aksara_alpha's review against another edition
4.0
This book should put several trigger warnings on the title like : Violence, abused,
cmbohn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
lee's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not much of a “themed” reader (not deliberately anyway), so I consider it pure coincidence that I happened to pick up this book to read the day before Halloween. To clarify, this book is not a “spooky” read by any means, neither is it any genre even remotely related to this holiday – rather, the “coincidence” I am referring to is the fact that this story is narrated entirely by “ghosts.” Actually, to put it more precisely, from the moment the story opens in 2015, the 3 main characters – American missionary Pastor Billy, Chinese solider Liu Zhaohu, and gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson – are already dead. Pastor Billy died 70 years ago (in 1945), Liu Zhaohu joined him 18 years later (in 1963), and together, they waited another 52 years before Ian Ferguson was able to join them on that exact date -- August 15th, 2015. Now, before anyone starts chiding me for supposedly revealing “spoilers,” let me just say that all of the above is already revealed within the first few pages of the book – to that point, the entire basis of the story harkens back to a pact that the 3 men made on that day in 1945 when Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced (via radio broadcast) Japan’s surrender to Allied Forces, effectively bringing an end to World War II. Stationed in the small village of Yuehu, China at the time of the announcement, the 3 men make a pledge on that historic day stipulating that, after their deaths, their souls would return to Yuehu every year on the anniversary of the broadcast – however, due to the 3 of them dying at different times, it isn’t until 70 years later that they are finally able to fulfill the pledge they made so long ago. As the 3 of them come together to reminisce about a war that changed the course of their lives forever, it soon becomes clear that each of their stories is tied to that of one woman whom all of them loved but lost, and it is her life that’s truly the focus here. This woman, whose given name from birth is Yao Guiyan, is simultaneously known to Liu Zhaohu as Ah Yan (or “swallow”), to Pastor Billy as Stella (meaning “star”), and to Ian Ferguson as Wende (transliteration of “wind”). Ah Yan’s impact on these 3 men is profound -- despite the atrocities and suffering she endures in the face of a horrific war, she not only finds the courage to survive, but does so with remarkable grace and humanity. It is through the memories of this extraordinary woman that these 3 “ghosts”, scarred by the lasting effects of war, are able to finally understand the truths of what they experienced and reconcile the regrets of their pasts.
Knowing that the story is set during a time period of immense devastation and tragedy in World War II, I braced myself for a sad and difficult read going into this one – while both of these did ring true (the atrocities committed by the Japanese army were especially hard to read), this also turned out to be a story of resilience, courage, hope, and ultimately, the redemptive power of love, which thankfully helped to balance out the story in the end. I found the structure of the story an interesting one – each chapter is alternately narrated by 3 dead men, with 1 chapter in the middle narrated by 2 dogs (yes, you read that correctly) that also played significant roles in the story. Given this setup, this book definitely doesn’t fit nicely into one category in terms of genre – I felt that this fell more into the historical fiction genre, with elements of magical realism mixed in, which altogether put a unique spin to the story that made this a different reading experience for me. What I liked most though, is that the author Zhang Ling (a Chinese author based in Canada), in experimenting with form and structure, didn’t neglect the cultural elements that are so critical in a story such as this one. I read quite a bit of historical fiction, since it’s one of my favorite genres, and one of the things I always look for is a strong sense of time and place, to the point that I feel transported, as though living the same events alongside the characters. Having said that, when it comes to historical fiction within the context of a culture that I’m familiar with, I’m also a stickler for getting the cultural aspects right -- which I’ll admit I was worried about with this book once I learned that the story was originally written in Chinese and later translated into English. Perhaps because of my background, I understand first-hand how tricky it can be to translate from Chinese to English (plus I’ve read my fair share of poorly translated works over the years) and so this is a particularly sensitive area for me. With this book, while I can’t say that the translation was flawless (because as far as I’m concerned, translations are never 100% perfect), one thing I did appreciate was the effort made to render the cultural elements as authentically as possible. Of course, not having read the original book in Chinese, there’s no way for me to judge the accuracy of the translation word for word, but I am encouraged by the fact that the translator chose to keep Chinese names and phrases intact throughout the story (for example – in Liu Zhaohu’s chapters, the translator could’ve very easily referred to Ah Yan as “Swallow” or their village Sishiyi Bu as “Forty-One Steps Village” but instead, she mentioned the English translation of those words only once as a means of introduction – after that, the Chinese phrases were used for the remainder of the story). In addition, as a whole, I felt that the author did a pretty good job of balancing both the historical events and cultural elements in a way that made the reading experience an immersive one, though admittedly, the chapters involving Liu Zhaohu and Ah Yan as well as how life was like in their ancestral village of Sishiyi Bu were the most engaging for me.
