Scan barcode
A review by drey72
Diamond Head by Cecily Wong
3.0
Diamond Head is the story of a family's loves, lives, and losses, across multiple generations. It's told from the viewpoints of the women in the family - Frank's wife Lin, her sister/servant Hong, his daughter-in-law Amy, and his granddaughter Theresa; and in alternating timelines, which sometimes confused me because this is all set in the past - it's not like we're switching between then and now, and I sometimes had to work at remembering which then we're in.
Cecily Wong weaves the historical events into a backdrop rich in cultural traditions and stories, and layers the characters over it to create a confection to inhale with a cup of tea. Diamond Head is a lovely story with elements that I appreciated, especially the cultural and heritage references. The only point it missed on, for me, was while I wanted to learn all of the whats and whys, I didn't really care for any of the characters. They were all human enough, they all had to make decisions that took them down a path that they might not have wanted or realized, but I didn't find any of them likable. And I'll be the first to admit it's my own worldview that's doing the judging here, but I want to like the people I'm reading about, especially if they share the same cultural history.
As different people have different worldviews, you may think I'm off my rocker - and that's ok.
drey's rating: Pick it up!
This review was originally posted on drey's library
Cecily Wong weaves the historical events into a backdrop rich in cultural traditions and stories, and layers the characters over it to create a confection to inhale with a cup of tea. Diamond Head is a lovely story with elements that I appreciated, especially the cultural and heritage references. The only point it missed on, for me, was while I wanted to learn all of the whats and whys, I didn't really care for any of the characters. They were all human enough, they all had to make decisions that took them down a path that they might not have wanted or realized, but I didn't find any of them likable. And I'll be the first to admit it's my own worldview that's doing the judging here, but I want to like the people I'm reading about, especially if they share the same cultural history.
As different people have different worldviews, you may think I'm off my rocker - and that's ok.
drey's rating: Pick it up!
This review was originally posted on drey's library