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lmurray74's review against another edition
4.0
Reading these stories was like putting on a well worn jumper. The book is a collection of short stories that are sometimes explicitly linked to others (through names, biographical detail) and sometimes the link may be more tenuous, or not exist. Themes that cross the stories include migration, living in Australia, being from China, working as an interpreter, motherhood, familial and amorous relationships, medical experience-personal, familial, mostly gynaecological, among others. I felt that I could relate to some of what the different characters experience, although from a very different cultural lens. I'm white Australian living overseas in the US and I have some experience with interpreting Spanish-English. Isabelle Li writes with great sensitivity and affection towards all the characters in the book. They are generally well fleshed out and the narrative does not travel a well worn path; I couldn't always predict what would happen next. I also appreciated the skill of leaving a story off at a key point so it is up to us, the reader, to imagine what might come next in the person's life. I think of a well worn jumper as I looked forward to reading these stories before bed and they didn't leave me out in the cold. I look forward to reading more of Isabelle Li's work.
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