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My Half of the Sky
Jana McBurney-Lin's debut novel My Half of the Sky introduces Li Hui, a modern young Chinese woman of marriageable age who has recently graduated from Xiamen University. Her goal is to realize Mao's words: Women hold up half of the sky. Li Hui struggles with finding love and acting with honor. Guidance and advice come from all corners of her world as well as different and conflicting generational, historical and cultural values. Everyone wants something different for and from her, particularly her parents who mourn their lack of a son while attempting to marry Li to their greatest advantage. In fact most everyone has a selfish investment in what Li Hui will do and whom she might marry. Does this sound like Jane Austen writing about the dilemmas facing young women in China today? You bet. This original and insightful work is in the best traditions of classic novels that explore people caught in the crucible of change in complex cultures. The rewards are rich for the reader, including intriguing insights into folk tales and conventional wisdom of a culture of which few of us have an intimate and timely knowledge.
- GenresFiction
536 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Jana McBurney-Lin
2 books16 followersI lived in Asia for more than half my adult life, writing for media in seven countries, including National Public Radio, Writer's Digest, Hemispheres (United Airlines), Islands Magazine, Singapore Straits Times, Japan Times, and dozens of others. While working as an editor at ALC Publishing in Tokyo, Japan, I met my husband, a native of southern China. We then moved to Singapore where we often frequented his hometown of Fujian, China. One year, while walking down a dusty path in his village, I got an idea for a novel. Twelve years later that idea became a reality in My Half of the Sky (KOMENAR Publishing.)
Since publication in 2006, My Half of the Sky has received wonderful attention, including selection as an American Booksellers Association BookSense Pick, Finalist in the 2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, and a Forbes Book Club pick. In July, 2008, the paperback was released.
The title has received many reviews, most recently from a museum newsletter in Singapore:
“It is a rare women’s novel that sensitively describes the life of a young educated woman in modern-day China in its full complexity, without resorting to unnecessary sentimentalism. Jana’s deep knowledge of the realities of life in China and Singapore makes the reading extra rewarding. In fact, with every new page the novel gets harder to put down and you find yourself gobbling it up before you know it. Finally, the author has given a voice to the Li Hui in all of us,as we struggle for the golden middle between tradition and the modern momentum of our world.” --Izabella Sluzek
Since publication in 2006, My Half of the Sky has received wonderful attention, including selection as an American Booksellers Association BookSense Pick, Finalist in the 2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, and a Forbes Book Club pick. In July, 2008, the paperback was released.
The title has received many reviews, most recently from a museum newsletter in Singapore:
“It is a rare women’s novel that sensitively describes the life of a young educated woman in modern-day China in its full complexity, without resorting to unnecessary sentimentalism. Jana’s deep knowledge of the realities of life in China and Singapore makes the reading extra rewarding. In fact, with every new page the novel gets harder to put down and you find yourself gobbling it up before you know it. Finally, the author has given a voice to the Li Hui in all of us,as we struggle for the golden middle between tradition and the modern momentum of our world.” --Izabella Sluzek
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 10, 2017
Actual Rating: 2.0
My Half of the Sky follows Li Hui, a modern Chinese woman who lives by Chairman Mao's rules. When she falls in love with a man that her family disapproves of, Li Hui must choose between doing her duty for her family or following her heart.
I felt like the biggest issue for me was the plot. This book is 500 pages, and for the first 75% I just felt like it was trudging along, not really saying anything. It felt like nothing but a compilation of scenes; there would be a conflict, the conflict would be resolved, and the story would just moved on. For most of the book, I was wondering if I was missing something big, because there had been plenty of opportunities for something to happen and tie in with the main conflict, but by the three-quarter mark everything that had happened so far seemed like a disconnected jumble of events. There were scenes where Li Hui tangled with snakeheads, had trouble finding work, and talked with other characters, but everything just felt like a filler. By the time I got to the ending, I realized that the main conflict was just that Li Hui had fallen in love with someone her parents disapproved of. And while I felt like the ending did its job and ended the story, I just felt like the 500 pages I had just read was such a pointless and unnecessary path to get there.
