101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion
What are you reading?
Mod
by Thrity Umrigar- 4 Stars.India: Bhima (Servant) & Sera (Wealthy widow) become friends under the least likely circumstances. Unti..."
I keep hearing about this, I'm going to have to read it eventually!
It was a good one Alana- to be honest, I read it for a challenge, but I'm glad I did.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouchhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The premise for this novel is the thought experiment known as Schrodinger’s Cat. For
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America by Timothy Eganhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a highly readable account of the August 20, 1910 raging forest fire, the largest in U.S. history. Egan gives a detailed account of the efforts of the poorly funded, poorly trained rangers who risked their lives to contain the fire for a country who refused to compensate the families of the dead or pay the medical bills of the horrifically injured. Egan argues that the embattled backers of the nascent Forest Service was able to use this event to gain support and funding for this agency. However, they were unable to protect the forests from the ravages of the timber industry which continued to clear cut public lands for private profit.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Warehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A young travel reporter on the maiden voyage of an exclusive luxury cruise is abruptly woken up. She thinks she may have heard a scream followed by a loud splash. When she rushes to her cabin deck, she thinks she sees a body sinking in the dark night water. But did she? This might not be high literature, but it was a very engaging read. It had all the elements to create a good mystery: a narrator whose observations are not completely reliable, an isolated and confined group of potential suspects, several credible red herrings and enough missteps to keep the reader from predicting the ending with any certainty.
Siracusa by Delia Ephronhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Two highly dysfunctional, immature couples and a 10 year old daughter go on vacation to Italy where their self-centered, dishonest, manipulative, vulgar personalities are on full display. Ephron is a skilled writer. A few days in the company of these characters and I felt as if I needed to be fumigated. The story, which was told from the perspective of all four adults, was so entangled that I often had to back track to try to follow the relational threads. But, even though I can objectively recognize the positive qualities of this novel, I can’t say that I “really liked it”. Ephron’s style of short, choppy sentences, of staccato lists of observations designed to create layered atmospheres, is not something I enjoy in a novel. Although this group was vividly portrayed, the individual voices did not stand out from one another. In order to read this book, I had to scan it into my computer which converted text to speech. That process did not always pick up the character name at the top of a new chapter, leaving me to try to figure out who was speaking by the voice alone. I could not do that; all the characters spoke in the same voice. I do not need to like characters in order to like a novel, but I do need to understand them. I never understood the motivations, the forces or perceptions that shaped these personalities. Although the quality of the relational bonds between these figures changed after the fateful vacation, I did not see any notable shift in the characters themselves. It felt like a tragedy without catharsis. Finally, I found this novel to be unnecessarily vulgar.
Finished
by James Patterson-- 3 Stars.Oh my! A wild ride with an amazing narrator (Jay Snyder) with a few far fetched plot lines.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Perfume by Patrick Suskindhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This novel has the feel of a child’s chapter book, a type of fairy tale. It has all the elements generally found in such books: the extraordinary orphan, the inept adults, the supernatural ability, the girl of superlative beauty, even the use of nonsense words and the layering of ordinary observations to create atmosphere. However, there were sprinklings of shit and sex and menstrual blood and semen that insured the reader that this was intended for the adult reader. Suskind weaves a vivid story in a well-drawn world. His prose is flawless for the style of book. Although I allowed the story to draw me in, it is not the type of story I particularly like.
The History of Love by Nicole Krausshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In N.Y.C., a book connects an elderly Polish Jew who lost everything and everyone to the Nazis and a 14 year old girl whose family has burrowed under the grief of her father’s death 8 years earlier. I loved the characters in this novel, especially elderly Leopold. I enjoyed the range of prose, from poetically philosophical to chatty. I was fascinated by the way the two story lines approached and spun around each other, like a well-choreographed dance. On the other hand, I found young Alma to be more a wonderful literary fabrication than a flesh and blood facsimile and the mystery behind the book in her life rather implausible.
