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Poetic and very unsettling, this novel switches from first to third person while always being from the point of view of a poor ethnically French girl/woman who, before the age of 16, becomes the lover of a rich ethnically Chinese man, both living in Vietnam. The closest parallel I can think of is Lolita. The stories are very different but neither book is the scandalous erotica that one might expect from their reputations. This one focuses as much on the heroine's dysfunctional family as on the a
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I rated it 4 stars, it was an evocative, fascinating read, making one aware of memory, meaning, and beauty, both physical and the beauty of language.
3.5 stars. A somewhat rambling poetic tale based on (or accurately depicting?) the author's experiences when she was a teen in Vietnam, while it was still a French colony. She was definitely a skilled writer, and has some great pages, but some bits seemed very unfocused.
Not appropriate for under-15 year olds. ...more
Not appropriate for under-15 year olds. ...more
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