I'm not sure how to describe what I felt about this book... I enjoyed it, but there seemed to be something lacking at the end, but perhaps that is just the enduring sadness of the characters.

This novel is engaging and captivating and yet very foreign; the time and place are so far removed for me that I had difficulty understanding a few characters and their motivations, specifically Bashi (八十). However, the glimpse into a very tremulous period in modern Chinese history and the people whom it affected was worth the read.

Other reviews I liked were:
Melani: Though I disagree that the intimacy in which you see the characters is a negative thing...
and
Gina: She does a great job describing the tension between sorrow and hope in the townspeoples' lives.