Overall, this was a great story – poignant and heartbreaking in many areas, but also ultimately uplifting. The ending I thought was fitting and definitely got me a bit teary-eyed. My one complaint though (and the main reason why this ended up being 4 stars instead of 5) is that, despite Ah Yan’s story being the most important, we never got to hear her perspective directly. While I feel that the author did a good job of bringing Ah Yan as a character to life through the memories of the 3 men who loved her, I think this would’ve been a much more powerful and emotionally resonant story if we had gotten to hear Ah Yan’s perspective as well, even if it was only 1 chapter or as an epilogue at the end. In skimming through reviews, I know this was a deal-breaker for a few readers and while it wasn’t a huge issue to that extent for me, I can understand why it would’ve affected the reading experience for some. Regardless though, I would still recommend this one as a worthy read, if anything, because of the relative scarcity of WWII-related fiction out in the mainstream nowadays that is either written from the Asian perspective or covers the events that unfolded across the Asian continent during that time period. Much of what happened in China and other Asian countries back then was no less tragic than what had happened in Europe, but in general, is much less talked about outside of Asia. Hopefully more of these stories can be heard in the future.
Received ARC from Amazon Crossing via NetGalley
Knowing that the story is set during a time period of immense devastation and tragedy in World War II, I braced myself for a sad and difficult read going into this one – while both of these did ring true (the atrocities committed by the Japanese army were especially hard to read), this also turned out to be a story of resilience, courage, hope, and ultimately, the redemptive power of love, which thankfully helped to balance out the story in the end. I found the structure of the story an interesting one – each chapter is alternately narrated by 3 dead men, with 1 chapter in the middle narrated by 2 dogs (yes, you read that correctly) that also played significant roles in the story. Given this setup, this book definitely doesn’t fit nicely into one category in terms of genre – I felt that this fell more into the historical fiction genre, with elements of magical realism mixed in, which altogether put a unique spin to the story that made this a different reading experience for me. What I liked most though, is that the author Zhang Ling (a Chinese author based in Canada), in experimenting with form and structure, didn’t neglect the cultural elements that are so critical in a story such as this one. I read quite a bit of historical fiction, since it’s one of my favorite genres, and one of the things I always look for is a strong sense of time and place, to the point that I feel transported, as though living the same events alongside the characters. Having said that, when it comes to historical fiction within the context of a culture that I’m familiar with, I’m also a stickler for getting the cultural aspects right -- which I’ll admit I was worried about with this book once I learned that the story was originally written in Chinese and later translated into English. Perhaps because of my background, I understand first-hand how tricky it can be to translate from Chinese to English (plus I’ve read my fair share of poorly translated works over the years) and so this is a particularly sensitive area for me. With this book, while I can’t say that the translation was flawless (because as far as I’m concerned, translations are never 100% perfect), one thing I did appreciate was the effort made to render the cultural elements as authentically as possible. Of course, not having read the original book in Chinese, there’s no way for me to judge the accuracy of the translation word for word, but I am encouraged by the fact that the translator chose to keep Chinese names and phrases intact throughout the story (for example – in Liu Zhaohu’s chapters, the translator could’ve very easily referred to Ah Yan as “Swallow” or their village Sishiyi Bu as “Forty-One Steps Village” but instead, she mentioned the English translation of those words only once as a means of introduction – after that, the Chinese phrases were used for the remainder of the story). In addition, as a whole, I felt that the author did a pretty good job of balancing both the historical events and cultural elements in a way that made the reading experience an immersive one, though admittedly, the chapters involving Liu Zhaohu and Ah Yan as well as how life was like in their ancestral village of Sishiyi Bu were the most engaging for me.
