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A review by emilyusuallyreading
China Dolls by Lisa See
5.0
What I Liked
Lisa See absolutely swept me up in the era surrounding pre-WWII and into WWII.
Helen, Grace, and Ruby have very different voices. As they take turns narrating the novel, this is so important, and I was so impressed by See's ability to cultivate their voices in such strikingly different ways. For a while, I wondered if this was based on a true story, until the end when See admits it's fictional!
The renditions of WWII that I've heard have always come from a white-American perspective, Jewish perspective, German perspective, etc. I've never before read until now the struggles that it placed on Chinese-Americans. I had heard about the Japanese camps in the US, but I'd never read fiction about this.
Again See writes about the relationships between women and she captivates me once again.
Grace's character arc was my favorite in the story. She begins in one place and ends in entirely another, and while they all do, hers was the most realistic and tangible.
What I Didn't Like
At times, the glitz and the glam and the name-dropping become a little too much, but to me they really did not detract from the story itself.
Lisa See absolutely swept me up in the era surrounding pre-WWII and into WWII.
Helen, Grace, and Ruby have very different voices. As they take turns narrating the novel, this is so important, and I was so impressed by See's ability to cultivate their voices in such strikingly different ways. For a while, I wondered if this was based on a true story, until the end when See admits it's fictional!
The renditions of WWII that I've heard have always come from a white-American perspective, Jewish perspective, German perspective, etc. I've never before read until now the struggles that it placed on Chinese-Americans. I had heard about the Japanese camps in the US, but I'd never read fiction about this.
Again See writes about the relationships between women and she captivates me once again.
Grace's character arc was my favorite in the story. She begins in one place and ends in entirely another, and while they all do, hers was the most realistic and tangible.
What I Didn't Like
At times, the glitz and the glam and the name-dropping become a little too much, but to me they really did not detract from the story itself.