Rosh’s review of Shalama: My 96 Seasons in China > Likes and Comments

That's really a shame. But yes, if you have only cursory notes and feel you can't add in much because how would you know? and are lacking a bit in imagination then it's not going to work as fiction. There were quite a number of white people in China in the 1920s-30s. Mostly those who couldn't function well in the west, adventures or were Christian missionaries like Pearl Buck's family.

There is a fascinating story in there somewhere, I think. It's a pity the execution didn't work for you, Rosh! Thank you for your insightful review.

That is the thing about historical fiction. Research and historical accuracy is good. But you can’t forget about the fictional part. And in fiction, your do need a certain writing style that pulls the reader into the fictional world based on real events and people. Plus, sometimes an author’s writing style just isn’t your cup of tea, and that’s totally fine. That doesn’t mean it can’t work for other readers. Good review, Rosh.

Very fair review, Rosh. I hope you are enjoying your current read.

This happens to be a book I will skip! 😉

Great review💕. All of these things would annoy me as well.

Sorry to hear this disappointed. Hope you get a 5 star read next!!!

A wonderful review, Rosh. It sounds as though the skeleton of a story was there however the execution lacked a little. I hope your next read is a winning one. 💚

Oh, dear! Fiction has to have fiction - a plot, a set of characters, and an arc. It is not the same as non-fiction or blogging. This could have been a memoir or better yet, a nonfic in a conventional format. Sorry this was a bummer. The topic is indeed interesting (something I know nothing about) but I don't like the execution.
Terrific review, Rosh.

Great review, Rosh! Sorry this didn't quite land for you. I understand what you mean about writing. It's the most important aspect of a book, and either you click with it or you don't.

Oh God ! Everything that can go wrong in a book got mixed in this one I guess. You are right, memoirs cannot have fact dumping. It needs to have heart too and that's what makes the reader connect to the book. I think the author might have called it as a historical fiction because of the reach that genre gets as compared to a memoir ? Its a great subject to read about but it fell flat in execution I think. Great review as usual Rosh

Oh no. I just started this.

Oh no, Rosh! How unfortunate. I love your honesty in this well-written review though 😍 Can always rely on your reviews for that, and I respect and appreciate it so much!

Oof, def not for me. Honest review, Rosh!

Fantastic review, Yun! There really seems to be an essential element missing in the writing & that's really such a shame because the way you describe the essence of the book leads me to believe that it is all the more worthy of proper good writing & "showing" in the storytelling aspect. Sorry this turned out to be such a dud. Hope your next read is far better :) <33

Berengaria wrote: "That's really a shame. But yes, if you have only cursory notes and feel you can't add in much because how would you know? and are lacking a bit in imagination then it's not going to work as fiction..."

Agree, B. The decision to make it a "fictional" work was a tough one when there wasn't enough to fill up the lacunae.
Oh yes, I am aware of white people in China as traders or missionaries. I meant that I didn't know that Russian Jews and European Jews had considered China as a safe place to escape to. I would have assumed at least the Europeans to look more towards the USA or the UK.

Alexandra wrote: "There is a fascinating story in there somewhere, I think. It's a pity the execution didn't work for you, Rosh! Thank you for your insightful review."

Thanks much, Alexandra! I completely agree.

Thibault wrote: "That is the thing about historical fiction. Research and historical accuracy is good. But you can’t forget about the fictional part. And in fiction, your do need a certain writing style that pulls ..."

Absolutely, Thibault. Fiction needs drama and emotions and characters and scenes. Reportage never seems like fiction.
Thank you. And I agree, reading experience based on writing style is quite subjective. So one person's negative experience never indicates that the book itself is bad. Those who read reviews are hopefulyl sensible enough to understand this.

Nancy (playing catch-up) wrote: "Very fair review, Rosh. I hope you are enjoying your current read."

Thanks, Nancy! It's definitely better than this one.

Jayme wrote: "This happens to be a book I will skip! 😉"

Absolutely not for you, Jayme!

Emma wrote: "Great review💕. All of these things would annoy me as well."

Thank you , Emma! I guess some of us need fiction to read like fiction even if it is based on facts. ♥

Tina wrote: "Sorry to hear this disappointed. Hope you get a 5 star read next!!!"

I hope so too, Tina!

Angela wrote: "A wonderful review, Rosh. It sounds as though the skeleton of a story was there however the execution lacked a little. I hope your next read is a winning one. 💚"

Thank you kindly, Angela! ♥ The book would have worked wonders had it been written with a proper novel-oriented approach.

Srivalli wrote: "Oh, dear! Fiction has to have fiction - a plot, a set of characters, and an arc. It is not the same as non-fiction or blogging. This could have been a memoir or better yet, a nonfic in a convention..."