Overall, this was a great story – poignant and heartbreaking in many areas, but also ultimately uplifting. The ending I thought was fitting and definitely got me a bit teary-eyed. My one complaint though (and the main reason why this ended up being 4 stars instead of 5) is that, despite Ah Yan’s story being the most important, we never got to hear her perspective directly. While I feel that the author did a good job of bringing Ah Yan as a character to life through the memories of the 3 men who loved her, I think this would’ve been a much more powerful and emotionally resonant story if we had gotten to hear Ah Yan’s perspective as well, even if it was only 1 chapter or as an epilogue at the end. In skimming through reviews, I know this was a deal-breaker for a few readers and while it wasn’t a huge issue to that extent for me, I can understand why it would’ve affected the reading experience for some. Regardless though, I would still recommend this one as a worthy read, if anything, because of the relative scarcity of WWII-related fiction out in the mainstream nowadays that is either written from the Asian perspective or covers the events that unfolded across the Asian continent during that time period. Much of what happened in China and other Asian countries back then was no less tragic than what had happened in Europe, but in general, is much less talked about outside of Asia. Hopefully more of these stories can be heard in the future.
Received ARC from Amazon Crossing via NetGalley
minniethepooh's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, especially the structure and the unique way that Zhang chose to tell the story. There were definitely bits that made me uncomfortable, but not in an overly gratuitous way.
tinybiblio's review against another edition
4.0
My Review:⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
I have not seen this featured around #bookstagram much - it a English translation from a book that Ling Zhang wrote in 2017. It is a slower read, but a beautiful and epic story about 3 men whose lives intertwined at one point in their lives in 1945 after Japan surrendered. Pastor Billy, soldier Ian Ferguson, and local Chinese soldier Liu Zhaohu. They are all linked by 1 woman (Ah Yan, name meaning Swallow) that they were all in love with at one point. After the war, they made a pact for their souls to always visit each other at the same spot on the same day every year. The format is a journal/diary-like voice from each man’s perspective on their time in China and how they came to be there, how they fell for Ah Yeh, and what happened to them after the war. The pace is on the slower slide, but it is an absolutely beautiful story. Ah Yan’s story is truly heartbreaking with all that she had to deal with simply because she was a woman during that time. There was a chapter in the middle that had a military dog involved and I was sobbing like a child by the end of it. This reminded me of the Clockmaker’s Daughter in terms of style and pace. Highly recommend if you want a more epic story during WWII, but of the Allied forces in China, fighting against Japan.
Thank you @netgalley and @amazoncrossing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! It is out on Sept 15!
I have not seen this featured around #bookstagram much - it a English translation from a book that Ling Zhang wrote in 2017. It is a slower read, but a beautiful and epic story about 3 men whose lives intertwined at one point in their lives in 1945 after Japan surrendered. Pastor Billy, soldier Ian Ferguson, and local Chinese soldier Liu Zhaohu. They are all linked by 1 woman (Ah Yan, name meaning Swallow) that they were all in love with at one point. After the war, they made a pact for their souls to always visit each other at the same spot on the same day every year. The format is a journal/diary-like voice from each man’s perspective on their time in China and how they came to be there, how they fell for Ah Yeh, and what happened to them after the war. The pace is on the slower slide, but it is an absolutely beautiful story. Ah Yan’s story is truly heartbreaking with all that she had to deal with simply because she was a woman during that time. There was a chapter in the middle that had a military dog involved and I was sobbing like a child by the end of it. This reminded me of the Clockmaker’s Daughter in terms of style and pace. Highly recommend if you want a more epic story during WWII, but of the Allied forces in China, fighting against Japan.