I felt extremely disconnected from the characters as well. Li Hui, the main character, was extremely naive, and while I tolerated it at the beginning because I understood that it left room for character development, she did not improve much until the ending. I understand that it was almost impossible for her to be any other way, considering the way she was brought up, but as the book continued, I just grew increasingly frustrated.
I felt a disconnect with the writing style as well. I understand that the author had immense experience with Asian culture, having lived there for many years, but even before I had researched the author, the writing style had felt forced, as if the book was not from somebody who had lived the story, but from someone writing about a character who lived worlds away. Some of the writing felt like such hard-on broken English - kind of like what the stereotypical Chinese accent would seem like on paper, and it just seemed a little inauthentic and distracting.
I found numerous editing mistakes in the story as well, such as incorrect punctuation or even a random little square that just appeared out of nowhere in the text.
While I do very much respect the author for commenting on the cultural differences in modern society, I feel like the book could have been executed in a much more real and efficient way.
My Half of the Sky follows Li Hui, a modern Chinese woman who lives by Chairman Mao's rules. When she falls in love with a man that her family disapproves of, Li Hui must choose between doing her duty for her family or following her heart.
I felt like the biggest issue for me was the plot. This book is 500 pages, and for the first 75% I just felt like it was trudging along, not really saying anything. It felt like nothing but a compilation of scenes; there would be a conflict, the conflict would be resolved, and the story would just moved on. For most of the book, I was wondering if I was missing something big, because there had been plenty of opportunities for something to happen and tie in with the main conflict, but by the three-quarter mark everything that had happened so far seemed like a disconnected jumble of events. There were scenes where Li Hui tangled with snakeheads, had trouble finding work, and talked with other characters, but everything just felt like a filler. By the time I got to the ending, I realized that the main conflict was just that Li Hui had fallen in love with someone her parents disapproved of. And while I felt like the ending did its job and ended the story, I just felt like the 500 pages I had just read was such a pointless and unnecessary path to get there.
I felt extremely disconnected from the characters as well. Li Hui, the main character, was extremely naive, and while I tolerated it at the beginning because I understood that it left room for character development, she did not improve much until the ending. I understand that it was almost impossible for her to be any other way, considering the way she was brought up, but as the book continued, I just grew increasingly frustrated.
I felt a disconnect with the writing style as well. I understand that the author had immense experience with Asian culture, having lived there for many years, but even before I had researched the author, the writing style had felt forced, as if the book was not from somebody who had lived the story, but from someone writing about a character who lived worlds away. Some of the writing felt like such hard-on broken English - kind of like what the stereotypical Chinese accent would seem like on paper, and it just seemed a little inauthentic and distracting.
I found numerous editing mistakes in the story as well, such as incorrect punctuation or even a random little square that just appeared out of nowhere in the text.
While I do very much respect the author for commenting on the cultural differences in modern society, I feel like the book could have been executed in a much more real and efficient way.
April 26, 2018
Good read and I'm looking forward to the sequel. It just abruptly stopped, so I really want to know what happens next.
August 6, 2016
Initially, I wasn't sure how I felt about this story in which a female Chinese college graduate, Li Hui who, rather than going off to start her career, returns home because of her father's influence and her sense of duty.
I settled easily into the wonderful surroundings of Li Hui's village - a city of a million people that felt like a small village to me, with its rural economy, bickering neighbors and old school etiquette. The author nailed the feelings of hospitality, the gossiping, the pettiness, rawness and charm of a tight community. It was Li Hui I struggled with. She made me think of Madame Paper Cutters scissor-cutting. Concise, crisp, clean, cool and contrived. Snip, snip, snip. Scissors cutting off all of Li Hui's feelings of rage, passion and injustice that I thought she should have.
Me warming up to Li Hui began when she would reminisce over conversations she had with her now dead grandmother, Waipo. Waipo drops pearls of calming wisdom that provides insight to traditional line of thought and lead me to re-examine some beliefs I had about Li Hui.
