Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
3rd out of 19 books
—
11 voters
The Distant Land of My Father
by
Bo Caldwell
Anna, the narrator of this riveting first novel, lives in a storybook world: exotic pre- World War II Shanghai, with handsome young parents, wealth, and comfort. Her father, the son of missionaries, leads a charmed and secretive life, though his greatest joy is sharing his beloved city with his only daughter. Yet when Anna and her mother flee Japanese-occupied Shanghai to...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
September 9th 2002
by Mariner Books
(first published 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
the only redeeming feature of this book is its picturesque description of shanghai in the 1930's. it appears the author has gone through the trouble of researching and condensing hundreds of personal accounts and travelogues to distill for the reader a glimpse of china's romance. but what purpose for her meticulous descriptions of the going ons of the Bund street picturescape when in the end, this reader is left not caring for a soul in the novel. it is indeed romantic if one thinks looking in a...more
I am such a sucker for historical fiction, and this book was a wonderful example of GOOD historical fiction. She really did her research, and I felt like I learned a good deal about those times in China and the U.S. 2 things I loved about this book: One, her descriptive writing was incredibly tangible, and so tactile. The way Anna viewed her father through rose-colored glasses-the descriptions by her of his hands, his smell, his hair, his words...it was just so endearing, and I could actually ex...more
Jan 29, 2008
Betsy Wachter
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Betsy by:
book group
Now that I am retired I have discovered that I can allow myself the pleasure of reading, right in the middle of the afternoon, or whenever I feel like it! I have joined a book group, which has introduced me to some wonderful new titles. This book is one of the book group selections, as well as the "Silicon Valley Reads" for this year. It is a wonderful story of Anna, whose early childhood is spent in luxury in Shanghai in the 1930's. Live changes for the worse with the Japanese takeover, but Ann...more
I loved this book so much. Very interesting, dynamic characters and a poignant storyline that tears at the heart strings. (I tend to love that type of story.) It's a great fictional memoir and gives an interesting look at Shanghai during some of its historically difficult moments. So worth the read.
Mar 21, 2013
Lianne
added it
Since meeting the author in person a few weeks ago when she spoke about her more recent book "City of Tranquil Light," I made a point of seeking out Bo Caldwell's first novel, "The Distant Land of My Father." Both works have been inspired by family stories and journals. This one was based on an uncle's experience in Shanghai during the 1930's until after the Communists came to power. The narrator is Anna, whose charmed childhood unfolds within the expat community of Shanghai. Her family lives in...more
This story is so rich and textured I knew it had to be a labor of love. I was riveted to it in every spare moment for two days so I didn't take the time to check out the author. After I finished, in a quick internet search I found that Joseph Schoene is loosely based on the author's uncle. Her grandparents were missionaries in her mother's brother loved Shanghai. The book was too intimate and personal to have been a glimpse of her own father, but intimate and personal enough to be based on someo...more
I enjoyed this novel enough to finish it (I read it for a book club, and it provoked interesting discussions), but I find myself even more fascinated by the widely varying reviews, from almost angry to fervidly enthusiastic. Many of the differences seem to come from peoples' expectations and prior knowledge. My own interest was definitely whetted by personal connections--growing up in SoCal myself, and hearing the stories of a friend's mother who was born in Shanghai to a family of Russian emigr...more
I loved this book! Firstly because of the amazing detail of life in Shanghai before WWII and after.
The writer's father had been born and grew up in China and loved that country so deeply that he could not tear himself away from it. He was a man who could not resist a deal whatever the moral implications and thus made a fortune for himself. But his inability to read the seriousness of life in China through the Japanese invasion and then later when the communists came to power left him serving tim...more
The writer's father had been born and grew up in China and loved that country so deeply that he could not tear himself away from it. He was a man who could not resist a deal whatever the moral implications and thus made a fortune for himself. But his inability to read the seriousness of life in China through the Japanese invasion and then later when the communists came to power left him serving tim...more
The Distant Land of My Father has a wonderful story. It would actually make a really good movie. It is the story of a young girl who loses her father to his obsession. American by birth, her father was born and raised in China and moved back there as soon as he got married. Things were really good for awhile. Tremendously successful her father lived a beautiful Chinese life. But then the Japanese took over, Pearl Harbor happened, later Communism. I won't spoil all that happens to this family. Bu...more
This novel begins with the glamorous life of wealthy expatriates in 1930s Shanghai. Narrated by Anna, beginning at age 5, it is the story of her relationship with her father, an opportunistic businessman who dotes on her, but is so enamored of the city and its life, that he cannot bring himself to leave with her and her mother, even in the face of imminent occupation. Some of the best parts of the book, taken from his journals, are the descriptions of his imprisonment, first by the Japanese and...more
The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell
The author wrote an article a few years back called the Beach House about her happy experiences growing up in Southern California, spending idyllic summers at the family cottage in Hermosa Beach. Since she also happens to be from the Pasadena area, I was therefore delighted when I stumbled upon her first book in our Library's stacks. (you just never know what you may find there...I highly suggest browsing the shelves!)