Thank you @netgalley and @amazoncrossing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! It is out on Sept 15!
jessreads82's review against another edition
Beautiful writing, but I’m getting lost in the story of the three different POV and constantly changing of the person the characters are addressing. Not for me
dahparra's review against another edition
5.0
Quando peguei "A Single Swallow" emprestado no Kindle Unlimited, eu não sabia muito bem o que esperar. A sinopse não deixava muito claro o quão interessante a escrita de Zhang Ling é, mas já me deixou curiosa ao mencionar que o livro foi ganhador de prêmios literários.
Pois bem, eis que fui completamente fisgada pela história de Ah Yan. Esta não é uma história fácil, aliás. Ambientada na segunda guerra mundial em um pequeno vilarejo chinês, temos a perspectiva de três homens cujas vidas se cruzam por conta de uma mesma garota. Ah Yan passa pela vida dos três protagonistas, mas claramente essa é a história dela.
O próprio título do livro - "A Single Swallow" - é uma referência clara a Ah Yan, cujo apelido de infância era "Andorinha" (Swallow, em inglês). Não apenas isso - mas Ah Yan teve um papel especial na vida dos três protagonistas de forma a definir o futuro de cada um deles.
Nossos três protagonistas que narram a história - Pastor Billy, Ian Ferguson e Liu Zhaohu - são homens que não poderiam ser mais diferentes entre si. Porém, a guerra faz com que suas vidas se cruzem e eles acabam por se tornar iguais em frente à enormidade da guerra e à enormidade de seu amor por Ah Yan. No ódio da guerra e no amor por uma garota, eles se tornaram iguais.
Entretanto, assim como o amor pode trazer o melhor das pessoas, ele também pode deixar terríveis marcas e mostrar lados não tão belos de cada um. Billy, Ian e Zhaohu amaram Ah Yan, mas o egoísmo de cada um acabou por marcá-la, cada um a seu modo. E isso a fez ser uma mulher extremamente forte, independente e endurecida pela vida.
Eu passei a admirar Ah Yan como fazia tempo que não admirava uma outra personagem feminina. No início do livro, ela era como uma irmã mais nova que eu queria proteger e cuidar. Com o passar do tempo nas páginas do livro, ela foi se moldando uma personagem admirável, cuja força me inspirou fortemente.
Falando em personagens, a própria guerra coabita essa história, atuando como muito mais do que um simples pano de fundo. Em certos momentos, ela estava tão intricada na vida das personagens e nas consequências que trouxe para cada uma, que era como se a própria guerra também fosse uma personagem, sempre à espreita para mudar o destino de cada um.
Referindo-se à guerra, uma frase que me marcou muito foi de que "essa é uma história de pessoas cujas vidas se entrelaçaram não por causa de amor, mas por causa do ódio. Do ódio dos outros".
Falando um pouco sobre a escrita de Zhang Ling e o que mais me chamou a atenção neste livro, e que eu achei particularmente genial, é que a história é narrada por fantasmas. A história começa com o fantasma do Pastor Billy contando a história, aguardando por seus companheiros de guerra se reunirem a ele no pós-vida para complementarem a história.
Achei esse detalhe simplesmente incrível, diferente de tudo o que já li, e de uma delicadeza que fez toda a diferença na história. A escrita da autora é sensível, mas objetiva e muito tocante.
Outro ponto alto vai para um dos capítulos do livro que é narrado por Ghost, um cão de guerra que acompanha Ian no acampamento americano na China. É impossível ler essas passagens e não se apaixonar por Ghost e admirar sua lealdade aos companheiros humanos, sua inteligência e destreza canina.
Já aviso que a história de "A Single Swallow" é dolorida. Eu chorei em diversos momentos, e em outros meu coração se apertou ao ler sobre as atrocidades da guerra, suas lágrimas e vidas desperdiçadas. Eu me importava demais com cada uma das personagens: Ah Yan, Pastor Billy, Liu e o cãozinho Ghost. A autora criou personagens vivas, que respiravam, sofriam e amavam, e amei acompanhar a história delas. Mesmo após ter terminado o livro, me pego parando para lembrar de certas passagens ou certos momentos.