The Last Policeman by Ben Wintershttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is an old-fashioned style detective novel. There are no cinematic car chases or gun battles, no high tech computer simulations, no pornographic romantic encounters. What gives this who-done-it its unique edge is the back drop setting. People are living with the scientific certitude that in six months a giant asteroid will slam into the earth with catastrophic consequences for most life forms. People are committing suicide, others are leaving their jobs to enjoy what little time is left, infrastructures are disintegrating due to neglect and supplies are becoming scarce as factories empty. In the midst of this, one young New England detective diligently investigates crimes the character development was strong, the story straight forward, the writing solid. I really enjoyed this novel which moved quickly. I want to read the remainder of this series
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Brittain was just beginning her studies at Oxford when WWI broke out. This is her memoir of a young woman maturing in those turbulent and painful years. As the men she knows and loves go to fight and die in the trenches, she volunteers with the Red Cross to serve in military hospitals. This memoir extends several years after the conclusion of the war as she grapples with new understanding of the fragility of life, the freedom for and empowerment of women just being sought, the dawning awareness of the futility and injustice of war and peace treaties. Although I appreciated this glimpse of an average middle class woman at this time in history, the book was far too long. She felt it necessary to bolster every reflection on her feelings or perceptions with excerpts of letters, passages from her diary, poems she penned and poems she liked. There is far too much of the mundane endlessly narrated without any new insights. In the end, what might have been a fascinating memoir simply dragged into boredom for me.
Finished
by Alexander Chee-- 4 Stars.A saga telling the story of one Lillian Berne- a famous soprano with the Paris Opera. Dense, Startling, and gorgeous- lightly based on an actual soprano gave this a non-fiction feel.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
by J.M. Barrie-- 3 StarsThe original story that inspired multiple takes on this beloved character and his story.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Leehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This collection of short stories touched on the theme of love not quite realized, relationships which have failed to thrive. The story line and characters were fully realized in the limited space of these stories. Although I would describe each as solid, none managed to grab and shake me. I never wanted to put down the book after completing one just to ponder what was said.
All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It is clear why this political novel based on the career of Huey Long is a classic. The colloquial voice of the narrator was perfect and utterly engaging. The characters were brilliantly nuanced. And the language, the similes and turn of phrase were fantastic.
Finished my last couple of books for 2016!
by Anna Quindlen- 4 StarsMy Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
by Kim Izzo- 4 StarsMy Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
ooh- that's been on my list forever!
Mod
Not For Everyday Use by Elizabeth Nunezhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nunez’s trip to her childhood home in Trinidad for the funeral of her mother is the context for this rambling memoir. Nunez reflects on her parents’ 60 year marriage, her strained relationship with an undemonstrative mother, her experience of racism in both Trinidad and the U.S., the inspiration for her novels and much more. This had the feel of someone working through resentments and tensions from the past. She seemed to want to blame and complain while immediately denying that she was blaming or complaining about her mother’s parenting style, her Catholic upbringing, racism, her large family, being sent to college in the U.S. at age 18, her philandering husband and so on and so on and so on. After 6 decades of life, I would have expected a more mature tone and a more focused narrative line.
Kindred by Octavia Butlerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am not a fan of time travel novels. This did not change my mind. An African American woman living in California in 1976 is pulled 160 years into the past, to a plantation in Marilyn. It only takes her a few hours to figure out where she is, why she is pulled there, that the white plantation owners are her ancestors, and to convince them that she is a presence from the future (no technical tricks involved, just her word). Not only did I find this premise problematic, but the language did not reflect the context. The 20th century Californian sounded exactly like early 19th century people living on the Mason Dixon line. The interactions also felt inauthentic as the son of the plantation family allows this black woman to speak to him as an equal 80% of the time then strips and beats her at other moments.
The Sell Out by Paul Beattyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This biting satire of the racism in modern America is described as hilarious in many reviews. Although I intellectually understood the message and could identify many places that were intended to be humorous, I never felt that humor. The non-stop vulgarity, the thinly veiled anger, the general tone of abuse and insult, was off-putting for me. I would have liked to have read and discussed this with a mixed race group of readers coming from a variety of backgrounds. My response to this book probably says more about my social experience than it does about the novel.
