Shawna Yang Ryan

I had a hard time with this book. There was so much about the nation's history that I didn't know, it became difficult to figure out what each element meant to the characters. I felt like I missed out of much of the subtle movements that could have made this very alive for me as a reader.
That being said, the story itself is very moving. I was touched many times, and that means that, once I was able to accept that the author just wasn't going to let me in on details, I focused only on the interactions of the characters.
And that ended up as the right choice. I really enjoyed this work...it has a lot to offer readers who are interested in the dynamics that form between people, even when they are only faint friends or neighbors. The impact of these events for the nation and its people really came through on the emotional level.
For a read that shows a different nation and the impact its policies had on its people, try The Family Made of Dust: A Novel of Loss and Rebirth in the Australian Outback.
4 stars!
… (mehr)

This is probably not the sort of book most readers will "enjoy," but it's one that I think most should read. Though the pace of the book slows significantly about halfway through, the story itself is so thought-provoking and contributes to the reader's historical knowledge that it's worth pushing through to the end. I could easily see this being a required reading in a literature course, or in a course on Asian history. Even beyond that, I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical reads, whether or not they have a specific interest in Asian culture.… (mehr)

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Although this book is on the darker side, I liked it. It deals with some of the tougher times that the people of Taiwan went through in their battle for a free country, told through the eyes of one woman starting at the day of her birth. The characters were well written, I felt almost like this was a memoir instead of a work of fiction. I also came out of this book with a little bit of a history lesson on Taiwan. I think the author did a great job researching this subject, and it made me interesting in learning even more and reading some of the works she referenced at the end.… (mehr)