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A Many-Splendoured Thing
1952: by Han Suyin - 306 pages - Published by Little Brown & Co. - A Poignant human document which tells of a great love story, lived and suffered in the turbulent Hong Kong of Today.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
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About the author
Han Suyin
118 books99 followersHan Suyin (Pinyin: Hán Sùyīn) is the pen name of Elizabeth Comber, born Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow (Pinyin: Zhōu Guānghú). She was a Chinese-born Eurasian author of several books on modern China, novels set in East Asia, and autobiographical works, as well as a physician. She wrote in English and French. She died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
November 29, 2022
Love, war, splendor…
“God has been so good to me in allowing me to love you. There is nothing else”.
A best seller in 1952…
….a beautiful love story….a novel, but highly autobiographical.
Han Sunyin was born in Peking….educated at Brussels University and at the University of London. She was physician and author.
Her writing and storytelling was passionately filled with life!
She died in 2012, at age 95.
Reading an old threadbare hardcopy and about Han Suyin’s ‘truth telling’ life was moving!
“God has been so good to me in allowing me to love you. There is nothing else”.
A best seller in 1952…
….a beautiful love story….a novel, but highly autobiographical.
Han Sunyin was born in Peking….educated at Brussels University and at the University of London. She was physician and author.
Her writing and storytelling was passionately filled with life!
She died in 2012, at age 95.
Reading an old threadbare hardcopy and about Han Suyin’s ‘truth telling’ life was moving!
June 1, 2021
A Many-splendoured Thing is a classic love story set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950. It is a semi-autobiographical novel by Han Suyin. The book starts slow but becomes emotionally intense. I can see why critics in 1950s may have found certain parts "uncomfortable" to read. I don't believe it is still the case for readers today.
What intrigues me most is the racial and cultural conflict at the centre of the story. The Eurasian protagonist's painful identity-seeking, swaying between two different, often contradicting cultures, is present throughout the book.
The book has a rich historical context. The social scene in 1949 and 1950's Hong Kong is vividly depicted. The author's observation of Hong Kong society is fascinating. For example, a rich English businessman:
While in Chungking to “rescue” her sister, the protagonist was caught in a cultural clash. Because she knew both sides and could see from both point of views, her pain was greater than her sister's. She wanted to consolidate her two worlds, instead of choosing just one. She respected Third Uncle, yet she did not agree with a lot of his views, such as the man’s argument on necessity of taking concubines, or a widow remarrying was losing her virtue. The conversation between Han and the arrogant European "protector" of her sister concerning her sister’s child is most appalling:
Later she ‘discovered’ that her uncle asked a Chinese herb doctor to treat, not poison, the baby. Han was desperate:
Her dashing attitude against racism and self-discrimination is admirable:
She was surely ahead of her time.
The writing is beautiful and poetic, not as flowery as I've been warned. I find it slightly odd that the writer switched between past and present tense from one chapter to another while telling her story in chronological order.
The conversations and letters from Han's lover, Mark Elliot (Ian Morrison in real life) and his fellow journalists on Korean War also make a very interesting read. Examples:
Han Suyin, who appeared to be a pacifist and non-political in A Many-splendoured Thing, became closely affiliated to Chinese Communist Party in later years, including during Cultural Revolution. It is not entirely out-of-character, for she said in the book that she tended to see people as she wanted to see. Although China was her "roots", she chose to live in Switzerland.
What intrigues me most is the racial and cultural conflict at the centre of the story. The Eurasian protagonist's painful identity-seeking, swaying between two different, often contradicting cultures, is present throughout the book.
The book has a rich historical context. The social scene in 1949 and 1950's Hong Kong is vividly depicted. The author's observation of Hong Kong society is fascinating. For example, a rich English businessman:
“Palmer-Jones is so oily that be ooze. He bows and scrapes his heels and sprints fifty yards of the son of a famous Chinese official or the concubine of a rich Malaysian businessman. Once he knows you aren't important or well-connected, he just uses you."
"That's very Chinese," I said laughingly.
While in Chungking to “rescue” her sister, the protagonist was caught in a cultural clash. Because she knew both sides and could see from both point of views, her pain was greater than her sister's. She wanted to consolidate her two worlds, instead of choosing just one. She respected Third Uncle, yet she did not agree with a lot of his views, such as the man’s argument on necessity of taking concubines, or a widow remarrying was losing her virtue. The conversation between Han and the arrogant European "protector" of her sister concerning her sister’s child is most appalling:
“Your uncle wanted to kill that child, they tried to poison her”
“In China the life of a girl baby is not so valuable as all that. They did not see why she should not die if she was weak and could not pull through.”
"But how callous you are!...And you a doctor trained in England!"
Later she ‘discovered’ that her uncle asked a Chinese herb doctor to treat, not poison, the baby. Han was desperate:
Explanations are of no avail when both parties are determined to misconstrue. The most normal gesture becomes a thread of violence, a sentence in a slightly louder tone is taken as an insult. I had seen it happen before.
Her dashing attitude against racism and self-discrimination is admirable:
"All over Asia I've met people, doctors, professors, writers, prouder of a drop of Chinese blood in them than anything else. We are just as good, if not better, than anyone else. Why do you want to measure yourself against a mean, false white standard?"
"Being Eurasian is not being born East or West. It is a state of mind. ... We must carry ourselves with colossal assurance and say: Look at us, the Eurasian... How beautiful we are, more beautiful than either race. more clever, more hardy. The meeting of both cultures, the fusion of all that can become a world civilisation... We are the future of the world"
She was surely ahead of her time.
