about Xiao Feng! I had lost my sympathy for her.

I hung on and finished the book but during the middle of it, but I really wanted to stop reading.

I didn't check the author's name on the book. When I was reading about Xiao Feng's perspective, it struck me that the author was not a woman. I didn't feel like Duncan Jepson truly captured the woman's point of view. This is not to say that it a man cannot write as if he was a woman. I have read books by male authors who amazed me with their perceptiveness of what it is like to be a woman.

Also, I would have preferred that the sex scenes were not so explicit. There seemed to be too much detail, not enough feeling.

I thought that the end of the book was believable in terms of the historical situation but not with Xiao Feng. I didn't feel like I understood her.

I think that author's "On My Mother" gives some insight as to why the author wrote the book in the way that he did. Also there is section labeled "Further Reading" that offers other books both fiction and non-fiction that I would like to explore.

I don’t really want to recommend this book for reading.

This book was received as a part of the Amazon.com Vine program but in no way influence my review.

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Dec 29, 2011 Staci rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Staci by: TLC Book Tours

Shelves: 2011-reads, tlc-tour-2011

Summary: For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires .ForFeng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires.The life that has b...more Summary: For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires . For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires. The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country.

First thoughts after I finished: "That was a very depressing book."

I'm absolutely intrigued by the role of women in China and read almost any book that tells their story. This one sounded so wonderful and full of promise. I have to admit that it started out very slow for me and the way the author wrote had me feeling uncomfortable and out-of-step with the fluidity of the words. Eventually that seemed to work itself out and the story moved along and I found myself pulled into Feng's life story. Unfortunately for Feng, the author, and myself, I just could NOT for the life of me like this woman. She took her hatred and anger to the extreme and with that she also stole my ability to find something redeeming in her as a person. I understand what the author was trying to convey and I think his writing is beautiful, but I wish that at some point he would've created a character who had more layers and was slowly broken down. Instead, he seemed to fast forward the years and left out important character building qualities along the way.

Recommend? For those that want to read books that take place in China and during the revolution, I think you would enjoy this. I did really enjoy the Further Reading section and took note of books the author listed that I would like to read in the future. My lack of caring for the main character is on me...no one.

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
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Dec 28, 2011 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fiction, historic-fiction, china

Original review posted here

This book has huge strengths and just as big of weaknesses. But I’m in that strange place where the weakness isn’t really a big weakness to me, due to the other reading I’ve done about China during this time period. So – here is the weakness: There really isn’t much information about the historical situation in China, but this isn’t a book that really advertises that it has that information.

This semester in school we talked a lot about history is based around wars and...more Original review posted here

This book has huge strengths and just as big of weaknesses. But I’m in that strange place where the weakness isn’t really a big weakness to me, due to the other reading I’ve done about China during this time period. So – here is the weakness: There really isn’t much information about the historical situation in China, but this isn’t a book that really advertises that it has that information.

This semester in school we talked a lot about history is based around wars and the events leading up to them. There is very little history taught in schools that centers around homemaking methods of women, or the methods of horse-shoeing by men. This is one of those kind of books, however. Historical fiction which takes a look at the way the women of 1930′s China ticked – their honor system, their treatment of daughters, their pride, and their choices.

Duncan Jepson fully explores what might be one possible reason behind the actions of a woman leading to the removal of her daughter from her home. Feng is so sweet and pure at the start of this story as she explores gardens, and deals with grubby hands and the scorn of an older, “wiser” sister. Due to a twist in circumstances, Feng ends up married to a man not of her own choosing, and placed into a home that is, for all intents and purposes, a pit of vipers. My heart broke, not only while watching Feng transform into a woman who could hold her own, but also at the circumstances surrounding that change.

Another slight issue I had with the book, however, was the sheer amount of time spent on things such as the leading up to and impregnating of Feng (which read a little like a sadistic porn novel), and the fact that Feng really had nothing to complain about with her husband, other than the fact of course that she didn’t choose or love him, which I admit is no small thing. Still, he treats her well – there’s no abuse or anything of the sort, so nothing to worry about with that, but.. I guess you’d need to read the book to understand why it bugs me a bit.

Overall – I thought the story was a beautiful look at the history of the woman in China in the 30′s. The focus was so intent on Feng, her choices, her lifestyle, and her family, that everything else falls to the wayside. Lush language makes the book very easy to fall into, and I was up until 2am to finish it last night because I didn’t want to put it down.(less)

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Jan 29, 2012 Marg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Some times you read a book that makes you grateful that you live in this time and this place. Sure, in 50 years time our grandkids might look back and wonder how we put up with .... whatever, but for the most part here in Australia we have a pretty free and easy lifestyle. I do know though that some times that is not always the case. For example, when I was pregnant and having my ultrasound scans, there were signs everywhere which advised us not to ask to find out the sex of the child as we woul...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Tonya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads

Without a shadow of a doubt this will be a top 100 book for a LONG time. Feng Feng is a young, vibrant girl. Different from her sister, she is pleased by the littlest thing in life. Her sister is older, much more into looks and shallow things. Sister will be getting married and Feng Feng assumes she will live with her parents, taking care of them. However her and her grandfather meet a young man that Feng falls in love with.

However Sister dies suddenly before she is able to marry, and Ba and Ma...more

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title link	preview: All the Flowers in Shanghai
avg rating	preview: All the Flowers in Shanghai Goodreads rating: 3.49 (620 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11790127-all-the-flowers-in-shanghai?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316294492l/11790127.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11790127-all-the-flowers-in-shanghai?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson[/url]

All the Flowers in Shanghai

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