Thanks, Sri! I couldn't have worded it better! Both are such distinct styles of writing that we can't simply change one part of the writing and call it fiction/nonfiction. They are two entirely different writing skill sets. I wish the topic had worked better; it was quite enlightening.

Yun wrote: "Great review, Rosh! Sorry this didn't quite land for you. I understand what you mean about writing. It's the most important aspect of a book, and either you click with it or you don't."

Thanks, Yun! Completely agree with that! Plot alone isn't enough to save a book.

Suja wrote: "Oh God ! Everything that can go wrong in a book got mixed in this one I guess. You are right, memoirs cannot have fact dumping. It needs to have heart too and that's what makes the reader connect t..."

Thanks, Suj! Naah, she is very clear that this was a historical fiction because of the lack on supportive evidence. Had she only worried about the potential reach of a memoir vs a historical fiction, she wouldn't have made her father's story a memoir. That aspect, I respect. I just wish she had altered her writing accordingly.

Mai wrote: "Oh no. I just started this."

I hope it goes better for you, Mai! Fingers crossed!

Rowan wrote: "Oh no, Rosh! How unfortunate. I love your honesty in this well-written review though 😍 Can always rely on your reviews for that, and I respect and appreciate it so much!"

Thank you so much for your kind words, Rowan! ♥

Heather Adores Books wrote: "Oof, def not for me. Honest review, Rosh!"

Absolutely not for you, Heather! Thanks.

Chantel wrote: "Fantastic review, Yun! There really seems to be an essential element missing in the writing & that's really such a shame because the way you describe the essence of the book leads me to believe tha..."

Thanks much, Chantel! The story deserved a better writing approach. I feel so sad that it was lost to me simply because of the distanced writing. I hope so too! ♥

I usually love asian lit but this sounds terrible. So boring, robotic and unemotional. Ugh. Sounds totally like a full 1 star to me, but glad you could enjoy it some. Honest (and generous) review Roshie!

Fantastic review! 🩵

A thoughtful and helpful review, Rosh. Does not sound like my cup of tea either. ☕

"for the first time ever, i missed inner monologues" and that says a lot, considering inner monologues can sometimes be very irritating. dry factual writing doesn’t appeal to me either so i can see why this was a miss for you with how it related the author’s experiences. great review, rosh!! 💛

Great review, Rosh! I can see why you wouldn't want to read a clinical checklist of the events of someone's life. I wouldn't either! It makes it so hard to connect with the writing! 💙

Federico wrote: "I usually love asian lit but this sounds terrible. So boring, robotic and unemotional. Ugh. Sounds totally like a full 1 star to me, but glad you could enjoy it some. Honest (and generous) review R..."

I am anyway not a fan of Asian lit (especially Japanese), finding it boring and rambling! :D But this isn't even typical Asian lit in style. I rarely give 1 stars. IMHO, most books in the world are average, not bad. ;) Thanks, Feddie!

Mary Beth wrote: "Fantastic review! 🩵"

Thanks, Mary Beth! ♥

Darla wrote: "A thoughtful and helpful review, Rosh. Does not sound like my cup of tea either. ☕"

Thanks much, Darla! ♥ I doubt this would be for most of my friends here.

lila ⋆ wrote: ""for the first time ever, i missed inner monologues" and that says a lot, considering inner monologues can sometimes be very irritating. dry factual writing doesn’t appeal to me either so i can see..."

Exactly, Lila! I too usually find inner monologues annoying, but for the first time, I realised what happens when they are missing from a book. A fictional novel in factual style simply doesn't make sense.
Thanks so much! ♥

Kat wrote: "Great review, Rosh! I can see why you wouldn't want to read a clinical checklist of the events of someone's life. I wouldn't either! It makes it so hard to connect with the writing! 💙"

Thanks, Kat! ♥ Spot on! We want to relate to the characters when we read their life story, not just get a list of events that happened to them. :/

Fair review, Rosh. I like how you noted it is for the writing and not for the life or story of the person being written about. 🤗💕

Shelley's Book Nook wrote: "Fair review, Rosh. I like how you noted it is for the writing and not for the life or story of the person being written about. 🤗💕"

Thanks much, Shelley! 🤗💕 I never like it when people rate memoirs poorly because they didn't like what the person said or did. Ratings are for books, not people.

Onto the next Rosh, and Great review! 🩷

Holly wrote: "Onto the next Rosh, and Great review! 🩷"

Thanks, Holly! Indeed! ♥

Thoughtful review, Rosh.

Liz wrote: "Thoughtful review, Rosh."

Thanks, Liz.