Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

4 reviews

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a terrific multi-generation historical fiction book.  The history of the Chinese-Japanese War and the Civil War that followed it was new to me.  And I think this might be the first book I've read with a setting in Taiwan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

abundance_of_fiction's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wish I could give half stars because this is truly a 4.5 ⭐️ book for me! The only think keeping it from being 5 ⭐️ was the pace of the last half of the book; it really slowed for me during the transition of Henry/Lilly, before it picked back up at the end.

The story itself was such a beautiful exploration into how war/life effects three different generations.

Meilin and Renshu’s migration and war journey was so compelling and the things that Meilin endured to get to Thailand was so heartbreaking. Then Renshu/Henry feeling like he had to abandon his culture to assimilate and avoid “politics” forced the reader to consider how he was still fighting a war, even if it looked completely different. (The scene where he has PTSD to the war after JFK was so jarring and emotional). Finally, Lily describing her desire to understand her culture, but then still not really being apart of it, brought a different kind of sadness. Especially when Lily states that she just wanted to belong.
The conclusion, and the passage of heritage -finally- from father to daughter was such a beautiful moment. I teared up thinking about all the pain that Renshu had to acknowledge, in order to finally let his daughter in on what his life had really been like. The repetition of stories from grandmother to his daughter felt like a nod to all the ways that we can try to move on but that there is this common thread that lingers.

I’m ranting, but the story was beautiful and I have so many emotions. In short, loved it. Melissa Fu is a phenomenal storyteller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and War

chaitai00's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Colonisation

julianh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, and War