The writing is beautiful and poetic, not as flowery as I've been warned. I find it slightly odd that the writer switched between past and present tense from one chapter to another while telling her story in chronological order.
The conversations and letters from Han's lover, Mark Elliot (Ian Morrison in real life) and his fellow journalists on Korean War also make a very interesting read. Examples:
"...the Chinese are dying to prove their mettle; a Revolution always arouses national arduous and is consolidated by a successful foreign war"
"Is the fundamental difference between the philosophies of the communist and non-communist worlds that in one men are allowed to be individuals and in the other merely organisms with labels tied round their necks?"
Han Suyin, who appeared to be a pacifist and non-political in A Many-splendoured Thing, became closely affiliated to Chinese Communist Party in later years, including during Cultural Revolution. It is not entirely out-of-character, for she said in the book that she tended to see people as she wanted to see. Although China was her "roots", she chose to live in Switzerland.
June 13, 2010
I'm very pleased I found this; I'd never heard of the author before I picked it up for £1 outside a bookshop on Charing Cross. I thought it was well-written and very interesting even where I disagreed with the author, but my gosh did she get purple sometimes. Some passages of description worked really well for me -- I felt plunged straight in the thick of Hong Kong; in their Victorian extravagance they had that visceral quality you don't seem to get in more recent novels, with their stern sparse prose -- but with others, esp. the philosophising paragraphs, I just got kinda lost and glazed over. And the dialogue is just really unnatural; it works in some places, but not others.
Malayan Chinese shout-out! Was amused by how her Malayan Chinese friend said "man" all the time.
Anyway, useful and interesting as a glimpse of the times (1950s Hong Kong through the eyes of a Eurasian Chinanese who hangs out with Chinese and European people). I also found interesting the parts where she talks about deliberately choosing to be Chinese instead of trying to fit in with white people. But Han is no radical, and she's got that bulletproof sureness in self that people who are from countries where they are the dominant ethnic group have. Which is interesting when juxtaposed with the colonial mores of HK at that time.
Malayan Chinese shout-out! Was amused by how her Malayan Chinese friend said "man" all the time.
Anyway, useful and interesting as a glimpse of the times (1950s Hong Kong through the eyes of a Eurasian Chinanese who hangs out with Chinese and European people). I also found interesting the parts where she talks about deliberately choosing to be Chinese instead of trying to fit in with white people. But Han is no radical, and she's got that bulletproof sureness in self that people who are from countries where they are the dominant ethnic group have. Which is interesting when juxtaposed with the colonial mores of HK at that time.
October 19, 2017
Questo amore sarà anche stato meraviglioso, ma è altresì di una noia mortifera.
Più interessanti, invece, i capitoli in cui l'autrice si sofferma sulle tradizioni cinesi in generale e in particolare la situazione venutasi a creare ad Hong Kong nel 1950, dopo il consolidamento della rivoluzione.
Più interessanti, invece, i capitoli in cui l'autrice si sofferma sulle tradizioni cinesi in generale e in particolare la situazione venutasi a creare ad Hong Kong nel 1950, dopo il consolidamento della rivoluzione.
July 26, 2023
An ambitious autofiction about war and doomed romance in Hong Kong, China and at the end, Korea, circa 1950. Han isn't much talked about nowadays (possibly who knows because of her passionate support of Mao in later life); and compared to, say, the ruthless poise of Eileen Chang writing about similar people and similar places at the same time, this is florid, rhetorical and overblown. But it's also frank, politically sharp and interestingly peculiar, with sudden switches from narrative into interior monologues, intense descriptions of place, letters and political analysis.
December 20, 2020
Mielenkiintoinen aikamatka 70 vuoden yli 50-luvun taitteeseen, aikaan, jolloin kommunistipuolue oli juuri ottamassa Kiinan haltuunsa. Päivien kimalluksen tapahtumat sijoittuvat pääasiassa Hong Kongiin, mutta myös Kiina ja Korean sota ovat näyttämönä rakkaustarinalle, jossa ajalle epäsuotuisasti euraasialainen lääkäri ja englantilainen lehtimies rakastuvat toisiinsa niin kuin ei kukaan ennen.
Kirjan anti itselleni ei löytynyt rakkauskertomuksesta, sillä autofiktiivisesti kirjoittava Suyin lienee ollut sen osalta tekstissään paitsi tunteidensa, kasvatuksensa ja aikansa vanki. Nykynäkökulmasta niin kovin paljon tekstissä on tukahdutettu ja jätetty roikkumaan rivien väleihin, että se on suorastaan turhauttavaa. Suuren rakkauden todisteena ovat lähinnä osapuolten sanat, eivät niinkään intohimoiset teot.
Sen sijaan näkymä 50-luvun alun Hong Kongin poliittiseen ja sosiaaliseen ilmapiiriin on kiehtova. Olen itse piipahtanut Hong Kongissa muutama vuosi sitten, ja oli todella mielenkiintoista miettiä kaupungin kehitystä kuluneiden vuosikymmenten aikana. Myös kommunismin nousu Kiinassa sekä Korean sota historiallisina tapahtumina saivat uutta elävyyttä Päivien kimalluksen henkilökohtaisempien tarinoiden kautta.
Kirjoittajana Suyin oli hieman tasapaksu, ja aina välillä jouduin ihan kamppailemaan itseni kanssa, että pääsin kirjassa eteenpäin. Myös suomennos vaikutti paikoitellen kömpelöltä. Lieneekö esimerkiksi "liinapuvulla" sittenkin tarkoitettu pellavapukua?