A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towleshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
At the height of the Russian Revolution, a young count is tried for the crime of aristocracy. But, rather than execution or hard labor, he is sentenced to house arrest in the Moscow luxury hotel where he was in residence. Relocated to its attic, to the small room, previously assigned to guests’ servants, he reconciles himself to his new circumstances. Over the next three decades, as the rest of Russia lives in terror of the KGB, fights and dies on the battlefields of WWII, stands in endless bread lines to get enough moldy bread and wilted cabbage to avoid starvation for one more day, endures the confinement of overcrowded apartments with no privacy, the count reads western papers and views foreign films, dines on gourmet dinners accompanied by lovely wines, sees his circle of close friends grow to include actresses, Russian officials and American diplomats, and maintains the dignity, integrity and serenity that was his prior to the Revolution. In less skilled hands, this would have turned into an overly sweet story of ludicrous improbabilities fattened on literary bromides. But, Towles has fashioned such vibrant characters and surrounded them with gorgeous prose that I felt as if I was invited into an oasis of sanity and goodness in the midst of a brutal, capricious, selfish world.
Commonwealth by Anne Patchetthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A spontaneous kiss between virtual strangers becomes an affair which leads to ruptured and blended families. In episodic fashion which moves backward and forward in time, we witness the effect of thoughtless adult decisions on their six children. Alliances are formed and trusts are violated, tragedies unfold and the kaleidoscope of family turns again. This book has received much positive attention, but I can’t identify the reason for the fuss. There were too many characters over too much time to adequately develop even the major players. From the original kiss through to the bits of late life reconciliations, I was simply perplexed by the choices made by and the sudden bonds depicted between the characters. Patchett introduces the theme of individual verses group story, who owns it, who has the right to reveal it, exploit it for personal gain, guard it from public knowledge. It was a question that lay at the heart of the novel, but never sat up and drew breath.
Finished
by Ruth Ware-- 3 Stars.MEH- I did turn the pages quickly, but the depth was lacking.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Three Wishes by Liane Moriarityhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a year in the life of three entangled sisters, triplets. We watch these young women deal with all the common issues of modern chick lit: marital infidelity, commitment phobia, infertility, moody adolescent step-daughter, career questions, angst with parents, and so on, along with the requisite good feelings at the end. This is not my type of novel. It was not horrible, but it was not noteworthy either.
Finished my first 5 Star book of 2017:
by Ruta SepetysAll the feels- I stayed up til 4am last night because I had to finish it to see how it ended. I woke up with a major book hangover and bleary, red eyes.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Toward A Truly Free Market by John Medaillehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I was encouraged to read this economic book by a group outside of GoodReads. Yes, there are people talking about books apart from GR. Without a background in economics, I am in no position to evaluate the negative critiques of various economic systems made by this author. His argument for the adaptation of a “distributist” system left me with many questions that may be clear to anyone with a working understanding of economics. My problem with this book was its handling of half the human race. Medaille strongly argues from the outset that any viable economic system must be rooted in justice. But he consistently used gender explicit language which relegates women to irrelevance or invisibility. Considering how recently women won the right to be treated as equals under the economic laws of the land, the right to own property, inherit patrimony, sign contracts, cast votes, etc., to be written passively out of the system being described is no trivial matter. It is a matter of basic justice. Furthermore, when discussing the family as an economic unit, the “mother” is presumed to be the full-time domestic labor source. In the section on the just wage, he writes that it should be set at the level which is high enough that there is not a need to “put children and women out to work”. The copyright on this book is 2010 and married women are equated with children and their presence in the work force is viewed as an evil, a sign of economic injustice rather than the full contribution of all the talents and skills present in society. I simply can not take seriously any system claiming to be grounded in justice which treats women in such a dismissive and disrespectful fashion.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoultwww.goodreads.com/review/show/1887445338