The alluring scene is 1930's Shan...more
The author wrote an article a few years back called the Beach House about her happy experiences growing up in Southern California, spending idyllic summers at the family cottage in Hermosa Beach. Since she also happens to be from the Pasadena area, I was therefore delighted when I stumbled upon her first book in our Library's stacks. (you just never know what you may find there...I highly suggest browsing the shelves!)
The alluring scene is 1930's Shan...more
This was a fascinating book. We begin in Shanghai in about 1930, where Anna, 5 years old, lives with her parents. Father Joseph, the son of missionaries, was born in China and has become a millionaire in the go-go rough and tumble of 30's Shanghai. Eve, the mother, is a beautiful, charming Southern California transplant, who seems to have fit in to the high society and privilege of her husband's world in China.
The times are about to catch up with with the family as powerful historical and politi...more
The times are about to catch up with with the family as powerful historical and politi...more
"Gran said that he was from China and he was good luck. And you're from China and you're good luck. So I thought you went together."
I nodded. "Why am I good luck?"
"Because you're here and you make me happy."
The Distant Land of my Father is a novel about a girl and her sometimes estranged relationship with her father. It begins with her family living in pre-WW2 Shanghai. Anna (the narrator) loves and is in awe of her elegant, loving parents and attempts to comprehend the tumultuous world around...more
I nodded. "Why am I good luck?"
"Because you're here and you make me happy."
The Distant Land of my Father is a novel about a girl and her sometimes estranged relationship with her father. It begins with her family living in pre-WW2 Shanghai. Anna (the narrator) loves and is in awe of her elegant, loving parents and attempts to comprehend the tumultuous world around...more
While I liked the basic story line -- girl, Anna, caught between two cultures, two countries and two parents -- and the issues of loss, abandonment, and ultimate redemption, I was annoyed by Caldwell's technique of listing three or more items to describe the time or place, i.e. "My father had played polo that afternoon and still wore his riding clothes, off-white jodhpurs and a jersey shirt, the color so creamy it appeared liquid, and black leather boots that I wanted to touch to see if they wer...more
SOME SPOILERS!
I was very interested to read (just before beginning to read the book) that Bo Caldwell based the character of Joseph Schoene on her own uncle and his life. http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/readersg...
Although the author had not visited Shanghai herself, she had obviously researched the city and the period so that the all-important setting was very believeable. She based her descriptions of life in prison under the Japanese and the Chinese on her uncle's own experiences, strengthening...more
I was very interested to read (just before beginning to read the book) that Bo Caldwell based the character of Joseph Schoene on her own uncle and his life. http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/readersg...
Although the author had not visited Shanghai herself, she had obviously researched the city and the period so that the all-important setting was very believeable. She based her descriptions of life in prison under the Japanese and the Chinese on her uncle's own experiences, strengthening...more
3.5 stars. I finished this book late last night and went back and re-read a few portions during this morning's tea - to improve my memory and clarify some elements of the story.
I usually write my reviews as soon after completing a book as possible - while my memory of the reading experience is fresh.
I realized that I don't want to analyze this book, at least not now. I was transported by the story - to the sights and sounds of Shangai in the early 20th century; to prisons run by the Japanese an...more
I usually write my reviews as soon after completing a book as possible - while my memory of the reading experience is fresh.
I realized that I don't want to analyze this book, at least not now. I was transported by the story - to the sights and sounds of Shangai in the early 20th century; to prisons run by the Japanese an...more
I waffle about whether I liked this or really liked it.. but I will say that for a book I picked up completely on a whim, I was really pleased with the result. The story is well told and, at the beginning, sort of reminded me of a noir film because it begins in the 30s. I also got a great insight into Shanghai in that period and was reminded of what kinds of things happened in China during the Japanese occupation and World War II. This woman finds a box with her father's journals of his adult li...more
Had The Distant Land of My Father not been shelved in the fiction section of my library, it would have taken me many chapters to realize this was not a memoir. Caldwell writes about the settings so intimately that it is natural to assume she walked the very streets she is describing.
It is clear from the beginning that Anna, the narrator, is not really the central character. Neither is the mother she admires or father she loves. The true heroine is Shanghai. This novel is a romance. The city is...more
It is clear from the beginning that Anna, the narrator, is not really the central character. Neither is the mother she admires or father she loves. The true heroine is Shanghai. This novel is a romance. The city is...more
When I didn't expect it, this book really entered my heart and my thoughts. It is heart breaking but it feels complete anyway. It spans Anna's life from age 6 all the way to her adulthood and beyond, but still provides details while moving quickly enough through the story line. A review on the back of the book captures one reason I loved it: "This book will keep you guessing and then, when you least expect it, it will break your heart, even as it comforts you." I felt like both sides of the stor...more
What a wonderful book. I’m a sucker for any book on the East and this book and as I’ve never read anything by Bo Caldwell I was a bit dubious, but I can highly recommend this book.
