A review by brianaisgoingplaces
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng

challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a book that I had to take slow. Over the course of the novel, so much emotion bubbled through the characters and in turn to me. The novel takes place during China’s Cultural Revolution and beyond. While reading, I started to learn more about the time period and many of the things that came with it. It’s hard to imagine a total upheaval of life as you know it, and it was for many. Swimming Back to Trout River does a good job communicating the feelings of worry, fear, unrest, and pain that came along with it. 

Throughout the book, we follow a cast of characters, each trying to make sense of their roles in the world and muddling through life in the ways they feel best. They make frustrating decisions and hurt other people, and those qualities are the ones that make them feel especially human. I couldn’t really say that I liked many of the characters in this book (maybe our main residents of Trout River, Junie, Grandma, and Grandpa), but for the most part, I grew to understand them. 

I especially loved how this book was written. There were so many lines that actually made me stop and have to reflect, even going as far as having to turn the ideas over with others. The writing was really beautiful throughout, and I think that helped make the book all the more heartwrenching. 

While I read the book, I had a sense of foreboding, and the book did not (but really did) disappoint. I get why the ending wrapped up the way it did, but I didn’t want to be sad, and I definitely cried oops. 

I think I enjoyed this book infinitely because I read it as a buddy read, and because I read it after living in China for a year. It illuminated so many things for me, and I’m excited to take that knowledge and curiosity into my next year there. 
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