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leahsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. I am providing an honest review voluntarily.
The premise of the book sounded great. The bones of the story were good, but there were definitely some things I didn't like about the book.
TRIGGER WARNING: bombing, gore, sexual assault, and death of pets
First and foremost, the text was overly descriptive, and and was heavily overburdened by information that was unrelated to the plot. The descriptions were so incredibly detailed that it took me off topic and made it easy for the plot to get lost. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, leading to chapters that were excessively long and kind of boring. The entire story is narrated through the point of view of various characters, including two pet dogs. The chapter with the dogs really lost me. As much as I love dogs, the story being told from their point of view involved complex humanized emotions that wasn't believable.
The entire time I read, I waited to find out what actually happened. The story went from the future and worked backwards, with scattered periods out of order. I found myself often getting distracted, and waiting for something to happen. There was a lot of focus on the status of a woman who was sexually assaulted, and I didn't especially love how it was handled by any of the characters. When the end of the book finally arrived, the final chapter would have been sufficient, except for the presence of an epilogue that was completely unnecessary.
Overall, the book had so much potential, but maybe because it was originally written in a language other than it was translated to, it left something lacking for me.
The premise of the book sounded great. The bones of the story were good, but there were definitely some things I didn't like about the book.
TRIGGER WARNING: bombing, gore, sexual assault, and death of pets
First and foremost, the text was overly descriptive, and and was heavily overburdened by information that was unrelated to the plot. The descriptions were so incredibly detailed that it took me off topic and made it easy for the plot to get lost. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, leading to chapters that were excessively long and kind of boring. The entire story is narrated through the point of view of various characters, including two pet dogs. The chapter with the dogs really lost me. As much as I love dogs, the story being told from their point of view involved complex humanized emotions that wasn't believable.
The entire time I read, I waited to find out what actually happened. The story went from the future and worked backwards, with scattered periods out of order. I found myself often getting distracted, and waiting for something to happen. There was a lot of focus on the status of a woman who was sexually assaulted, and I didn't especially love how it was handled by any of the characters. When the end of the book finally arrived, the final chapter would have been sufficient, except for the presence of an epilogue that was completely unnecessary.
Overall, the book had so much potential, but maybe because it was originally written in a language other than it was translated to, it left something lacking for me.
jennderqueer's review against another edition
5.0
This was beautiful. Difficult to read, it's about three men and a woman whose lives intertwine in rural China during WW2 and it doesn't shy away from either the horrors of war or the little struggles of everyday life. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
macaronoui's review against another edition
4.0
Includes spoilers!
The book centers around one woman, and the men all claim her in their own way. What I was struck with is how much she gave up for them versus what she got in return.
The writing and translation was beautiful.
The story was a bit long winded in certain bits. Sometimes it was a little confusing with story belonged to which man, but luckily there were small summaries in between with clearly guided me towards the correct man.
Now I know this might sound odd, but the section told by the two dogs was both my favorite and least favorite part of the book. I understand they had a better overview and reason to tell a part of the story from their perspective, but if we were adding in new things, I would have liked to read more from Ah Yan/Stella/Wende's perspective.
I haven't been able to verify how much of the story was historically inaccurate/accurate, but it was fascinating to learn more about the wars and how it affected everyone. Wars have no real winners, and everybody is branded with it for life.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
The book centers around one woman, and the men all claim her in their own way. What I was struck with is how much she gave up for them versus what she got in return.
The writing and translation was beautiful.
The story was a bit long winded in certain bits. Sometimes it was a little confusing with story belonged to which man, but luckily there were small summaries in between with clearly guided me towards the correct man.
Now I know this might sound odd, but the section told by the two dogs was both my favorite and least favorite part of the book. I understand they had a better overview and reason to tell a part of the story from their perspective, but if we were adding in new things, I would have liked to read more from Ah Yan/Stella/Wende's perspective.
I haven't been able to verify how much of the story was historically inaccurate/accurate, but it was fascinating to learn more about the wars and how it affected everyone. Wars have no real winners, and everybody is branded with it for life.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
sbnich's review against another edition
3.0
3.5, for a unique story with solid literary quality.
Three ghosts narrate a story of a woman they refer to by three different names over the course of a few years in the deep Chinese countryside during WWII.
The premise is interesting, the audio narration and writing is solid, but I struggled with the subject. A woman, whose life is told by 3 men (and 2 dogs!), who never gets to say what her name is or what she feels for each of the three who pay a monumental part in her life - a father figure, the father OF her child, and the father TO her child. Her voice is entirely silent, told only via the lens of the men around her.
Worth a read if only for the value of reading a a great translation about a piece of history and a country and culture of which I know little about.
Three ghosts narrate a story of a woman they refer to by three different names over the course of a few years in the deep Chinese countryside during WWII.
The premise is interesting, the audio narration and writing is solid, but I struggled with the subject. A woman, whose life is told by 3 men (and 2 dogs!), who never gets to say what her name is or what she feels for each of the three who pay a monumental part in her life - a father figure, the father OF her child, and the father TO her child. Her voice is entirely silent, told only via the lens of the men around her.
Worth a read if only for the value of reading a a great translation about a piece of history and a country and culture of which I know little about.
tinybibliophile'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!
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.