Kirjan anti itselleni ei löytynyt rakkauskertomuksesta, sillä autofiktiivisesti kirjoittava Suyin lienee ollut sen osalta tekstissään paitsi tunteidensa, kasvatuksensa ja aikansa vanki. Nykynäkökulmasta niin kovin paljon tekstissä on tukahdutettu ja jätetty roikkumaan rivien väleihin, että se on suorastaan turhauttavaa. Suuren rakkauden todisteena ovat lähinnä osapuolten sanat, eivät niinkään intohimoiset teot.
Sen sijaan näkymä 50-luvun alun Hong Kongin poliittiseen ja sosiaaliseen ilmapiiriin on kiehtova. Olen itse piipahtanut Hong Kongissa muutama vuosi sitten, ja oli todella mielenkiintoista miettiä kaupungin kehitystä kuluneiden vuosikymmenten aikana. Myös kommunismin nousu Kiinassa sekä Korean sota historiallisina tapahtumina saivat uutta elävyyttä Päivien kimalluksen henkilökohtaisempien tarinoiden kautta.
Kirjoittajana Suyin oli hieman tasapaksu, ja aina välillä jouduin ihan kamppailemaan itseni kanssa, että pääsin kirjassa eteenpäin. Myös suomennos vaikutti paikoitellen kömpelöltä. Lieneekö esimerkiksi "liinapuvulla" sittenkin tarkoitettu pellavapukua?
December 7, 2020
Halusin lukea klassikon ja valitsin Päivien kimalluksen. Olen joskus nähnyt elokuvan ja eikös se ollut eeppinen rakkaustarina?
Kirjana tarina oli tietysti sykähdyttävä ja kohtalokas rakkaustarina, mutta yllätyksekseni se oli paljon, paljon enemmän. Se oli maailmanpolitiikkaa ja imperialistisia rotuennakkoluuloja. Se oli älykkään ja kulttuurisesti hyvin sivistyneen naisen kertoma tarina ja ajankuva.
Euraasialainen Han Suyin oli Hongkongin eurooppalais-aasialaisissa seurapiireissä se nainen, josta kuiskittiin ja jonka monirotuisuus herätti hämmennystä. Hän oli punainen lääkäri, ei ollut, vaan kaipasi Kiinaa sielullaan. Mark, reportteri, kaipasi Kiinaa myös, mutta oikeasti hän hengitti Aasian konflikteja eikä politiikkaa.
Tarina tapahtui hyvin konkreettisesti Hongkongissa. Jos olet asunut tai käynyt siellä, tunnistat kaupungin kasvun ja jalanjälkesi.
Tämä koskettava tarina on kirjoitettu noin 70 vuotta sitten. Silloin Kiinasta tuli punainen ja maailmansota siirtyi Aasiaan. Tämä kaikki oli syy ja seuraus sille, mitä Päivien kimalluksessa tapahtui.
Kirjaa oli välillä vaikea lukea. 70 vuotta ei ole lyhyt aika säilyä koskettavana ja lähestyttävänä. Ensimmäinen onnistui - toinen ei niin hyvin.
Kirjana tarina oli tietysti sykähdyttävä ja kohtalokas rakkaustarina, mutta yllätyksekseni se oli paljon, paljon enemmän. Se oli maailmanpolitiikkaa ja imperialistisia rotuennakkoluuloja. Se oli älykkään ja kulttuurisesti hyvin sivistyneen naisen kertoma tarina ja ajankuva.
Euraasialainen Han Suyin oli Hongkongin eurooppalais-aasialaisissa seurapiireissä se nainen, josta kuiskittiin ja jonka monirotuisuus herätti hämmennystä. Hän oli punainen lääkäri, ei ollut, vaan kaipasi Kiinaa sielullaan. Mark, reportteri, kaipasi Kiinaa myös, mutta oikeasti hän hengitti Aasian konflikteja eikä politiikkaa.
Tarina tapahtui hyvin konkreettisesti Hongkongissa. Jos olet asunut tai käynyt siellä, tunnistat kaupungin kasvun ja jalanjälkesi.
Tämä koskettava tarina on kirjoitettu noin 70 vuotta sitten. Silloin Kiinasta tuli punainen ja maailmansota siirtyi Aasiaan. Tämä kaikki oli syy ja seuraus sille, mitä Päivien kimalluksessa tapahtui.
Kirjaa oli välillä vaikea lukea. 70 vuotta ei ole lyhyt aika säilyä koskettavana ja lähestyttävänä. Ensimmäinen onnistui - toinen ei niin hyvin.
February 1, 2019
Originally read this in the summer on the brink of my senior year of college and twenty-first birthday. It affected me deeply. I was beginning to wonder why people are the way they are. Why do they believe what they believe? The book educated my young self in that. This semi-autobiographical book was made into a popular mid 1950's movie and its signature song won an Academy Award. I remembered it, the lush romantic music. This familiarity fortunately impelled me to give this book a close look. It is more than a romance. The main character Han Suyin, like the author, was a child of a Chinese father and European mother. She was raised traditionally in many ways but also had an extensive education in London, becoming a doctor. The book is an opportunity for her to explore both sides of herself. This gives her unique perspective for the time of the many changes going on during the action in the book. It covers early 1949 to late 1950 when in China the Great March is underway. Most of the action is in Hong Kong, the meeting place for the traditional and the modern, escapees from the East, captains of commerce, the very rich and the very poor. Here's are some of my favorite quotes.
