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onepgatatime's review against another edition
4.0
This book is incredibly beautiful. The reality it paints is remarkable. Please read and add to your understanding of history.
cathd80's review against another edition
3.0
The narrator in Green Island is born on the night in 1947 when the tension between the factions in Taiwan explode into civil violence. Her father, a doctor, in attending a community meeting the next night and quietly asking for a cessation of the police brutality becomes a marked man. Before she is even two weeks’ old he disappears from their lives, leaving her, her three siblings and his wife behind. With him gone the family loses their home and moves in with her mother's parents, all without knowing whether he is dead or alive. Author Shawna Yang Ryan follows the family and the narrator through their lives as they are pushed and pulled by opposing government forces wanting, not only control of their island, but of their national heritage.
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://wp.me/p2B7gG-1yA
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://wp.me/p2B7gG-1yA
teaandlibri's review against another edition
3.0
Decent read and I learned a bit. I was excited for this book after hearing about it from somewhere that I can't remember as usual. However, I was fascinated about a story that takes place in Taiwan during a tumultuous time period that I know very little about. I can't recall if I've ever read a book that takes place in Taiwan for a good chunk of the book so it seemed like an interesting read.
The unnamed narrator is born right before her father is taken away and imprisoned for more than a decades. In the meantime, the narrator's family copes by soldiering on, living life after fleeing their home. Once the narrator's father is released, the family sees he is a broken man, tortured and with the memories of unspeakable things. Time passes, the narrator grows up, gets married and moves to the US, hopefully for a better life. Unfortunately with these types of books, she cannot fully flee her past and she is faced with a situation as old ghosts come to haunt her and her family.
The first half or so of the book was fascinating. Reading up on Taiwan in this time period was really interesting and it was definitely educational. That said, the book is a bit too long/needed better editing. The story was really good but sometimes the author is too detailed and the story is just a bit too slow-going at times. While the historical setting was really great, once the narrator moves to the US the book really begins to decline. I found the narrator's birth family fascinating--I just didn't care as much for her husband and children.
I found the book a bit unsatisfying as a whole. The beginning was interesting but a review on Goodreads talks about how it apparently took 14 years for the author to research and publish this. It feels like it, without the heavy hand of a good editor to really sort out what should have stayed and what should have been left. A book that came to mind after reading this was 'The Headmaster's Wager', which focused on the conflict solely before, during and after the Vietnam War. I think this book might have been stronger if the author had stayed in Taiwan. That the narrator couldn't quite escape her past in the US was of course very interesting, but I'm not sure it fully worked.
That said, it was worth the read and I'd certainly be interested in other books by the author. This might be best for a snowy weekend/weeks or a long period of time (like recuperating from an injury). Made for a good borrow from the library.
The unnamed narrator is born right before her father is taken away and imprisoned for more than a decades. In the meantime, the narrator's family copes by soldiering on, living life after fleeing their home. Once the narrator's father is released, the family sees he is a broken man, tortured and with the memories of unspeakable things. Time passes, the narrator grows up, gets married and moves to the US, hopefully for a better life. Unfortunately with these types of books, she cannot fully flee her past and she is faced with a situation as old ghosts come to haunt her and her family.
The first half or so of the book was fascinating. Reading up on Taiwan in this time period was really interesting and it was definitely educational. That said, the book is a bit too long/needed better editing. The story was really good but sometimes the author is too detailed and the story is just a bit too slow-going at times. While the historical setting was really great, once the narrator moves to the US the book really begins to decline. I found the narrator's birth family fascinating--I just didn't care as much for her husband and children.
I found the book a bit unsatisfying as a whole. The beginning was interesting but a review on Goodreads talks about how it apparently took 14 years for the author to research and publish this. It feels like it, without the heavy hand of a good editor to really sort out what should have stayed and what should have been left. A book that came to mind after reading this was 'The Headmaster's Wager', which focused on the conflict solely before, during and after the Vietnam War. I think this book might have been stronger if the author had stayed in Taiwan. That the narrator couldn't quite escape her past in the US was of course very interesting, but I'm not sure it fully worked.
That said, it was worth the read and I'd certainly be interested in other books by the author. This might be best for a snowy weekend/weeks or a long period of time (like recuperating from an injury). Made for a good borrow from the library.
tactiics's review against another edition
3.0
The characterization is pretty flat, which is fine for the most part bc it's clear the book is more interested in/insistent on the story as a vehicle for sharing a history/perspective/knowledge base, but the last third ends up dragging as a result and the grander themes and even the interesting contradictions are never fully fleshed out.
signeskov's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Body horror, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Torture
Minor: Deportation, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
robynryle's review against another edition
4.0
This was a beautiful book, full of a history of Taiwan about which I was completely ignorant and so it opened up a whole new world. In the past I would have read this with a sense of safety and security about all the things that could never happen in America. Reading it now, I see that in an authoritarian regime, whether you're silent or not won't save you in the end. Tyrants don't really care about guilt or innocence. In fact, terror that is random and senseless is much more effective.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t know nearly enough about Taiwan and its complicated history, which fact swiftly became apparent as I read Green Island. Ryan’s novel covers a sweeping number of years, focusing on the ripple effects within one family of the father’s decade-long imprisonment by Chinese nationalists. His family assumes he is dead, and his youngest daughter, our main character, can’t even remember what her father looked like because she was an infant when he was taken away. Imagine the tectonic shift that occurs when he arrives back home years later, a changed man integrating back into a changed family.
Her father isn’t the only one with political ideals to uphold. The narrator, once grown, and her husband also find themselves drawn into a dangerous web of secret meetings and risky alliances. I wish I had read more non-fiction on this topic before reading Green Island, so I could have felt the weight of the suspense more keenly. The main character is so quiet and reflective, her narration so understated, some of the impact was lost on me. If I’d had a better grasp on the historical foundation beforehand, I might not have wished for someone to come in with a megaphone all like “THIS PART IS SCARY” or “THAT RIGHT THERE IS SUPER SIGNIFICANT.”
Bottom line for me: more research needed.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Her father isn’t the only one with political ideals to uphold. The narrator, once grown, and her husband also find themselves drawn into a dangerous web of secret meetings and risky alliances. I wish I had read more non-fiction on this topic before reading Green Island, so I could have felt the weight of the suspense more keenly. The main character is so quiet and reflective, her narration so understated, some of the impact was lost on me. If I’d had a better grasp on the historical foundation beforehand, I might not have wished for someone to come in with a megaphone all like “THIS PART IS SCARY” or “THAT RIGHT THERE IS SUPER SIGNIFICANT.”
Bottom line for me: more research needed.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
rhodaj's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
kdowli01's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
taylor_lin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25