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77th out of 200 books
—
534 voters
A Cup of Light
by
Nicole Mones (Goodreads Author)
As an American appraiser of fine Chinese porcelain, Lia Frank holds fragile beauty in her hands, examines priceless treasure with a magnifying lens. But when Lia looks in the mirror, she sees the flaws in herself, a woman wary of love, cut off from the world around her. Still, when she is sent to Beijing to authenticate a collection of rare pieces, Lia will find herself ch...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 29th 2003
by Delta
(first published 2002)
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What a great book! I never knew about chinese porcelain cups, but they are a whole world unto themselves. They are incredibly valuable, but there are also many fakes ("fang gu") that are difficult to spot. The main character is a chinese cup expert, and her descriptions and her fascination with the cups are contagious. She is assigned to review the contents of a recently found collection that contains the most exquisite cups she has ever seen, with the finest, tiniest paintings and unique porcel...more
I just finished this book and I was really impressed. The book was written in way that served as a reflection of the story itself. The book was about so many things, above all the history and artistry of Asian pottery. The story unfolded as delicately and artfully as the ceramics themselves. I found myself "sipping" the story, not wanting to rush, wanting to savor. This was no action packed adventure. Instead it was about the eternal and internal. I haven't been moved to write to an author, pers...more
It wasn't until after I finished this book that I realized Nicole Mones is also the author of Lost In Translation. (Yeah, I know it says so right on the cover, but I was too busy absorbing what was in the book to be distracted by and the extraneous words on the cover.) It somehow doesn't surprise me, as both tales have a deceptive depth to them. On the surface of A Cup of Light, you have the basic story of Lia's appraisal of a collection of Chinese porcelain, and what that will reveal about the...more
This book was a sensual pleasure. This second novel by the author of Lost in Translation is a wonderful mix of delighting the senses with art and with love. Lia Frank, a porcelain expert for a high-end auctioneers (think Sothebys), flies to China to evaluate twenty pieces of porcelain her and her boss are given to understand are being offered quietly for sale by the Chinese government. With a buyer already in place, Lia’s job is to check the value, make sure there aren’t any fakes in the mix, an...more
2.5-3 stars
I really wanted to like this book. After reading Lost in Translation I was really exited to read more of this author's work. I think what the problem for me was the lack of passion. In Lost in Translation you could feel the passion and desperation of the characters as they searched themselves and for Pekking Man. In this book - not so much. The porcelain that was being sold was definitely lost and found but there wasn't a lot of mystery involved. It wasn't even so much as lost as left...more
I really wanted to like this book. After reading Lost in Translation I was really exited to read more of this author's work. I think what the problem for me was the lack of passion. In Lost in Translation you could feel the passion and desperation of the characters as they searched themselves and for Pekking Man. In this book - not so much. The porcelain that was being sold was definitely lost and found but there wasn't a lot of mystery involved. It wasn't even so much as lost as left...more
like her other novels, this is an education in a novel. the premise is that a fabulous cache of Chinese Imperial porcelains found somewhere, that has been previously uncatalogued, needs to be appraised. a rather singular woman goes to do the job, and her knowledge is encyclopedic…which means that i read this book with my computer ready to Google search every piece of porcelain she mentions, so i could actually see what a double gourd or wucai or a chicken cup looked like. some may find this book...more
I enjoyed this book because it wove so many strands together. First, the lives of Lia, the art evaluator, Michael, a man cut off from himself due to illness, as well as "bit" players like Bia, Guo, Dr Zhang etc.
Then there is the art, which has a dimension and character of its own. The Chenghua Chinese cup distills the uniqueness of a beautiful object and raises the pivotal question raised by Mones, what is fake, what is real? And if fake is almost as good as real does that matter?
I liked that...more
Then there is the art, which has a dimension and character of its own. The Chenghua Chinese cup distills the uniqueness of a beautiful object and raises the pivotal question raised by Mones, what is fake, what is real? And if fake is almost as good as real does that matter?
I liked that...more
I read this a few months ago for a book group challenge, but didn't get around to writing a review at the time. While I liked this book, I didn't love it. I was a bit bored by the plot and characters. Even so, Mones is a wonderful writer, and I do appreciate her word crafting ability. I wanted to like this book more, but it just didn't captivate me like The Last Chinese Chef. I do expect to also read Lost in Translation and have hopes it will be more my "cup of tea."
'k, to be honest, I never finished it, but got to the halfway point and gave up. At first I chalked it up to Mones romanticizing China, Beijing and Jingdezhen in particular, and also her romanticization of porcelain ware . . . but I'm a huge fan of Tom Robbins and Mark Helprin, both culprits of massive amounts of romaticization. Maybe the difference is in the scale of effort. Helprin and Robbins go over the top; they dynamite the wall that borders Romaticization Land and blow it up so they can k...more
Another from Nicole Mones, which I read after The Last Chinese Chef. This book, in particular, had a huge infuence - my partner in Paris and I both read it and named our new company after a phrase in the book - hoi moon, meaning when something is perfect or 'just right.' This time the background is Chinese porcelain and the primary character is a woman who flies to China to evaluate a collection of artwork up for sale. The interesting love interest brings a perfect frisson of sensuality in human...more
All in all this book is a "good read" and well-written...also convincingly told. The main character, an expert in Chinese porcelain, is believably rendered and her expertise teaches the reader much--really excellent in that regard. A few things in the plot didn't quite hold together for me, but not enough to be distracting; and I found the 'experience' of being in mainland China during this challenging and changing time, and the whole aura of historic art works and cultural confusion, wonderful...more
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Dec 22, 2008
Angela
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
recommended,
wishlist-ebook-rebuy
I'm not entirely sure how I would classify this book. I found it in general fiction, which I suppose is the best thing to call it--there are myriad elements here, romance, suspense, mystery, Chinese history, the flavor of the modern-day political climate, and the Chinese porcelain smuggling trade. All of them blend together in such a way that one does not really feel dominant over another for me, which is what keeps me from pigeonholing this as a romance novel despite the fact that a love story...more
Another book that attracted me because of its unusual subject, antique Chinese porcelain, this novel was entertaining and even had a little bit of magic in it. Lia, an appraiser of porcelain art, needs her hearing aids to be able to communicate with the outside world, but sometimes she likes to draw into herself, remove her aids, rest in silence and enter the world of memory she has built up. She uses the concept of a series of rooms to memorize every porcelain piece she has ever encountered. So...more
Lia Frank is sent to Beijing to appraise a collection of Chinese porcelain which is being sold privately. She was supposed to have a colleague to work with her, and he had a medical emergency on the way. She was expecting about 20 pots and found instead about 800 works which probably came from the imperial palace. She works on memory and soon finds a few excellent forgeries. Along the way, she meets and beomes interested in the medical researcher living nearby.