Part Two Progress
Chapter Two Suchen Sept 1949
"It is rather frightening to be so many different people, with so many dissimilar and equally compelling emotions, affections, ideas, elans, apprehensions, aware of so many differences in restraint, nuances, of phraseology in the enunciation of a similar mood in three different languages, always so aware of shades meaning that life becomes occasionally unbearable. Other people are faced with a choice between two courses of action. I am usually torn between at least two worlds involving different ways of existence. Tiresias, Tiresias to the core, if a core is left to a being so much lie Peer Gynt’s onion as I."
and another
Chapter Three Acedia Sept 1949
For we are all riveted to our own physiological landscape and the climate of our minds unable to pry ourselves loose from the emotional evocation the words we use, more important to us than their meaning; confusing feeling with thought, in this highly emotional and dangerously uneducated twentieth century in which we live.
Part Three Crisis Chapter Five Spring is Come Home February 1950
And so man would always transcend himself, though he denied it; always wanting to believe that his truth, his freedom was the Only Truth, the Only Freedom; deep need to be absolute, deep need to believe that God was on his side in all his enterprises of existence.
Finished re-reading a week ago (Jan 2019). Glad I did. I highly recommend. It is more than a romance but a snapshot of the world at mid-20th century in a state of change and turmoil.
Part Two Progress
Chapter Two Suchen Sept 1949
"It is rather frightening to be so many different people, with so many dissimilar and equally compelling emotions, affections, ideas, elans, apprehensions, aware of so many differences in restraint, nuances, of phraseology in the enunciation of a similar mood in three different languages, always so aware of shades meaning that life becomes occasionally unbearable. Other people are faced with a choice between two courses of action. I am usually torn between at least two worlds involving different ways of existence. Tiresias, Tiresias to the core, if a core is left to a being so much lie Peer Gynt’s onion as I."
and another
Chapter Three Acedia Sept 1949
For we are all riveted to our own physiological landscape and the climate of our minds unable to pry ourselves loose from the emotional evocation the words we use, more important to us than their meaning; confusing feeling with thought, in this highly emotional and dangerously uneducated twentieth century in which we live.
Part Three Crisis Chapter Five Spring is Come Home February 1950
And so man would always transcend himself, though he denied it; always wanting to believe that his truth, his freedom was the Only Truth, the Only Freedom; deep need to be absolute, deep need to believe that God was on his side in all his enterprises of existence.
Finished re-reading a week ago (Jan 2019). Glad I did. I highly recommend. It is more than a romance but a snapshot of the world at mid-20th century in a state of change and turmoil.
March 6, 2019
I had been hoping to read a book by a female author for some time when I stumbled across ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing’ in a charming and lovingly-curated, second-hand bookstore bordering the city. At first, I was drawn to it because of the beautiful representations of the zodiac signs on its sleeve and its simply enchanting title. I hesitated in buying it when I realised its coverage of historical and political themes, for no particular reason other than that I had always shied away from such topics, thinking they were beyond my comprehension or interest. I placed it back on the shelf for consideration while I resumed my search for a book. Not long afterward, as I stood precariously atop a step-ladder browsing titles; it came crashing to the floor from where I had placed it, and thus my decision was made for me.
I was delighted to discover that this book is about much more than I could have imagined. It was wonderful and insightful to read the musings of a lady so familiarised with Taoist and Confucian philosophy and who effortlessly infused her writing with vast understanding. Suyin’s perspective is one of great beauty and from which much can be learned. Her attention to the small and fleeting as well as the immense and incomprehensible creates a read of great harmony; a genuine journey through the emotions.
It is always my quiet hope that there will be an epic love story in the books I read, and this was most certainly the case in ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing.’ Suyin writes of a love that does not depend on possession, a love that frees and accepts everything in its embrace, equalizing all things. It is my favourite love story so far.
… & all this is really only the smallest of glimpses into Han Suyin’s ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing,’ for this is truly what it is. The setting of the book is Hong Kong in 1949(/50): a temporary home to so many and so varied a peoples, with the Chinese Communist Revolution taking place just next door. Her artful depiction of this time and place make for a great historical perspective to top off everything else.
If any of this interests you, I’d certainly recommend the read.
I was delighted to discover that this book is about much more than I could have imagined. It was wonderful and insightful to read the musings of a lady so familiarised with Taoist and Confucian philosophy and who effortlessly infused her writing with vast understanding. Suyin’s perspective is one of great beauty and from which much can be learned. Her attention to the small and fleeting as well as the immense and incomprehensible creates a read of great harmony; a genuine journey through the emotions.
It is always my quiet hope that there will be an epic love story in the books I read, and this was most certainly the case in ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing.’ Suyin writes of a love that does not depend on possession, a love that frees and accepts everything in its embrace, equalizing all things. It is my favourite love story so far.
… & all this is really only the smallest of glimpses into Han Suyin’s ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing,’ for this is truly what it is. The setting of the book is Hong Kong in 1949(/50): a temporary home to so many and so varied a peoples, with the Chinese Communist Revolution taking place just next door. Her artful depiction of this time and place make for a great historical perspective to top off everything else.
If any of this interests you, I’d certainly recommend the read.
June 3, 2017
Was hoping to like this book more. This may the one case where the movie is better than the book. A lot of repetitive concepts that made me start skimming. Really enjoyed the descriptions of 1950 China and Hong Kong though. Those were the highlights.
April 19, 2024
it is. forktender and many-splendoured. i think we dont have this flavour of delusion anymore; gentle and reminiscient but unwanting, with the gratitude that only people on the tail-end of life usually have. equally as important, i think its hard to find suyin’s same political approach. her argument: “not anything in the world stronger than tenderness”. yes. the love and suffering of my china. i took long to read it, longer than other books i usually read; because of one of those ones i have to stop every few paragraphs. to keel my head back and scoff.