The book starts in Shanghai just before the 2nd World War with Anna and her parents in Shanghai. It was a Golden Time and the book captures that time beautifully. Eventually Anna and her mother leave for the USA, but the Father remains behind as he loves Shanghai more that his family. He is imprisioned by the Japs and...more
The book starts in Shanghai just before the 2nd World War with Anna and her parents in Shanghai. It was a Golden Time and the book captures that time beautifully. Eventually Anna and her mother leave for the USA, but the Father remains behind as he loves Shanghai more that his family. He is imprisioned by the Japs and...more
Aug 26, 2012
Katrice
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
pamana-ni-tita-pinky
This book is what I think of as an Oriental woman/woman in the Orient tale. All about how the Orient changed the course of the life of a woman or continues to impact her life today. It's not necessarily a bad genre, but its not a genre I particularly care for.
That probably sums up my feelings for this book, it's not bad but it's not really that memorable for me.
Most stories like this, if you strip away the exotic elements, tend to be all about a woman and her relationships or a particular relat...more
That probably sums up my feelings for this book, it's not bad but it's not really that memorable for me.
Most stories like this, if you strip away the exotic elements, tend to be all about a woman and her relationships or a particular relat...more
I was given a galley of this book a few years ago and finally picked it up. I'm always reading something on SE Asia, and this one called from my shelves because I'm doing the final revisions of my novel, the beginning of which takes place in Shanghai---as does most of this book. I read it with interest in how historical research can enhance and hinder a book. The author's research was almost comical at times here, because there is scarcely a single item that is not mentioned by its brand name. A...more
I loved this book -- both because it transported me to China under siege and also because it brought me right back to my neck of the woods -- Pasadena, California.
The characters are believable.
I just fell in love with this book -- and my mother, whose taste is usually a lot more pedantic than mine, loved it too...so I would suggest this to someone that fits in one of these categories -- one who resides in the local Pasadena, California area; one who wants to read a book that touches one's hear...more
The characters are believable.
I just fell in love with this book -- and my mother, whose taste is usually a lot more pedantic than mine, loved it too...so I would suggest this to someone that fits in one of these categories -- one who resides in the local Pasadena, California area; one who wants to read a book that touches one's hear...more
I loved this book; it's a great read. It is based on the real life of an uncle of the author. She very successfully characterizes the estrangement of a daughter from her father who chose to remain in wartime Shanghai rather than stay with his family in California. So it is a story of constrained relations between family members.But I identified with the father in some ways because of my own experiences as an expatriate in the Middle East. I too felt an attachment to a foreign land, and I did no...more
One of the most powerful and beautifully descriptive, poignant moving accounts of a city and a relationship with her elegant parents by a young child. It was so sensitively written that it doesn't matter a bit that I have not a clue about Shanghai, China or the role of Westerners there in the 1930s and 40s. The first 1/3 of the book which is all from the young Anna's account were tracscendant. I can't claim that for the remainder of the book which was not nearly as strong, but still quite good....more
This is a first novel by an experienced magazine feature writer. She obviously did a lot of research and imbues her story with a very intense sense of place be it 1930s - 1940s Shanghai or 1940s-1960's Pasadena. It was an easy and fast read. Although i was not initially overwhelmed by this book i have found it haunting in many ways. It has helped me see Shanghai as a fascinating, complex, real place instead of a sort of incorporeal mythical location. I saw a National Geographic show about modern...more
Joann's mom brought me this book. Thank you, thank you! My reading on The Republic of China continues -- though I didn't plan to read so many books on this time period, it does seem fitting in light of this being the 100th anniversary of the ROC. Beautifully written the story of an American father raised in China, his American wife who wants to return to the US as the Japanese increase their presence in the 30's, and their daughter Anna. This is the story of a family each anchored by something d...more
My book club ladies all liked the book much more than I, and had more empathy for the narrator, Anna, as she obsessed over her neglectful father. Some of the descriptions of pre- and post-war Shanghai were good, but I also felt the author was trying to impress me with her copious research – perhaps an over-compensation for not actually traveling to China.
Based on how much everyone else liked it I do think it is a good book club selection as they can discuss the parental relationship as well as t...more
Based on how much everyone else liked it I do think it is a good book club selection as they can discuss the parental relationship as well as t...more
Bo Caldwell wrote this before The City of Tranquil Light, and I imagine maybe she had to write a 'power over' novel in order to allow the 'power with' approach to unfold in the Tranquil Light book. That doesn't mean it's a throw away book. Again I could hardly stop reading, but I did stop at the point 'my father' disses his wife and child, and I was surprised about the anger and disappointment I felt. When I went back to the book I read with amazement as Anna (the child, now an adult) slowly, ov...more
Loved the book! The relationship of a father and daughter is explored from the time the daughter is six until the father's death. The father betrays his daughter and is absent until the daughter is married and has a daughter of her own. The reconciliation is heart-warming and the father's realization of what he had done wrong interesting. The father had been born and raised in China and brings his new wife and daughter to live in Shanghai. The international aspect of the book was enjoyable to me...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Bo Caldwell (b. 1955) is the author of the national bestseller, The Distant Land of My Father. She became popular after this book became the book of Silicon Valley Reads 2008. Her short fiction has been published in Ploughshares, Story, Epoch, and other literary journals. A former Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing at Stanford University, she currently lives in Northern California with her husband...more
More about Bo Caldwell...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Mar 15, 2009 01:40pm
Apr 13, 2013 06:09am