This latest novel by Jodi Picoult follows the pattern of all her previous ones. Three or four characters, in altering chapters, narrate a story that depicts a social issue. Racism is the focus of this novel. A white supremacist couple demands that the only African American nurse on the Labor and Delivery unit not touch their newborn. Then the child stops breathing and dies when that nurse is alone in the nursery. She is arrested and tried for the death of that baby. Here is what I like about this and most Picoult novels. She tackles tough social issues and presents them in a narrative form that makes them real and personal enough that the reader is forced to contemplate the issue. Her work is always well researched. Here is what I dislike about her books. All her characters sound exactly alike. In this novel, the nurse, grieving father and defense attorney are the narrators and all not only use the same language and sentence structure, they all approach a tale in the same fashion. Even secondary characters such as the nurse’s 17 year old son employs the same voice. It never feels as if I have met these figures, but only Picoult behind the curtain like the Great Oz. Not only do the characters sound like the author but the story sounds like a thinly veiled opportunity for her to preach to the reader. Clearly the intended audience is white Americans who do not believe they are racists. The reader was shown every slight, both large and small, in order to convince her/him of the soul-crushing weight of racism. No reader who has experienced this first hand would need a tiny fraction of such incidences to set the tone of the story. I also find the coincidences in her novels, especially at pivotal moments to be too consistently incredible for me to be able to swallow.
The Jesus Cow by Michael Perryhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What a fun read! Perry spoofs every segment of American society: the blowhard developer, the failed liberal academic, the monetized religious scams, small town fire departments and more. Perry takes down every sacred cow (every pun intended), but he does it with such gentle humor that the reader loves the characters at the same time s/he is laughing at them.
Christ In the Margins by Robert Lentz and Edwina Gateleyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a collection of 40 icons created by the classically trained iconographer, Robert Lentz, which reflects his liberal Christian spirituality. Traditional saints such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Rose of Lima stand alongside non-traditional figures like Albert Einstein and Harvey Milk. Each icon is accompanied by biographical and/or explanatory information. A reflective essay by Edwina Gately follows each set of 5 icons. As with any spiritual collection, some of the icons offered more food for contemplation than others did for me. I appreciated it when Lentz included details about the icon since the biographical info was very basic and well known. Maybe because I have heard Gateley speak several times and have read quite a bit by her, the sections penned by her failed to inspire. I suspect I have heard most of her thoughts and stories by this point and was looking for something new. All in all, this was not bad, but I had much higher expectations.
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a quirky, sweet romance. I appreciated the starring roles of people with serious mental health illnesses. Despite delusions, socially sanctioned behavior in the past, inappropriate actions in the present, the full humanity and lovability of these individuals shone through. However, this was a silver lining novel full of supporting characters whose understanding and endless patience did not reflect the real world anguish and limitations of caring for someone who has this type of diagnosis. I was confused by the narrator’s voice. Prior to his psychotic episode, he was a mature, fully functioning adult, college educated, history teacher, married and upwardly mobile. But, the voice the reader hears is uncannily immature, employing juvenile euphemisms, characterizing interactions as a young adolescent, using language devoid of complex connections. It was as if this 35 year old had regressed and had diminished intellectual capacity which could not be explained by the information we were given. I fear that such a portrayal could further stereotypes about those with mental or physical disabilities.
Finished Two:
by Luanne Rice-- 2 Stars. My Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
AND
by Pat Conroy- 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars. My Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Underground Airlines by Ben Wintershttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Ben Winters imagines an alternative U.S. history in which a compromise prevents the Civil War by permanently legalizing slavery in a handful of states by an amendment to the Constitution. We experience this version of 21st century America through the eyes of an escaped slave now forced to hunt down other escaped slaves and return them to the South. Despite several improbable action scenes, we are given a frighteningly believable world. Winters has an amazing gift for capturing the speech patterns of each character. This was an incredibly well executed novel.