——
19. pouring sun
39. everything is blanched in the reflected glare
47. most people do not wish to remember suffering. my concern is not to forget it; The score of remembrance with creeping, bloodless scar tissue. for me always the unabated rawness, the fresh, profitable spur of pain. But also in vain i wish for i too shall suffer healing.
75. this is not love. it is hunger
90. it is awful to be two or more people at a time. it is schizophrenia.
121. in China of the life of a girl baby is not so valuable as all that… so many babies die you know?
126. I too belonged to this corruption, which has made possible my hybrid education.
169. in the curve of a leaf her eyebrows
175. to evoke you to me
187. people never think about words, they only feel them
198. teaching where teaching is needed, not in expensive lecture rooms to bored students, but right down here.
215. I shall have to cut out great portions of myself
251. spiritual summersaulting
257. my words are thrown back at me in the wind of the sea.
266. dragged our scholars from their poetic torpor
318. Not that it is easy to sit down to a book however good. it is not easy to relax.
322. Why have I been thinking so much about you recently?
——
i’m glad i read this at this point of my life.
i wrote at the back of this one, 9.3.24, 12:39am, central station:
“There is a man + woman boarding the train and she is crying and he says hey I’ve been looking all over for you. I’m here. I’m here now. I love you. I don’t know what she’s crying about but all I know is that they are holding each other. He is now giving her loud kisses on the cheek.
i am sleepy, woozy, unreal.”
i’m thinking of ‘how is a dog so honest?’; an album by blunt dog. “captured a moment when the metal was malleable, straight from the smelter, some kind of alloy, like monel” …
——
19. pouring sun
39. everything is blanched in the reflected glare
47. most people do not wish to remember suffering. my concern is not to forget it; The score of remembrance with creeping, bloodless scar tissue. for me always the unabated rawness, the fresh, profitable spur of pain. But also in vain i wish for i too shall suffer healing.
75. this is not love. it is hunger
90. it is awful to be two or more people at a time. it is schizophrenia.
121. in China of the life of a girl baby is not so valuable as all that… so many babies die you know?
126. I too belonged to this corruption, which has made possible my hybrid education.
169. in the curve of a leaf her eyebrows
175. to evoke you to me
187. people never think about words, they only feel them
198. teaching where teaching is needed, not in expensive lecture rooms to bored students, but right down here.
215. I shall have to cut out great portions of myself
251. spiritual summersaulting
257. my words are thrown back at me in the wind of the sea.
266. dragged our scholars from their poetic torpor
318. Not that it is easy to sit down to a book however good. it is not easy to relax.
322. Why have I been thinking so much about you recently?
——
i’m glad i read this at this point of my life.
i wrote at the back of this one, 9.3.24, 12:39am, central station:
“There is a man + woman boarding the train and she is crying and he says hey I’ve been looking all over for you. I’m here. I’m here now. I love you. I don’t know what she’s crying about but all I know is that they are holding each other. He is now giving her loud kisses on the cheek.
i am sleepy, woozy, unreal.”
i’m thinking of ‘how is a dog so honest?’; an album by blunt dog. “captured a moment when the metal was malleable, straight from the smelter, some kind of alloy, like monel” …
Read
August 16, 2010I rarely stop a book in the middle, and I desperately wanted to like this one as the first fifty or even hundred pages had been worthwhile, but maybe I'm not a big reader of memoirs.
Han Suyin tells her love story with an Englishman in the Hongkong of the fourties while in China the Maoist revolution is raving. I loved the descriptions of Chinese mores, of the family structure and how Chinese laugh and giggle instead of crying when something tragic happens. Still, I was utterly bored by the endless philosophic musings of the main characters who just didn't seem real even though being based on real people. I leafed through the remaining half of the book and didn't get the impression that much new was awaiting me so that I could - grudgily and unwillingly - put that book away.
Han Suyin tells her love story with an Englishman in the Hongkong of the fourties while in China the Maoist revolution is raving. I loved the descriptions of Chinese mores, of the family structure and how Chinese laugh and giggle instead of crying when something tragic happens. Still, I was utterly bored by the endless philosophic musings of the main characters who just didn't seem real even though being based on real people. I leafed through the remaining half of the book and didn't get the impression that much new was awaiting me so that I could - grudgily and unwillingly - put that book away.
August 10, 2016
L'amore tra Suyin e Mark può apparire poco travolgente, un po' sottotono, un amore senza grandi esplosioni, senza esibizionismo, molto silenzioso e nascosto. E questo mi è piaciuto molto perché rappresenta perfettamente come l'hanno vissuto loro nella realtà: in sordina, senza poterlo sventolare ai quattro venti, solo le persone più care ne erano a conoscenza e lo stesso non tutte approvavano questo rapporto. Era una cosa personale e intima, da vivere intensamente solo tra loro due, perché nessuno avrebbe capito, nessuno avrebbe approvato, nessuno gli avrebbe reso la vita semplice....
http://appuntidiunalettrice.blogspot....
http://appuntidiunalettrice.blogspot....
March 5, 2017
I loved the atmosphere conjured up by Han Suyin's writing. Images, poetry and Chinese philosophy threaded together to create a subtle backdrop to a deeply human story of two lovers, caught between their diverse backgrounds and war.
