A Hundred Flowers in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 29, 2013 Snowtulip rated it liked it

Shelves: contem-fic

Tsukiyama once again imparts us with everyday life of 1958 China. The storytelling is subtle and quiet, but with broiled emotion hidden just underneath the surface.

This story is slow moving and gentle, and makes you really appreciate the small kindnesses that we often overlook on a daily basis. Not my favorite book regarding this time period in China, but still a good read.

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Feb 21, 2013 Sera rated it liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, audio, library

3.5 stars; I really enjoyed this book about one's family experience in late 1950s China, just prior to the cultural revolution. The name of the book, A Hundred Flowers, is based upon a campaign that Mao developed to get the Chinese citizenry to provide their thoughts and ideas about the Chinese government. Of course, it's easy to foresee what would happen when anyone did so. The results of one's speaking freely is one of the themes in this book, but there is much more as well.

Overall, I think t ...more

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Jan 12, 2023 Wajeeha rated it really liked it

What a beautiful book. I loved it. If you haven’t read much about china’s cultural revolution this historical fiction novel would be a great start

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Apr 18, 2019 Cheryl rated it it was amazing

Tsuyiyama writes with such grace. This is a simple story of real people who experience trauma and struggles. The truth is sometimes a difficult concept when you love deeply and would do anything to protect your family. As usual Tsukiyama takes a time in history and shows us the trials and tribulations of ordinary people living through that time. Her writing makes us understand what it's like to live in changing times when government becomes the enemy. ...more

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Oct 22, 2013 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, historical-fiction, read-in-2014

I love Tsukiyama's novels generally. This book is a very interesting historical perspective on the cultural revolution in China. The issue I had with this book is that I felt like the characters were not well developed. I knew their back stories by the end of the book, but not enough of how they felt. ...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, 2014

This was a mostly beautifully written book. I found myself loving the characters and wanting to hurry up and finish the book so that I would know the conclusion. My only complaint is that the book builds up and then just seems to end about 100 pages before it really should end.

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