Things abruptly shift again for Li Hui when her filiality leads to an arranged marriage to, leaving her hometown to live with her new husband who is attracted to a Western-type lifestyle and his old-fashioned mother. Li Hui has the difficult task of holding up her piece of the sky between the juxtaposed family members. In the chapter called “Waiting for the End of the Storm” Waipo calms Li Hui with “People must fight to become friends....Anger is just a feeling unless you let it get out of control. It’s not a broken leg or a slit throat. All it needs is soothing, soothing so that the feeling doesn’t settle into your bones and become a disease.” And Li Hui never seems to let her anger entrench in her bones, like I think it would mine. She finds her own serenity in her binding life of chaos and bad fortune. Here again, I thought of Madame Paper cutter - clever and deft now, trying to create symmetry and expression as the image begins to distinguish itself from the paper and eventually separates itself completely, as does Li Hui from her old life.
If you want to read a book that delves into another culture, this one does a fine job. This story seemed to cool my heated Western mindset…..or whatever it is. I enjoy books that make me view life in a different light, in this case, particularly how I come to terms with conflict and injustice compared to Li Hui.
The book initially, was a bit slow, but eventually hooked me and I was totally engrossed. At the end, I think events happened too rapidly - in my head it seemed a bit longer. The end was bit abrupt, but it was impulsive and drastic, perhaps precisely what Li Hui needed (probably felt more familiar to me than her previous choices). It's just a shame we can't see the results of Li Hui's last decision as I ended up really liking her. A fascinating read that provides insight to the dissonance between traditional and modern Chinese schools of thought through the eyes of a young women trying to find her place in such a world.
Disclosure: I read a free copy of the book in return for my candid review. Be assured, my opinion is honest, and I do not owe or know the author/publisher.
I settled easily into the wonderful surroundings of Li Hui's village - a city of a million people that felt like a small village to me, with its rural economy, bickering neighbors and old school etiquette. The author nailed the feelings of hospitality, the gossiping, the pettiness, rawness and charm of a tight community. It was Li Hui I struggled with. She made me think of Madame Paper Cutters scissor-cutting. Concise, crisp, clean, cool and contrived. Snip, snip, snip. Scissors cutting off all of Li Hui's feelings of rage, passion and injustice that I thought she should have.
Me warming up to Li Hui began when she would reminisce over conversations she had with her now dead grandmother, Waipo. Waipo drops pearls of calming wisdom that provides insight to traditional line of thought and lead me to re-examine some beliefs I had about Li Hui.
Things abruptly shift again for Li Hui when her filiality leads to an arranged marriage to, leaving her hometown to live with her new husband who is attracted to a Western-type lifestyle and his old-fashioned mother. Li Hui has the difficult task of holding up her piece of the sky between the juxtaposed family members. In the chapter called “Waiting for the End of the Storm” Waipo calms Li Hui with “People must fight to become friends....Anger is just a feeling unless you let it get out of control. It’s not a broken leg or a slit throat. All it needs is soothing, soothing so that the feeling doesn’t settle into your bones and become a disease.” And Li Hui never seems to let her anger entrench in her bones, like I think it would mine. She finds her own serenity in her binding life of chaos and bad fortune. Here again, I thought of Madame Paper cutter - clever and deft now, trying to create symmetry and expression as the image begins to distinguish itself from the paper and eventually separates itself completely, as does Li Hui from her old life.
If you want to read a book that delves into another culture, this one does a fine job. This story seemed to cool my heated Western mindset…..or whatever it is. I enjoy books that make me view life in a different light, in this case, particularly how I come to terms with conflict and injustice compared to Li Hui.
The book initially, was a bit slow, but eventually hooked me and I was totally engrossed. At the end, I think events happened too rapidly - in my head it seemed a bit longer. The end was bit abrupt, but it was impulsive and drastic, perhaps precisely what Li Hui needed (probably felt more familiar to me than her previous choices). It's just a shame we can't see the results of Li Hui's last decision as I ended up really liking her. A fascinating read that provides insight to the dissonance between traditional and modern Chinese schools of thought through the eyes of a young women trying to find her place in such a world.
Disclosure: I read a free copy of the book in return for my candid review. Be assured, my opinion is honest, and I do not owe or know the author/publisher.