I shall probably revisit HS' world at some point
I shall probably revisit HS' world at some point
March 22, 2024
Kannattaa olla ennakkoluuloton lukemistaan valitessaan. Jokainen kai muistaa nähneensä amerikkalaisen yltiöromanttisen ja -imelän elokuvan tästä kirjasta. Kirja on jotakin aivan muuta. Päähenkilöinä kiinalaissyntyinen euraasialainen naislääkäri Han Suyin ja englantilainen kirjeenvaihtaja Mark Elliott. Tapahtumapaikkana enimmäkseen vuosien 1949 ja 1950 Hongkong. Vallanvaihdosta ja sisällissodasta toipuvasta Kiinassakin aika ajoin käydään. Lopussa roihahtaa Korean sota. Historiaa, naisten asemaa, rotusortoa, filosofisia mietiskelyjä, vaikka mitä. Viisas tarina "elämästä, jossa ei palata."
June 25, 2015
This tells the story of a British foreign correspondent who falls in love with a Chinese doctor who trained in London. It comes across as a traditional love story but beneath this it provides an interesting insight into the relationships between China, Britain and Hong Kong, particularly given the real life influences the author takes from her own life and experiences. It is an interesting read and made a nice change from my usual fare but I did find the writing a little stand offish (cold would be too strong a term but its heading that way) which meant that I didn't really connect with any of the characters or get fully involved with the story. I don't know whether this is just the tradition of Eurasian writers or just a sign of the time it was written but it meant that the story and characters lost a level of emotion that the reader needs, particularly for such a character driven story. Ignoring this the writing was vivid and did recreate the more factual side of the story well, you never know others may find this packed with emotional content and I'm just too heartless to read between the lines!
watched-film-only
May 22, 2017Added 5/21/17. ((first published June 1952)
I did not read this book but watched the film adaptation which aired once again on the TCM Channel on 5/21/17.
See my review of Till Morning Comes by this same author, Han Suyin,
at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
_Till Morning Comes_ is one of my favorite books.
In my review, I wrote that Han Suyin's novel, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song.
---Info from Han Suyin's WIKI page at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Suyin
I did not read this book but watched the film adaptation which aired once again on the TCM Channel on 5/21/17.
See my review of Till Morning Comes by this same author, Han Suyin,
at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
_Till Morning Comes_ is one of my favorite books.
In my review, I wrote that Han Suyin's novel, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song.
---Info from Han Suyin's WIKI page at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Suyin
January 26, 2021
A powerful account of doomed love is what this book is but don't let my simplification of the story-line deprive you of the pleasure of reading it. Language is at Han Suyin's beck and call and she uses it to bring this autobiographical story to aching life. The setting of post-WW2 Hong Kong and China, the politics and the people tottering between the extremes of capitalism and communism only enhance the intensely personal core story. The more discerning reader might balk at the occasional over-elaboration in the author's language but given her mixed background and influences, a little showboating when discussing the "many-splendoured thing" can be accepted. 5-stars for the overall impact of the book, a few long drawn sections notwithstanding.
June 13, 2011
This was a very long and difficult book to read. Maybe a little too political for me. That said, I did learn alot about the the customs of China as well as many of the changes that kept occurring whenever the politics changed. It did cause me to become very sympathetic with the constant upheaval in the lives of the Chinese. The way these people were made to live was unbelievable. The love story part with Jong and Stephanie were a nice touch, but I would have preferred to have read a little bit more about these two main characters. I would only recommend this book to those who do not mind reading long stories about the political battles of China.
Want to read
November 14, 2020Good obit of author, Han Suyin, in Nov. 11, 2012 LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/....
Just watched the 1955 movie, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, with Jennifer Jones and William Holden based on this largely autobiographical novel. If you love classic 40s and 50s (tear-jerker) romances like I do, you will love this movie. They don't make them like that anymore, sigh . . . And the song - so romantic! I would love to say more, but I don't want to spoil it.
And now, I am really intrigued to read the book, especially since it is said to be "strongly autobiographical" in the obituary of Han Suyin by the L.A. Times, Nov. 11, 2012.
Just watched the 1955 movie, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, with Jennifer Jones and William Holden based on this largely autobiographical novel. If you love classic 40s and 50s (tear-jerker) romances like I do, you will love this movie. They don't make them like that anymore, sigh . . . And the song - so romantic! I would love to say more, but I don't want to spoil it.
And now, I am really intrigued to read the book, especially since it is said to be "strongly autobiographical" in the obituary of Han Suyin by the L.A. Times, Nov. 11, 2012.
November 21, 2016
This was a rather illuminating piece; initially I thought it was an autobiography, a memoir of sorts, but turns out it was the author's only piece of fiction that she wrote.
I was bequeathed this book by a gentleman, a former Library regular, and I'm glad he gave it to me. It was a moving piece about one woman's life set during Post war China. Sadly, 3/4 of the way through, I just felt it dragged a bit. But other than that, the beginning, most of the middle and the end were rather enjoyable to read. The author had almost a poetic quality to her writing, and it was very vivid,
I was bequeathed this book by a gentleman, a former Library regular, and I'm glad he gave it to me. It was a moving piece about one woman's life set during Post war China. Sadly, 3/4 of the way through, I just felt it dragged a bit. But other than that, the beginning, most of the middle and the end were rather enjoyable to read. The author had almost a poetic quality to her writing, and it was very vivid,
December 2, 2008
A book I read a very long-time ago but that I remember quite well. An interracial love story set in Hong Kong during the political turmoils of the fifties - based on the real-life events of the writer. The book was a gigantic success and became a famous Hollywood melodrama. It may have aged a bit, and I vaguely recall it being a bit long, but who knows, I was young when I read it, and I imagine that what made the story such a success- its emotional content- has remained intact.
July 24, 2017
Beautiful, lyrical writing with a deep, intuitive mix of sentimentality and logic. A moving story, and, as it was written in 1950/51, the in-the-moment perspective was enlightening.