Finished
by Blake Crouch-- 4.5 stubborn stars rounded up to 5I really didn't want to read this one, I'm so glad I did.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
by Helene Hanff-- 4 StarsA book filled with letters and for book lovers
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also Finished
by Curtis Sittenfeld-- 3 StarsComplete guilty pleasure-
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylorhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I give this book 2.0 stars for the writing and 0.5 stars for my enjoyment of the story. Obviously, the latter mark is the far more subjective and many will disagree. The plot unfolds in a secret historical academy which has developed the technology to transport people back in time. Although the historians who make the journey are sent to observe, never to alter events, things do not go as intended and all sorts of mayhem ensue. At first I thought I had stumbled into a young adolescent novel with its setting reflective of a boarding school and the dynamics between trainee historians and the administration reflective of stogy old teacher and mischievous student. The idea of traveling back in time to various historical moments to watch and report felt like those educational afterschool programs. But, the addition of attempted rapes, passionate sex scenes, adult power grabs and a miscarriage made it clear that an adult reader was intended without ever shifting the dialogue, character behavior or plausibility to indicate maturity in the characters or the reader. Had this not been a book group pick, I would never have picked it up and not have read past the first 50 pages had I stumbled on it.
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burtonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a story of family secrets and a city’s hypocrisy set in 1686 Amsterdam. I enjoyed the historical setting and the unraveling mystery of this household. However, I thought the ending left too many unexplained details. Magical abilities are hinted at and never denied by a more rational explanation. For me, that was inadequate. 3.5 stars
Finished
by Colleen Hoover-- 2 Stars.This one was not for me.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Ballroom by Anna Hopehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a story of the destructive power of self-loathing and the transformative power of love set in an asylum for the insane in 1911. This novel dances on the edge of sentimentality, pirouettes and lands gracefully on the side of beauty and poignancy.
Finished
by Shonda Rhimes-- 4 Stars.Narrated by the author- this one was great!
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamanthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is an archetypal rags-to-riches American immigrant story. The novel, spanning the 20th century moves from impoverished Boston tenement to middle class suburban home, from a time when women’s only legitimate aspiration was motherhood to a moment when more women graduate from college than men. This is a familiar story line and this novel added nothing to the abundance of books based on this theme. Although the narrative covers the entirety of this woman’s 85 years, 90% of it is dedicated to the decades leading up to her marriage. I suspect that this may have been because the unseen, unheard listener is a granddaughter, but covering 50 years of a life in a single chapter felt as if the ending was rushed. Also, in a story that emphasized female struggle for autonomy, effectively ending the autobiography with marriage gave the impression that her life reached its zenith with that act. The college degrees, the teaching, the publishing, the social work she did during those decades were of little consequence in comparison to catching a rich husband. I know that many people enjoyed this book, but I found it uninspiring and easily forgettable.
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgeraldhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I loved the droll humor and the use of language in this historical novel, but I was confused by the characters and uncertainly what the author was trying to get at.
Our Souls At Night by Kent Harufhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This novel opens as 70 year old Addie knocks on the door of her neighbor Louis with a proposal. Even though their neighborly relationship in this small town has never been more than that of acquaintance, she askes if he would be interested in spending the night in her bed, not sex, just the companionship of another person to push back at the loneliness. When Addie’s 6 year old grandson moves in for the summer, a pseudo family circa 1955 forms as Louis teaches the boy to play ball, buys him a dog and the three of them go on picnics, to county fares and visit with the elderly neighbor lady. The premise and characters were charming, but the execution did not rise to the occasion. The action unfolded in sentences that were linked by “and then”, “and when”, “and” which may have attempted to convey a sense of simple, natural steps forward, but felt amateurish. The actions at pivotal moments such as Addie’s proposal or her son’s reaction were never adequately explained by the character development provided. This was a quick, easy book with great potential, but it left me very disappointed.