September 23, 2012
China at the turn of the twenty-first century is a rapidly evolving society. The older people had lived through violent revolution, a period of starvation in the early 1960s and the chaotic and violent cultural revolution of the late sixties and early seventies. Jana McBurney-Lin’s heroine, Li Hui experienced none of that. Born in the late seventies or early eighties, she is a relatively privileged person. She has just graduated from Hua Xia University with a degree in early childhood education. Unfortunately for Li Hui, her ne’er-do-well father, never satisfied with her, or with his own life, immediately sabotages her career by insisting that she importune the university employment counselor to assign her to Beijing or Shanghai. Li Hui finds herself unemployed and back in her home town, a small village of only one million souls.
Jana Mc Burney-Lin paints a fascinating and remarkable portrait of life in contemporary China, with all the complex interplay of ancient and modern, the competing value systems and the struggles of people to make ends meet and, if possible, to improve their lives. Madame match-maker comes along and offers Li Hui the opportunity of a life time-marriage with Guo Quiang, a nice university professor in Singapore where she would live the life of a pampered and modern house-wife. Li Hui, however, has already given her heart to Chan Hai, an attractive young man with dimples who was also unusually kind-hearted for a young Chinese man, but whose economic prospects are less than promising.
There are some very amusing scenes of cultural interactions between Li Hui and the outlandish American woman she calls Lee Sa: “Lee Sa seemed to understand many of our customs-like the story of the elephant, the habit of drinking boiled water. Yet she also had no concept of keeping her voice down, showing a clean house, offering refreshments such as hard-boiled eggs or fresh fruit or meat buns, or refusing a gift three times. Perhaps she wasn’t as crazy as Mother-in-Law suggested. Just dim-witted.”
Anyone with an interest in contemporary Chinese culture and daily life will eagerly devour this book.
Jana Mc Burney-Lin paints a fascinating and remarkable portrait of life in contemporary China, with all the complex interplay of ancient and modern, the competing value systems and the struggles of people to make ends meet and, if possible, to improve their lives. Madame match-maker comes along and offers Li Hui the opportunity of a life time-marriage with Guo Quiang, a nice university professor in Singapore where she would live the life of a pampered and modern house-wife. Li Hui, however, has already given her heart to Chan Hai, an attractive young man with dimples who was also unusually kind-hearted for a young Chinese man, but whose economic prospects are less than promising.
There are some very amusing scenes of cultural interactions between Li Hui and the outlandish American woman she calls Lee Sa: “Lee Sa seemed to understand many of our customs-like the story of the elephant, the habit of drinking boiled water. Yet she also had no concept of keeping her voice down, showing a clean house, offering refreshments such as hard-boiled eggs or fresh fruit or meat buns, or refusing a gift three times. Perhaps she wasn’t as crazy as Mother-in-Law suggested. Just dim-witted.”
Anyone with an interest in contemporary Chinese culture and daily life will eagerly devour this book.
September 2, 2013
Imagine...a book about China where women are devalued, stepped on, hurt, ignored, not allowed to speak, have their marriages arranged for them, injured-harmed or killed if they exceed the legal baby limit, are looked upon with disdain if they do not hold the right job or honor their parents well...NOT a new story. BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW SHOCKED I WAS AS I READ ALONG AND LEARNED THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN 1993. That was rather surprising yes. I fell in love with our dear sweet maiden. She seems to me to have a lovely soul, a good mind, healthy curiosity and a heart pounding with passion. She also wore her innocence and naiveté like a necklace around her neck. Bigtime. The personal mission of her life is to 'hold up her half of the sky' - to BE something, to contribute, to be a good woman. And frankly she IS. However everything and everyone around her conspires to her failure. Very frustrating. Beautifully written, truly a good tale woven by the campfire. We have gambling fathers, gossiping neighbors, bound mothers, tea-paper and stone, eel stink, kidnapping, scissors, blood, buses, bicycles, river swims, fights on bridges, comfy pants, drownings and children. All kinds of children. I was, as it turns out, very angry at the ending. I like the angle, the spreading of the wings, but it was far too abrupt - maybe it had to be - and so dramatically out of character that I did not buy it and felt our author doomed our heroine. Would love to have you read it and tell me what YOU thought of the ending.
