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quinnster's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know why, but I just don't enjoy Lisa See's mystery novels as much as I enjoyed her historical fiction books. Which coming from me is bizarre as I don't particularly like historical fiction, but love mysteries! Still, I love getting lost in the Chinese culture and descriptions of the country.
anjanette's review against another edition
4.0
One of this novel's focuses is on how Western companies would set up sweatshops in Far Eastern countries. I really enjoy See's writing, although I had a major problem with one of the plot twists at the end. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
stefhyena's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this one a whole, whole lot better than the flower net, because it centred Hulan more and portrayed Stark as a bumbling incompetent mainly as soon as he is out of his white boys' club. Well I am oversimplifying but it wasn't all about him. I still felt irritated at their relationship but there were signs that even Hulan was a little bit ambivalent about it.
I had a love-hate relationship with all the contradictions in the book. Hulan's actions in the past, during the war are still troubling, as is the scene where she (quite pointlessly since it is probably going to happen anyway incites restributive torture and mob violence against a man who has not had a trial). These are portrayed besides American practices that get diluted down and are only criticised when excessive (American capitalism is shown as fantastic for China except when people go too far and cut corners). I can't say more on that without spoilers.
I wanted a bit more admission of how colonialism and capitalism are linked and are not just open to the odd problem but in many ways ARE the problem itself. Also I would cope better with the harshness toward Chines culture if there was more honesty about American culture, rather than seeing possible critiques as just stemming from Chinese exotic ways of being. It's sort of there but too often diluted or apologised for (and the ending undercuts most of the critique).
The very negative view of Chines history and Chines culture are probably in large part based in fact, on the other hand a friend of mine who grew up in China and has only recently come to Australia stared at me in bemusement when I tried to ask her about the facts...maybe this is partly due to the fact this book is two decades old, but also maybe it's an outsider's view. I get the impression the author is more American than Chinese (although she fought well against her bias).
The best thing about the book was that it was genuinely interesting. I wish we had found out what happens to Peanut and Siang ultimately, I strongly connected with those characters, as well as Stark's Chinese assistant. I read the whole thing pretty fast despite going back to work and having limited time because it was a super interesting page-turner of a read. Hulan is strong and courageous and contradictory enough for me to like her as a heroine and Stark has calmed the hell down.
I think I will read the third one sometimes. I may read other things from Lisa See. Despite the things I have criticised I really liked having a Chinese heroine and a relatively diverse cast.
I had a love-hate relationship with all the contradictions in the book. Hulan's actions in the past, during the war are still troubling, as is the scene where she (quite pointlessly since it is probably going to happen anyway incites restributive torture and mob violence against a man who has not had a trial). These are portrayed besides American practices that get diluted down and are only criticised when excessive (American capitalism is shown as fantastic for China except when people go too far and cut corners). I can't say more on that without spoilers.
I wanted a bit more admission of how colonialism and capitalism are linked and are not just open to the odd problem but in many ways ARE the problem itself. Also I would cope better with the harshness toward Chines culture if there was more honesty about American culture, rather than seeing possible critiques as just stemming from Chinese exotic ways of being. It's sort of there but too often diluted or apologised for (and the ending undercuts most of the critique).
The very negative view of Chines history and Chines culture are probably in large part based in fact, on the other hand a friend of mine who grew up in China and has only recently come to Australia stared at me in bemusement when I tried to ask her about the facts...maybe this is partly due to the fact this book is two decades old, but also maybe it's an outsider's view. I get the impression the author is more American than Chinese (although she fought well against her bias).
The best thing about the book was that it was genuinely interesting. I wish we had found out what happens to Peanut and Siang ultimately, I strongly connected with those characters, as well as Stark's Chinese assistant. I read the whole thing pretty fast despite going back to work and having limited time because it was a super interesting page-turner of a read. Hulan is strong and courageous and contradictory enough for me to like her as a heroine and Stark has calmed the hell down.
I think I will read the third one sometimes. I may read other things from Lisa See. Despite the things I have criticised I really liked having a Chinese heroine and a relatively diverse cast.
ksparks's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this second installment in the series as much as the first. Again, there are some far-fetched elements. Like how this case coincidentally involves both David and Hulan independently. And the way that the killer has a long drawn out dialogue where he explains everything. But I enjoyed the book anyway because of how much I learned about American corporations in China, the difference between the Interior and the cities in China, and Chinese-American relations.
ginadapooh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
encgolsen's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty good, but not my favorite by this author. It seemed to bog down a bit in legal and corporate explanations.