There’s some really great historical elements here with the Japanese occupation of China, the ideological battle between the Nationalists and CommunisThere’s some really great historical elements here with the Japanese occupation of China, the ideological battle between the Nationalists and Communists, and how these things spilled over into both Taiwan and the United States. There are interesting themes of acceptance and forgiveness, and it’s all wrapped around the questions of what storytelling is and who our stories are for.
There are two stories here: Monica’s happening in present day and her grandmother’s from when she was a girl. They’re both compelling.
I provably would’ve given this five stars if it hadn’t been an epistolary novel. Having perfect recall of conversations that happened earlier in the day let alone decades ago just isn’t a thing that happens and isn’t how people generally write journal entries. It kept taking me out of the story.
Kevin Nguyen’s Mỹ Documents is sharp, unsettling, and undeniably well-written. The premise—a government policy forces Vietnamese Americans into internKevin Nguyen’s Mỹ Documents is sharp, unsettling, and undeniably well-written. The premise—a government policy forces Vietnamese Americans into internment camps—hits close to home for me as someone of Japanese descent and the parallels to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The story captures how fear, misinformation, and government overreach can lead to horrifying consequences. There are also themes of exploitation and appropriation of tragedy and the complications of family ties.
Unfortunately, while I don’t mind unlikable characters, I wish we’d seen more growth from them over the course of the story. Then again, maybe that’s the point: that bad things can happen and we don’t have to learn and grow from them—there does not need to be a silver lining.
I also found it jarring that there are moments where devastating things happen, but instead of sitting in the emotions, the narrative barrels ahead to the next event. It made it hard for me to feel fully connected to the story at times.
Still, the book is worth reading for its thought-provoking premise and its eerie relevance to today’s political climate. It’s one of those novels that’ll stick with you, even if it leaves you feeling more unsettled than satisfied. Solid four stars, and I could see myself pushing this up to five if I find myself thinking about it long after having finished it.
This is kind of a masterpiece. At some point in the future, I’m totally going to forget about books six and seven and think this is how Harry Potter eThis is kind of a masterpiece. At some point in the future, I’m totally going to forget about books six and seven and think this is how Harry Potter ended.
For lovers of Harry Potter and Handmaid’s Tale, with tons of content warnings.
Wow, this was excellent. It’s a retelling of the life of Xishi from Ancient China—I wasn’t familiar with the original story, but this book was compareWow, this was excellent. It’s a retelling of the life of Xishi from Ancient China—I wasn’t familiar with the original story, but this book was compared to *She Who Became the Sun* (which I loved) so I picked it up right away. It definitely had similarities: the writing was top notch, we had an amazing female protagonist, and the characters were all complex and interesting.
I couldn’t put it down.
I do want to note: I’m seeing this shelved in lots of places as fantasy or romantasy, and while it is the retelling of a legend, there aren’t really any fantasy elements. Don’t let that stop you, though! It certainly *reads* like a fantasy book in terms of scope and pacing.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!...more
Kristin Hannah tells the forgotten story of the women in Vietnam, the nurses who risked their lives.
There were times this was going to be a five starKristin Hannah tells the forgotten story of the women in Vietnam, the nurses who risked their lives.
There were times this was going to be a five star book for me: it was engaging and moved quickly and something exciting was always happening. But, like, did every man who interacted with her need to fall in love with the main character? And the book ended up being more predictable than I would have liked.
Overall, this was a good book: I appreciated that Hannah is telling this story and that this was clearly a passion project for her, and I’d recommend it to others. I just didn’t find it quite at the same level as The Nightingale.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!...more
My Uchinanchu heritage has always meant a lot to me, but this book made me realize there’s so much I didn’t know. My Grandma survived WWII on Okinawa,My Uchinanchu heritage has always meant a lot to me, but this book made me realize there’s so much I didn’t know. My Grandma survived WWII on Okinawa, and I hadn’t realized until now how truly horrific and traumatizing that must have been for her. ...more
I have done it. After nearly four months (reading between other books, right before falling asleep at night), I have done it.
And you know, I can’t evI have done it. After nearly four months (reading between other books, right before falling asleep at night), I have done it.
And you know, I can’t even tell if I’m giving this five stars because I loved it or if I feel obligated to from the high of the accomplishment of getting through it.
I certainly cared about the characters and learned a lot about Russia in the early 19th century and of France’s invasion of Russia. But this was part political science, part propaganda, and part philosophy, and I did not enjoy all of the parts. I loved anything with the characters in it, but I found the war parts kind of boring and Tolstoy definitely hammers his points of view home over and over again....more
This is only my second Natasha Pulley book--I read The Kingdoms earlier this year--and I can say pretty confidently that she's now one of my favorite This is only my second Natasha Pulley book--I read The Kingdoms earlier this year--and I can say pretty confidently that she's now one of my favorite authors. She weaves wonderful, complex stories around three-dimensional characters, and she writes beautifully.
This book follows Valery Kolkhanov, a nuclear scientist, from his time in Siberia to the mysterious City 40 in the middle of the Cold War at the height of nuclear tension. This book is very much in Pulley's style: there's a bit of mystery, a bit of adventure, strong LGBT representation, very high stakes, and generally good people who do terrible things without guilt.
With everything going on with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, reading this book now felt timely.
And just a note: people are preemptively shelving this book as fantasy or speculative fiction. It's not. This is a pretty straightforward historical fiction book, and Pulley includes notes in the back grounding the book to real historical events.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
This is a beautiful memoir written for a middle grade audience. Don't skip the Afterword and Author's Note--I cried.This is a beautiful memoir written for a middle grade audience. Don't skip the Afterword and Author's Note--I cried....more
Given it took me four months to finish this due to COVID-19 and my lack of opportunities to listen to audiobooks (I usually do so while driving to theGiven it took me four months to finish this due to COVID-19 and my lack of opportunities to listen to audiobooks (I usually do so while driving to the office or flying for work travel), I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected to, but I did learn a lot. I've always wanted to learn more about Churchill, and this was an engaging way to do it.
I bet that if I'd been able to listen to this over the course of a few weeks rather than four months, this would've been a five star listen....more
Well, that was disappointing. The beginning is very, very slow. And then it gets pretty good. But then the ending is pretty terrible.
I think, for me, Well, that was disappointing. The beginning is very, very slow. And then it gets pretty good. But then the ending is pretty terrible.
I think, for me, I was disappointed that I couldn't feel the friendship between Elise and Mariko. Sure, they seemed like close friends, but their short friendship didn't seem like it should have made the lasting impression that it did. As their friendship was supposed to be the whole point of the book, I was dissatisfied.
And a side note for the author: Hsiu is not even kind of a Japanese last name and should not be given to a Japanese character....more