July 11, 2014
“My Half of the Sky” by Jana McBurney-Lin provides a nuanced look at a Chinese village girl’s effort to obey Chairman Mao’s dictum that women should hold up their half of the sky. In Li Hui’s case, her half contains a gambling addicted father who thwarts her efforts at every turn—to the extent of marrying her off to an unpleasant Singaporean with a mother complex.
Fortunately, the author entertains us with impediments every step of the way—her irritations, her ambitions garnered from a university education, her struggle to overcome sitting in a park holding a sign to advertise her education. Working in a tea-shop becomes a microcosm of culture clashes, ending with a narrow escape from being shoveled off by a white-slaver.
The most excellent part of “My Half of the Sky” is the staccato dialog in the early chapters, mimicking the way the Westerner often hears Mandarin, transitioning to longer, more sophisticated cadences as Li Hui discovers the complexities of life in Singapore.
My Half of the Sky is worth reading for its ability to illustrate the Chinese way of thinking—how centuries of customary practices make uneasy bedfellows with socialist idealism.
Posted on Amazon Thursday, April 03, 2014
Fortunately, the author entertains us with impediments every step of the way—her irritations, her ambitions garnered from a university education, her struggle to overcome sitting in a park holding a sign to advertise her education. Working in a tea-shop becomes a microcosm of culture clashes, ending with a narrow escape from being shoveled off by a white-slaver.
The most excellent part of “My Half of the Sky” is the staccato dialog in the early chapters, mimicking the way the Westerner often hears Mandarin, transitioning to longer, more sophisticated cadences as Li Hui discovers the complexities of life in Singapore.
My Half of the Sky is worth reading for its ability to illustrate the Chinese way of thinking—how centuries of customary practices make uneasy bedfellows with socialist idealism.
Posted on Amazon Thursday, April 03, 2014
September 9, 2012
This was really tough to read after reading Aya Goda's Tao On the Road and on the Run in Outlaw China, and I'll be the first to admit that my rating may be so low because of simple bad placement in my reading line-up. In Goda's book, the author is truly a wild and free spirit in a country that oppresses her. She does cling to men to find her way, but she does find her true path. In this book, the heroine is a "traditional" Chinese woman, struggling with her culture and the inherent oppression in it, but never really finding her true, authentic path. Going on her journey through 500 pages of dodging and weaving men and their expectations of her, I was exhausted by the end and the final pages that "wrap it up?" Disappointing to say the LEAST! I also always feel a little unsure about white people writing as another ethnicity, even though the author obviously has a lot of experience living in Shanghai and China - still, is this really her story to tell?
January 17, 2014
I was given this book as a Goodreads pre-release book to read. To be honest, I am not sure I would have finished it if I had picked it up on my own. Each time I picked the book up to read it, I enjoyed it but there as nothing calling me back to it to continue. And it's long.
There are lots of good characters, interesting characters, but perhaps too many, too much included for one book alone; it drags. There are quite a few incidents that are interesting but seems unimportant in the long run.
The story picked up when the main character got to Singapore. I'm not sure if the pacing truly increased or it was my own determination to finish the book once and for all.
I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I thought it was heading towards a pat, cliche, finale and the main character did surprise me by finally showing her strength.
There are lots of good characters, interesting characters, but perhaps too many, too much included for one book alone; it drags. There are quite a few incidents that are interesting but seems unimportant in the long run.
The story picked up when the main character got to Singapore. I'm not sure if the pacing truly increased or it was my own determination to finish the book once and for all.
I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I thought it was heading towards a pat, cliche, finale and the main character did surprise me by finally showing her strength.
October 22, 2009
I really enjoyed this book, especially the ending, it was like the ending that was "supposed" to happen didn't happen until the last page of the book and it started looking like it wasn't going to happen. She really had me on the edge of my seat!
This is the story of a girl in China, I think in the early 1990's, who graduates college and has one thing go wrong after another, trying to fit into the modern China and still live in the traditional China at the same time, having to take responsibility for her parent's needs, agreeing to an arranged marriage, doing what her father tells her to do even though she knows better. A lot happens, but she doesn't give up.
The author did a good job with her writing style, point of view, etc.
This is a really good book.