I found this book on the street in Queens, and am happy to have picked it up.
I found this book on the street in Queens, and am happy to have picked it up.
September 25, 2025
I have ummed and aahed what rating to give this book. If I could I would have given it 3.5 stars. It is beautifully and poetically written. Her descriptive writing completely transported me to 1950s Hong Kong in her descriptions. Now maybe time written but found dialogue stilted and forced and had some philosphical bits that were too deep for me. I should warn anyone who is looking for lots of action, there is very little. It is a love affair which has baggage along with it ...racial, love of country versus love of another being, colonialism, imperalism, communism, 'super powers' and their need to show their strength. I could go on.
December 9, 2023
A classic romance set in civil war Hong Kong but written from the view point of a Eurasian woman. In the nineteen forties ,where class and race distinctions were the glue that held together the precarious expat community disapproval is the order of the day .
Our protagonist further stirs the pot by deciding to choose her country over her man , or at least recognising that she would prefer to belong to a place rather than to a person who would always be defending her from ostracism and abuse.
Based on the author's own experience s lot of water under the bridge since and much more to flow .
Our protagonist further stirs the pot by deciding to choose her country over her man , or at least recognising that she would prefer to belong to a place rather than to a person who would always be defending her from ostracism and abuse.
Based on the author's own experience s lot of water under the bridge since and much more to flow .
September 3, 2023
A must-read
March 14, 2025
A many endless thing.
Read
May 19, 2025Beautiful strength
August 25, 2016
Ringrazio immensamente l’Ufficio Stampo della Sonzogno per avermi regalato l’opportunità di leggere questo libro in cambio della mia onesta opinione. Ve ne sono grata.
Real vote:3.5
Recensione anche sul mio blog:
http://pleaseanotherbook.tumblr.com/p...
“L’amore è una cosa meravigliosa” è il romanzo più famoso di Han Suyin, scrittrice a metà tra il mondo occidentale e quello cinese, un connubio di esperienze e sentimenti che la hanno portata a scrivere questo libro tra l’autobiografico e il romanzato. Portato in Italia in una nuova versione dalla Sonzogno, è famosissimo anche per la trasposizione cinematografica che ne è stata tratta. Un inno all'amore e una lucidissima rappresentazione di Hong Kong e della Cina degli anni ‘50.
Ci sono dei particolari momenti storici che sfuggono alla nostra conoscenza, che si nascondono nella concezione macabra che tacere è la soluzione giusta. Ignorare non è mai saggio, toglie la lucidità necessaria per prendere decisioni, conoscere, indagare, vivere. E allora ben vengano libri che mostrino l’altro lato della medaglia, d'altronde non a caso la verità sta nel mezzo. La verità ha molte teste e molte sfaccettature e non è mai semplice valutare un certo periodo storico mentre lo si vive. E non è mai facile accettarsi per quello che si è, quando le forze spingono per farci diventare qualcosa di diverso. Suyin è una donna forte, una euroasiatica, vissuta a cavallo della Seconda Guerra Mondiale e quel periodo storico sconvolgente che l’ha seguito, che per certi versi è stato anche più spaventoso, la cortina di ferro, la spaccatura di due mondi, l’emergere sempre più feroce del comunismo e quella Cina dai contorni secolari, una tradizione indissolubile, un tradizionalismo che sfiora il fanatismo, una tempra morale che non riusciamo ad immaginare. Ma con la madre belga, vista sempre come la straniera contro cui scagliarsi, perché il diverso è sempre qualcosa da cui scappare, in ogni situazione, le ha donato tratti caratteriali europei, un’apertura al mondo occidentale che i cinesi non mostrano quasi mai. Una dottoressa formata ad Oxford, Suyin è una donna divisa, dalle contrapposizioni accentuate dal suo dualismo, dal suo non accettarsi, dalla sua voglia di trovare un equilibrio irraggiungibile. Suyin lotta contro un popolo, ma soprattutto lotta contro se stessa. Seguirla nei suoi processi mentali, mentre analizza la sua storia con Mark è affascinante quanto irritante. La donna non è indulgente e rifugge la tenerezza e i sentimenti, accettarli e riconoscerli richiede uno sforzo disumano. Disabituata a cedere, invischiata in un momento storico pericoloso, divisa tra la voglia di essere felice e il richiamo estenuante del suo paese d’origine, o meglio quello della sua infanzia, Suyin è sempre in un equilibrio precario e continua a rimandare la sua scelta definitiva. La paura la domina, in un contrasto di intenzioni che la lasciano estenuata. Neanche con Mark si espone fino in fondo, anche quando sembra rinunciare a lui, lascia solo la scelta nelle mani dell’uomo, anche lui diviso da una familiarità imponente, un lavoro da corrispondente estero che gli procura adrenalina e scariche vitali di cui si nutre, e un fascino irrisolvibile per questo Oriente misterioso. E in mezzo al loro idillio amoroso si staglia Hong Kong, una città dai mille volti, rifugio degli espatriati, dei missionari, degli uomini d’affari, del popolo oppresso, inchiodato da una povertà irrisolvibile. Hong Kong si staglia limpida dalle pagine proprio grazie ai contrasti che la caratterizzano che la Han riporta minuziosamente e che riprendono quelli che vivono in lei. Autobiografico seppur romanzo, il racconto è un crogiolo di idee contrastanti, di sentimenti irrisolvibili, di un amore tanto assoluto quanto fragile e irrecuperabile. E mentre Hong Kong fagocita tutti coloro che cercano un riparo, in Cina, questa Cina piena di contrasti, si fa largo a spallate il comunismo che la Han cerca di tratteggiare in modo stringente, ma in un certo senso resta vittima delle sue convinzioni più profonde. Le discussioni con i suoi amici che cerca di riportare fedelmente si accompagnano ai momenti tenerissimi con Mark, che soddisfano un bisogno di razionalizzare, di scappare dall'assolutismo che l’amore regala, quella follia che non ci permette di riflettere e prendere decisioni con la testa.
