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

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’d had my eye on this book for a while, but decided to pick it up after it was long listed for the Giller prize this year. It tells the story of 4 people, 3 of whom are from the same family, through growing up during the cultural revolution in China, and immigrating to America.

I quite enjoyed this reading experience. While I think that the description on the book jacket doesn’t represent very well what you actually get in the book, I was really impressed with the writing. The way that the 4 storylines were interwoven over quite a long period of time and with many different side characters was well done. I felt invested in all of their stories. The way the author writes about music is beautiful, and I think that if you are a music person this is worth a read just for that.

The book description makes it sound like the book is more plot-centred than it is in my opinion. I wish that I hadn’t read the description because it left me expecting something from the book that I didn’t get. However, after more reflection on the book I did really enjoy it for what it was and would recommend it!
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