Finished
by Amy Schumer-- 3 Stars.Listened on audio- read by the author- humorous and poignant when appropriate.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Stone Boy by Sophie Loubierwww.goodreads.com/review/show/1918151086
A woman with a lifetime of eccentric behavior, blurring reality and fantasy, displays all the symptoms of delusional paranoia in later adulthood. After 10 years of psychiatric hospitalization, she returns to her childhood home and stops taking her medication. Soon she is setting two hundred mouse traps to deal with nighttime noises only she can hear, killing stray cats and laundering their pelts to prevent being spied on by microchips they carry and accusing the neighbors of abusing a child they are hiding, but who is communicating with her in her dreams. Most delusions are rooted in some perception of reality. The problem for the reader and this woman’s son is to untangle reality from delusion. Loubier has masterfully constructed this character and her world. The reader is left scrambling to find some scrap to which to cling, by which to find an orientation as we navigate this world. Are there rodents in the attic? Are the foods we buy slowly poisoning us? Are the neighbors watching this woman with a history of psychiatric problems that once made headlines? Is a child in danger? Is this woman who manipulates her son, vilifies her daughter-in-law and accuses housekeeper to shopkeeper of malevolent intent deserving of a hearing, of being taken seriously, of love?
Finished
by Jami Attenberg-- 4.5 StarsThis book GETS me- I loved it! Out March 7th.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Churchhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A bright college student marries her professor, 20 years her senior. Despite the fact that this is the early 1940s, she silently assumes that marriage will have no impact on her dreams of pursuing graduate work and a career as an ornithologist. Over the ensuing decades she becomes increasingly resentful of and estranged from her husband. There is a scene early in the marriage that reflected my perception of this novel. A dinner party concludes with the women sharing stories and pictures of their children at length which leaves our young protagonist bored and frustrated. No matter how adorable, talented, intelligent or lovable these children might be, she could not bring herself to care about someone else’s kids. My sentiments exactly. No matter how bright, thwarted, unhappy this woman was, I just could not bring myself to be interested in someone else’s marriage. The requisite affair rested on such a ridiculous foundation that I could not take it seriously. Only in chick flicks and their novelistic counterparts do boy toys walk out of the woods and straight into lust with a middle aged housewife 20 years their senior. There were some interesting themes that might have made this far more interesting had they been explored. We are briefly shown a large contingent of highly educated non-working wives who appear to have found some peace with their lives. But rather than explore the difference between them and our far less educated protagonist, these PhDs are dismissed as small-minded gossips. 2.5 stars for me.
Finished Two! Gave both 3 Stars.
by Tana French-Book 2 in the Dublin Murder Squad seriesMy Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and finished
by Jodi Lynn Anderson- A re-take on Peter PanMy Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
101 Books to Read Before You Die
Books mentioned in this topic
Persuasion (other topics)It (other topics)
The Immortalists (other topics)
The Hate U Give (other topics)
Timekeeper (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jane Austen (other topics)Madeline Miller (other topics)
Sarah Henning (other topics)
Sarah McCoy (other topics)
Sarah Pekkanen (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a second in a series and I would not recommend reading it prior to reading Shanghai Girls. In the first book, two young women, sisters, leave China fleeing wartime atrocities perpetrated by the invading Japanese and family tragedy to make a home in 1930’s California. Twenty years later, one of their daughters, runs away from a family tragedy of her own back to China where she is convinced the Communist Revolution is building a more just world for all humanity. It is 1957, the start of the Great Leap Forward, so the reader knows that any naive idealism about the Revolution will soon be dispelled. See creates complex family relationships in her novels, portraying relationships that can deeply wound because they are so deeply loved. I also appreciated the setting of this novel. The varied experiences of an average civilian during the height of the Revolution was depicted. But this novel also fell short of my expectations in a few ways. The story is told from the perspective of both mother and daughter, but both voices sounded exactly the same, both the English-speaking California teen and the Chinese transplant whose heart has always been in her homeland. There were also many moments when details to move the plot seemed more convenient than realistic. But my greatest disappointment was the lack of emotional immediacy. The events are narrated for the reader, including information about the feelings of the narrator, but these had the quality of one reporting on what is being observed beyond the window rather than what one is living through. I would give this 3.5 stars or close to that.