Il particolare da non dimenticare? La Luna…
Uno spaccato di una Hong Kong segnata da una calma apparente, che si destreggia tra il Comunismo emergente, la guerra di Corea e da cui emerge potente una storia d’amore appassionata e irraggiungibile, segnata dai contrasti e dalle contraddizioni eppure talmente meravigliosa da superare i confini del tempo.
Buona lettura guys!
Real vote:3.5
Recensione anche sul mio blog:
http://pleaseanotherbook.tumblr.com/p...
“L’amore è una cosa meravigliosa” è il romanzo più famoso di Han Suyin, scrittrice a metà tra il mondo occidentale e quello cinese, un connubio di esperienze e sentimenti che la hanno portata a scrivere questo libro tra l’autobiografico e il romanzato. Portato in Italia in una nuova versione dalla Sonzogno, è famosissimo anche per la trasposizione cinematografica che ne è stata tratta. Un inno all'amore e una lucidissima rappresentazione di Hong Kong e della Cina degli anni ‘50.
Ci sono dei particolari momenti storici che sfuggono alla nostra conoscenza, che si nascondono nella concezione macabra che tacere è la soluzione giusta. Ignorare non è mai saggio, toglie la lucidità necessaria per prendere decisioni, conoscere, indagare, vivere. E allora ben vengano libri che mostrino l’altro lato della medaglia, d'altronde non a caso la verità sta nel mezzo. La verità ha molte teste e molte sfaccettature e non è mai semplice valutare un certo periodo storico mentre lo si vive. E non è mai facile accettarsi per quello che si è, quando le forze spingono per farci diventare qualcosa di diverso. Suyin è una donna forte, una euroasiatica, vissuta a cavallo della Seconda Guerra Mondiale e quel periodo storico sconvolgente che l’ha seguito, che per certi versi è stato anche più spaventoso, la cortina di ferro, la spaccatura di due mondi, l’emergere sempre più feroce del comunismo e quella Cina dai contorni secolari, una tradizione indissolubile, un tradizionalismo che sfiora il fanatismo, una tempra morale che non riusciamo ad immaginare. Ma con la madre belga, vista sempre come la straniera contro cui scagliarsi, perché il diverso è sempre qualcosa da cui scappare, in ogni situazione, le ha donato tratti caratteriali europei, un’apertura al mondo occidentale che i cinesi non mostrano quasi mai. Una dottoressa formata ad Oxford, Suyin è una donna divisa, dalle contrapposizioni accentuate dal suo dualismo, dal suo non accettarsi, dalla sua voglia di trovare un equilibrio irraggiungibile. Suyin lotta contro un popolo, ma soprattutto lotta contro se stessa. Seguirla nei suoi processi mentali, mentre analizza la sua storia con Mark è affascinante quanto irritante. La donna non è indulgente e rifugge la tenerezza e i sentimenti, accettarli e riconoscerli richiede uno sforzo disumano. Disabituata a cedere, invischiata in un momento storico pericoloso, divisa tra la voglia di essere felice e il richiamo estenuante del suo paese d’origine, o meglio quello della sua infanzia, Suyin è sempre in un equilibrio precario e continua a rimandare la sua scelta definitiva. La paura la domina, in un contrasto di intenzioni che la lasciano estenuata. Neanche con Mark si espone fino in fondo, anche quando sembra rinunciare a lui, lascia solo la scelta nelle mani dell’uomo, anche lui diviso da una familiarità imponente, un lavoro da corrispondente estero che gli procura adrenalina e scariche vitali di cui si nutre, e un fascino irrisolvibile per questo Oriente misterioso. E in mezzo al loro idillio amoroso si staglia Hong Kong, una città dai mille volti, rifugio degli espatriati, dei missionari, degli uomini d’affari, del popolo oppresso, inchiodato da una povertà irrisolvibile. Hong Kong si staglia limpida dalle pagine proprio grazie ai contrasti che la caratterizzano che la Han riporta minuziosamente e che riprendono quelli che vivono in lei. Autobiografico seppur romanzo, il racconto è un crogiolo di idee contrastanti, di sentimenti irrisolvibili, di un amore tanto assoluto quanto fragile e irrecuperabile. E mentre Hong Kong fagocita tutti coloro che cercano un riparo, in Cina, questa Cina piena di contrasti, si fa largo a spallate il comunismo che la Han cerca di tratteggiare in modo stringente, ma in un certo senso resta vittima delle sue convinzioni più profonde. Le discussioni con i suoi amici che cerca di riportare fedelmente si accompagnano ai momenti tenerissimi con Mark, che soddisfano un bisogno di razionalizzare, di scappare dall'assolutismo che l’amore regala, quella follia che non ci permette di riflettere e prendere decisioni con la testa.
Il particolare da non dimenticare? La Luna…
Uno spaccato di una Hong Kong segnata da una calma apparente, che si destreggia tra il Comunismo emergente, la guerra di Corea e da cui emerge potente una storia d’amore appassionata e irraggiungibile, segnata dai contrasti e dalle contraddizioni eppure talmente meravigliosa da superare i confini del tempo.
Buona lettura guys!
July 22, 2025
Absolutely beautiful
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