The thing I found fascinating about this book was the way that the main character, Lia, took her hearing aid out and sat back and concentrated on her memory. The way she catalogued the porcelains that she had seen using her memory. She put them into rooms and then when she got home she went back over these rooms, in her mind.
The descriptions of the porcelain were rich and I enjoyed imagining what the pieces looked like. Even the fakes are beautiful, I'm sure.
The descriptions of the porcelain were rich and I enjoyed imagining what the pieces looked like. Even the fakes are beautiful, I'm sure.
Jan 05, 2012
Patricia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Patti, Pat F., Mary Ann
Recommended to Patricia by:
Vivian
Shelves:
fiction-art-related
A museum teacher friend with a love of Asian art loaned me this book, saying that it was "beguiling," and it certainly is! The style is clear and almost simple, the relationships complex and the story plays out luminously, like the Chinese porcelain that the novel is about. I started it as a "train book," something that I read on the train and keep in my backpack, but I soon began taking it out and reading it in bed at night too. A wonderful novel!
This was a great read. I loved the suspense. I was really on the edge of my seat for most of the book. (Warning for the sex-sensitive types - one fairly gratuitous shower scene)
It was kind of fun to be put in the position of omnicient reader - there are lots of things going on in the book, and the reader is aware of them (mostly), but the characters are not.
It was kind of fun to be put in the position of omnicient reader - there are lots of things going on in the book, and the reader is aware of them (mostly), but the characters are not.
This book was unique and I was impressed by the author's knowledge and command of Mandarin, the social geography of Beijing and other cities around China and not least of all her knowledge of porcelain and history.
I found the characters a bit weak, and the the story wasn't that intriguing. A fairly good read.
I found the characters a bit weak, and the the story wasn't that intriguing. A fairly good read.
This is a great book if you are fascinated by Ancient Chinese porcelain. If not, then this book is pretty boring. It's a fictional book about a lady who evaluates the Chinese porcelain and determines if it is fake or real and can tell what Era/Dynasty it came from, and the people who try to pass off the fake porcelain as real. There is a love story thrown in there, but it's not enough to make the book worth reading.
This was a totally new world for me, the ancient history of priceless porcelain, the intrigue, the culture, the layer upon later of artistry. I enjoyed this book start to finish as the main character, Lia evolves. I found the description of her mental method of cataloging visual images fascinating.
Beautifully written character-driven suspense set in contemporary China. Nice psychological study of a brilliant porcelain evaluator as she unravels the origins of a mysterious collection. A window into an obscure and fascinating world. Nicole Mones also wrote Lost in Translation.
Aug 30, 2010
Pam
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves Asian porcelain & Chinese history
Recommended to Pam by:
Loved Mones "Last Chinese Chef"
Descriptions of porcelain were amazing. Felt like I was holding them in my hands. interesting angle of hearing disability-thought provoking. The Chinese dynasties are included in the back. Wish book would have included a map with all cities and regions involved in book.
She writes such interesting and satisfying books. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about antique Chinese porcelain, not to mention the excellent characterisation. I think I still prefer her 'Last Chinese Chef', which is one of my top reads of all time.
I loved this book! What a great introduction to Chinese porcelain, a whole new world for me. Nicole Mones has a very readable writing style that leads you further into the book. I liked this book even more than "Lost in Translation".
Since I'm putting in books for the entire year it wasn't a good sign that I couldn't remember this one from last winter. It was very interesting to learn more about porcelain and China. For that it was worthwhile.
Great story--kept my interest, althought it was a bit confusing at times (hard to keep characters straight). Learned a lot about Chinese pottery and the art world in general, something I admittedly don't know much about.
Each one of Nicole Mones' three books is a delight to read. All take place in today's China. This one is about antique porcelains and memory. Her new one is centered around Chinese food. You will be entranced.
Another good book by Nicole Mones. I found this harder to get into than Lost in Translation, but still a good story. This time the main character is a porcelain expert. She is also either hard of hearing or deaf (the distinction was not quite made) and wears hearing aids, and as the parent of a child who is hard of hearing aid, I liked how she treated this: it was just another trait of the character that defined her as much as being tall and slender did. Like Lost in Translation, this combines h...more
until i pulled up mones' list i had forgotten i read this book...ooops. but i do remember it now. mones is a fantastic writer and creates a time and space for the reader to disappear into...
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I'm a fan of her work. This was the first of her books I read and that was quite a few years ago so I don't remember a lot. I think you'd...more
Dec 26, 2012 02:56pm