Acho que esses são os livros que de fato fazem diferença na nossa vida: eles permanecem com a gente.
Pois bem, eis que fui completamente fisgada pela história de Ah Yan. Esta não é uma história fácil, aliás. Ambientada na segunda guerra mundial em um pequeno vilarejo chinês, temos a perspectiva de três homens cujas vidas se cruzam por conta de uma mesma garota. Ah Yan passa pela vida dos três protagonistas, mas claramente essa é a história dela.
O próprio título do livro - "A Single Swallow" - é uma referência clara a Ah Yan, cujo apelido de infância era "Andorinha" (Swallow, em inglês). Não apenas isso - mas Ah Yan teve um papel especial na vida dos três protagonistas de forma a definir o futuro de cada um deles.
Nossos três protagonistas que narram a história - Pastor Billy, Ian Ferguson e Liu Zhaohu - são homens que não poderiam ser mais diferentes entre si. Porém, a guerra faz com que suas vidas se cruzem e eles acabam por se tornar iguais em frente à enormidade da guerra e à enormidade de seu amor por Ah Yan. No ódio da guerra e no amor por uma garota, eles se tornaram iguais.
Entretanto, assim como o amor pode trazer o melhor das pessoas, ele também pode deixar terríveis marcas e mostrar lados não tão belos de cada um. Billy, Ian e Zhaohu amaram Ah Yan, mas o egoísmo de cada um acabou por marcá-la, cada um a seu modo. E isso a fez ser uma mulher extremamente forte, independente e endurecida pela vida.
Eu passei a admirar Ah Yan como fazia tempo que não admirava uma outra personagem feminina. No início do livro, ela era como uma irmã mais nova que eu queria proteger e cuidar. Com o passar do tempo nas páginas do livro, ela foi se moldando uma personagem admirável, cuja força me inspirou fortemente.
Falando em personagens, a própria guerra coabita essa história, atuando como muito mais do que um simples pano de fundo. Em certos momentos, ela estava tão intricada na vida das personagens e nas consequências que trouxe para cada uma, que era como se a própria guerra também fosse uma personagem, sempre à espreita para mudar o destino de cada um.
Referindo-se à guerra, uma frase que me marcou muito foi de que "essa é uma história de pessoas cujas vidas se entrelaçaram não por causa de amor, mas por causa do ódio. Do ódio dos outros".
Falando um pouco sobre a escrita de Zhang Ling e o que mais me chamou a atenção neste livro, e que eu achei particularmente genial, é que a história é narrada por fantasmas. A história começa com o fantasma do Pastor Billy contando a história, aguardando por seus companheiros de guerra se reunirem a ele no pós-vida para complementarem a história.
Achei esse detalhe simplesmente incrível, diferente de tudo o que já li, e de uma delicadeza que fez toda a diferença na história. A escrita da autora é sensível, mas objetiva e muito tocante.
Outro ponto alto vai para um dos capítulos do livro que é narrado por Ghost, um cão de guerra que acompanha Ian no acampamento americano na China. É impossível ler essas passagens e não se apaixonar por Ghost e admirar sua lealdade aos companheiros humanos, sua inteligência e destreza canina.
Já aviso que a história de "A Single Swallow" é dolorida. Eu chorei em diversos momentos, e em outros meu coração se apertou ao ler sobre as atrocidades da guerra, suas lágrimas e vidas desperdiçadas. Eu me importava demais com cada uma das personagens: Ah Yan, Pastor Billy, Liu e o cãozinho Ghost. A autora criou personagens vivas, que respiravam, sofriam e amavam, e amei acompanhar a história delas. Mesmo após ter terminado o livro, me pego parando para lembrar de certas passagens ou certos momentos.
Acho que esses são os livros que de fato fazem diferença na nossa vida: eles permanecem com a gente.