saralynnburnett's review against another edition
4.0
Great book! I sat down on the airplane in Houston bound for Hawaii and when I looked up, I had finished the book and was 20 minutes from landing. I couldn't put it down. It has to be the best/most heart rendering description of the Great Leap Forward I've ever read. This is why I'm such a fan of historical fiction: when you attach emotion to facts, you'll remember the facts forever and now I feel like I'll never forget the terrible details of this time for China. I read the acknowledgments in the back and her book appears to be very well researched - Lisa See even traveled around China with Amy Tan and lifted scenes from historical photographs from the famine and put them right into her book. While the plot line is hard to believe at times (too many convenient "oh there you are! how weird to run into you on the street in a country full of billions of people" moments) the history behind it makes it an excellent book.
mamalemma's review against another edition
5.0
So much more than an Intergenerational story about mothers and daughters, this book is a compelling narrative about moving from political idealism to stark reality in Maoist China. Very powerful and emotionally difficult to read, but so, so good.
addierr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emdowd's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one better than Shanghai Girls. Would have been a really interesting addition to a particularly terrible Modern China class I took during undergrad.
tammiesven's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh... Joy is a Nightmare
SPOILERS
Joy is the worst. What a total pain in the ass.
I'm a fan of Lisa See and have enjoyed many of her other books. This one was lazy.
Joy, the hemorrhoid that she is, suddenly becomes a giant know it all (she wasn't portrayed this way in the previous book), and for not a good enough reason, scurries off to China. The same day she gets there, she conveniently runs into her biological father, who happens to be super accepting of a 20-year-old daughter just showing up out of nowhere. He's like sure, I'm in the middle of all this tense shit with the government, but why not come along to the country, my daughter from America, who isn't supposed to be here, and whom I knew nothing about.
Cue Joy falling in love with Tao, the mediocre peasant artist, who is so wonderful and who suddenly turns evil after the wedding. She continues to buy into all of the communist propaganda and turns a blind eye to people's heartache and suffering. Joy continues to listen to nothing anyone has been telling her. She's a total moron. She's cool with communism bc she's living it up with her dad bc he gets all sorts of perks.
Joy, running off to communist China, prompts her mother, Pearl, to chase after her. Forcing her to return to the country, she fled after a whole bunch of trauma when on there. So, like, hey Joy, you little jerk, making your mother chase after you and return to the country where she was violently gang raped and needed to escape- makes you a jerkface. UGH I really hate Joy. I would have just let her go live and suffer in China.
Joys actions upturn everyone's lives, and she continues to question people who are routinely trying to help her. Up to the very end.
It is one major convenient plot line after another. Even conveniently running into Pearl's father in the end...UGH! It's just awful. How this book has higher ratings than Shanghai Girls, I will never understand.
SPOILERS
Joy is the worst. What a total pain in the ass.
I'm a fan of Lisa See and have enjoyed many of her other books. This one was lazy.
Joy, the hemorrhoid that she is, suddenly becomes a giant know it all (she wasn't portrayed this way in the previous book), and for not a good enough reason, scurries off to China. The same day she gets there, she conveniently runs into her biological father, who happens to be super accepting of a 20-year-old daughter just showing up out of nowhere. He's like sure, I'm in the middle of all this tense shit with the government, but why not come along to the country, my daughter from America, who isn't supposed to be here, and whom I knew nothing about.
Cue Joy falling in love with Tao, the mediocre peasant artist, who is so wonderful and who suddenly turns evil after the wedding. She continues to buy into all of the communist propaganda and turns a blind eye to people's heartache and suffering. Joy continues to listen to nothing anyone has been telling her. She's a total moron. She's cool with communism bc she's living it up with her dad bc he gets all sorts of perks.
Joy, running off to communist China, prompts her mother, Pearl, to chase after her. Forcing her to return to the country, she fled after a whole bunch of trauma when on there. So, like, hey Joy, you little jerk, making your mother chase after you and return to the country where she was violently gang raped and needed to escape- makes you a jerkface. UGH I really hate Joy. I would have just let her go live and suffer in China.
Joys actions upturn everyone's lives, and she continues to question people who are routinely trying to help her. Up to the very end.
It is one major convenient plot line after another. Even conveniently running into Pearl's father in the end...UGH! It's just awful. How this book has higher ratings than Shanghai Girls, I will never understand.
amandameowly's review against another edition
4.0
As a sequel to Lisa See's, "Shanghai Girls," this book is phenomenal. It is an eye-opening piece of fiction inspired by true stories of people who lived in China during the fifties.
gengray47's review against another edition
4.0
So, I really, really liked this book. It was a wonderful sequel in this two part 'Beautiful Girls' series and definitely should be read if you've already finished Shanghai Girls. The best story (technically stories if counting the first) I've read about true family changes and growth. Joy was sometimes pretty irritating though. Makes you feel every emotion and gives an insight into some of China's past (although I'm not sure how accurate it is).
naiapard's review against another edition
Viața unei mame și fici în China comunistă a anilor 1957-1958. Tradus mot-a-mot ,,Vise de bucurie” sau ,,Vise îmbucurătoare” titlul oglindește naivitatea tinerei Joy care pornește în căutarea tatălui biologic. Pornește de acasă cu speranța și voința de a găsi o viață mai bună. O viață ce-i va satisface nevoia unui loc pe care să-l numească acasă.
Visul lui Joy a fost o lectură zguduitoare. Parcurgerea acestei relatări m-a ținut cu privirea în zare cu mult timp după ce i-am mângâiat toate paginile.
Există oameni care te schimbă la un nivel profund. Te inițiază.
Simboluri
-femei cu picioare legate;
-folosirea nisipului pus în cârpe pentru menstruație;
-10 frunze pe viață. Frunza unui arbore special care absoarbe sângele, era folosită în mod repetat de mai multe ori.
-numele de familie este luat din clanul în care se află sau intră (prin căsătorie, adopție, naștere) persoana respectivă
E una să ai parte de un fel de aventură în aer liber într-o vilă pentru câteva săptămâni și cu totul altceva să fii nevoită să trăiești așa pentru tot restul viețiiVisul lui Joy se va converti, însă, într-un coșmar pe măsură ce va realiza ceea ce a pierdut: o casă iubitoare. Joy va realiza asta odată cu venirea pe lume a fetiței ei.
Visul lui Joy a fost o lectură zguduitoare. Parcurgerea acestei relatări m-a ținut cu privirea în zare cu mult timp după ce i-am mângâiat toate paginile.
Există oameni care te schimbă la un nivel profund. Te inițiază.
Simboluri
-femei cu picioare legate;
-folosirea nisipului pus în cârpe pentru menstruație;
-10 frunze pe viață. Frunza unui arbore special care absoarbe sângele, era folosită în mod repetat de mai multe ori.
-numele de familie este luat din clanul în care se află sau intră (prin căsătorie, adopție, naștere) persoana respectivă