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nadia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a great debut! I was engaged every step of the way and enjoyed the two main POVs/timelines and how they intertwined. It felt like a unique expat story/perspective than one I've typically read before.
Current Women's Prize 2024 Fiction Shortlist rankings:
1. River East, River West
2. Soldier Sailor
3. Restless Dolly Maunder
Current Women's Prize 2024 Fiction Shortlist rankings:
1. River East, River West
2. Soldier Sailor
3. Restless Dolly Maunder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Child death
beckyjzw's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
booksillremember's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I enjoy books that draw me into everyday life in a different culture and I have a soft spot for in-between characters who belong neither here nor there. The characters are complex and their actions make sense given their past. I've seen a lot of criticism of them not being likeable, I think they are in some ways and not in others, they are just flawed. I rarely see this type of criticism of the likeability of characters brought up towards male authors. Some of the most prestigious novels ever have very unlikeable characters.
Minor negative: I found the interactions and the spelling out of "the moral of the story" a bit repetitive and the ending felt like everything fell into place too neatly.
I appreciate how the rape scene was portrayed and handled. This kind of "non-violent" rape (in quotation marks because the act itself is violence) and what it does to the victim deserves more representation.
Minor negative: I found the interactions and the spelling out of "the moral of the story" a bit repetitive and the ending felt like everything fell into place too neatly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm
jo_d's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters are so real, so human. A young teenage girl acts like a young teenage girl and it is heartbreaking and beautiful.
I liked it. It's not a story on morality, or how to act properly, it's a story of three interesting people tied into a dysfunctional family. They're all liars and hurting and imperfect and don't often say the right thing and it's honest
I liked it. It's not a story on morality, or how to act properly, it's a story of three interesting people tied into a dysfunctional family. They're all liars and hurting and imperfect and don't often say the right thing and it's honest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Child death, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, War, Suicide, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Grief, and Death
Minor: Abortion
kwahl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Minor: Addiction
books_baking_brews's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lescure really pulled something off here. I mean I just didn't like a single character. They were terrible to each other and the people they were supposed to be there for. They used each other and people in their paths so thoughtlessly. The worst by far was Sloan. They are all thwarted by missed opportunities and longing to feel special and to distinguish themselves as such; I don't think they ever knew contentment, and that sort of conniving, grasping nature is hard to read. But despite your dislike you keep reading because it's sorta like watching a train wreck and the backdrop is so interesting and by the end you think what just happened here. This book covers a lot: the undercurrents, or in some cases "over" currents, of how expats move to a country and use it and lay claim to it without ever really having to suffer for it, without ever truly loving it outside of what it can get for them; the impact of China's one-child policy and the "re-education" of urban youth policy--the so-called lost generation; the fetishizing of Asian women; and the idolization of Americanness. It's all in there plus more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism
plasticpansy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism
chrysos79's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Child death, and Suicide
_inge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This book gripped me from the second I started it. I really enjoyed the first half; Alva’s story was a great coming of age story, Lu Fang’s story felt less captivating to me, as it didn’t really tell me anything new and was too focused on whether he’d get into a relationship or not. Gradually Lu Fang’s character changed and his story therefore did get more interesting for a while. The writing is quite good too, though sometimes a bit too descriptive for me. Some words got repeated quite a lot too, like ‘squirt of sperm’ or ‘partner’, meaning those words lost their emotional meaning quickly. But still, I initially found this a captivating read.
Unfortunately, about midway through both Alva and Lu Fang’s storylines got too bleak for me. In the first half there’d be hope for better times, but as both Lu Fang and Alva face traumatic experiences that hope got lost. At certain points it felt like the author was piling on misery to get the story to continue, even though what I’d enjoyed in the first half was the subtle frictions or discussions on identity. How Alva is perceived in her school environment was really interesting to read about, as was seeing how she perceived herself. This got lost in the traumatic events that unfolded in the second half.
Unfortunately, about midway through both Alva and Lu Fang’s storylines got too bleak for me. In the first half there’d be hope for better times, but as both Lu Fang and Alva face traumatic experiences that hope got lost. At certain points it felt like the author was piling on misery to get the story to continue, even though what I’d enjoyed in the first half was the subtle frictions or discussions on identity. How Alva is perceived in her school environment was really interesting to read about, as was seeing how she perceived herself. This got lost in the traumatic events that unfolded in the second half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Rape, Child death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Racism, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Car accident, and Physical abuse
hegesteindal74's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Grief