This is the story of a girl in China, I think in the early 1990's, who graduates college and has one thing go wrong after another, trying to fit into the modern China and still live in the traditional China at the same time, having to take responsibility for her parent's needs, agreeing to an arranged marriage, doing what her father tells her to do even though she knows better. A lot happens, but she doesn't give up.
The author did a good job with her writing style, point of view, etc.
This is a really good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2014
Would give this 3.5 but rounding up.
Started this book while staying at my Dad's house between Christmas and New Year's. It was on a shelf with books that my mother had been reading, or planned to read before she died a little over 4 years ago. I think her copy was autographed so she may have attended a gathering where the author was present. This connection with my mother most likely influences my rating.
Good character development. Believable scenarios for the most part. Final part that happens within 5 days felt somewhat unlikely, too much progression in new relationships in a short period of time.
Might check out a book on the art of paper-cutting.
Started this book while staying at my Dad's house between Christmas and New Year's. It was on a shelf with books that my mother had been reading, or planned to read before she died a little over 4 years ago. I think her copy was autographed so she may have attended a gathering where the author was present. This connection with my mother most likely influences my rating.
Good character development. Believable scenarios for the most part. Final part that happens within 5 days felt somewhat unlikely, too much progression in new relationships in a short period of time.
Might check out a book on the art of paper-cutting.
October 30, 2014
Well... I think this is a first for me. Marking a book complete and ranking it without having finished it.
But, I just COULDN'T TAKE ANY MORE!
My book club read this and had a discussion with the author. I found some of Jana's stories to be interesting in person, but I couldn't have cared less about the characters. The main character is stupid and naive. I didn't understand a single decision that she made. I feel like a first person narrative might have helped me understand her better (since it's such a different culture than what I know), but it didn't seem like the author wrote in 3rd person for any reason (and I did ask why she made that decision since it struck me as odd).
But, I just COULDN'T TAKE ANY MORE!
My book club read this and had a discussion with the author. I found some of Jana's stories to be interesting in person, but I couldn't have cared less about the characters. The main character is stupid and naive. I didn't understand a single decision that she made. I feel like a first person narrative might have helped me understand her better (since it's such a different culture than what I know), but it didn't seem like the author wrote in 3rd person for any reason (and I did ask why she made that decision since it struck me as odd).
November 13, 2008
I enjoyed the details of modern-day China while itching at the gender inequities. This book drops you into a whole other world--one that I felt honored to experience from what felt like the authentic "inside."
It seems so many novels about China focus on past eras; it was refreshing and quite pertinent to read a novel that takes place in China's current times.
It seems so many novels about China focus on past eras; it was refreshing and quite pertinent to read a novel that takes place in China's current times.
March 8, 2016
I really enjoyed reading the book, but found the ending truly heart breaking and unsatisfying. So much has been left unsaid, it will take some time before I can move on to reading something else as the characters and their story will stay with me awhile making me reflect on my culture, my traditions and privileges the western worlds has granted me as a woman.
December 24, 2008
Interested in China? You'll love this book told from the POV of a young Chinese woman. See my full review at Perpetual Folly.
March 4, 2016
2.5 stars. - An okay novel of modern-day China. Li Hui is a college graduate with poor prospects due to her gambling father and weak-willed mother. Uneven writing. Poor editing. Weak plot. Cookie-cutter characters. I can't believe this was a BookSense pick.
December 2, 2008
My Half of the Sky is fascinating story that brought me into a society with traditions in a warm, compassionate way. A must read.
--Ruth
--Ruth
March 10, 2010
soooo disappointing...and the ending was rushed. why did i have to read 500 pages to get to that???
February 15, 2010
This is a fascinating peak in to the changing role of women in China, in the context of their culture and in an era of change.
August 28, 2010
This book took me to China where I became a part of it. Beautifully written, gripping, and I can't wait for the sequel.
Want to read
August 9, 2013Buzz for rewards
https://www.libboo.com/read/my-half-o...
https://www.libboo.com/read/my-half-o...
September 28, 2014
I found this book hard to get into, and it was difficult to relate to any of the characters. It was interesting to learn about the culture and familial expectations of China.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews