Scan barcode
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Goodreads giveaway copy
Two time periods. Two women, seemingly unconnected, both struggling with their identity and to find their place in the world. One a missionary overseas in 1923, the other, Frieda, a young woman abandoned by her mother as a child. One day Frieda learns she is the sole heir to a house of a woman she doesn't know.
The tale is beautifully told, in alternating voices of Frieda and Evangelina, the missionary, though I didn't understand why Frieda's story was in the third person. I thought first person would have worked.
Evangelina's was the more interesting story, the setting in 1923 fascinating, the life as a missionary hard and well told, though I didn't like either Lizzie (her sister) or Millicent (their leader). Frieda's story, finding the house, learning who the dead woman is who has left it to her, how she is connected to her mother was interesting enough, but I didn't get caught up in her search for the truth.
Didn't see the point of Tayab at all. What was he there for?
Overall a nicely constructed story, interesting social-historical detail but some elements just didn't hit the spot for me.
Goodreads giveaway copy
Two time periods. Two women, seemingly unconnected, both struggling with their identity and to find their place in the world. One a missionary overseas in 1923, the other, Frieda, a young woman abandoned by her mother as a child. One day Frieda learns she is the sole heir to a house of a woman she doesn't know.
The tale is beautifully told, in alternating voices of Frieda and Evangelina, the missionary, though I didn't understand why Frieda's story was in the third person. I thought first person would have worked.
Evangelina's was the more interesting story, the setting in 1923 fascinating, the life as a missionary hard and well told, though I didn't like either Lizzie (her sister) or Millicent (their leader). Frieda's story, finding the house, learning who the dead woman is who has left it to her, how she is connected to her mother was interesting enough, but I didn't get caught up in her search for the truth.
Didn't see the point of Tayab at all. What was he there for?
Overall a nicely constructed story, interesting social-historical detail but some elements just didn't hit the spot for me.
tophat8855's review against another edition
3.0
This book follows 2 different times (1923 and "now- circa 2012") and you learn how they are connected (family secrets!). The 1923 side is more rich and developed than the 2012 side, but it's still good.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
3.0
Suzanne Joinson’s split narrative novel is the kind of book you will indeed finish even though you will be constantly aware of the pitfalls of this narrative style with every chapter. My, that sounded pretentious, but how hard must it be to keep two narratives going and have them both be equally interesting? How hard can it be to find a modern story to compete with a 1920’s Englishwoman writing a guide for ladies who want to go bicycling for heaven’s sake through a remote Muslim area of western China?
Damn hard.
Joinson’s parallel story takes too long to ramp up. Modern-day Frieda forms an odd bond with a Yemeni man who stays in the flat she inherits from an unknown relative. Of the two women, Frieda is the hardest to connect with. Cyclist Eva makes her trip to Kashgar not only to write her Guide, but to accompany her sister who, aflame with religion, has hooked up with a rather frightening missionary. Frieda is an odd loner who is caught up in an affair with a married man. This relationship, meant to humanize her, is simply inexplicable.
What will keep you reading is wondering how these two stories are ever going to come together, but when they do it is rushed and not entirely believable. Joinson should have the confidence that her story would hold readers for a few more pages to wrap Eva and Frieda’s stories up as they deserve.
I read this novel through Netgalley, and I thank them for the opportunity!
mtnmama19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Deportation, Alcohol, Animal death, and Infidelity
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Abortion, Miscarriage, and Rape
debs4jc's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this more but found it didn't hold my attention all that well.
It is 1923. Evangeline (Eva) English and her sister Lizzie are missionaries heading for the ancient city of Kashgar on the Silk Road. Though Lizzie is on fire with her religious calling, Eva's motives are not quite as noble, but with her green bicycle and a commission from a publisher to write A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar, she is ready for adventure.
In present day London, a young woman, Frieda, returns from a long trip abroad to find a man sleeping outside her front door. She gives him a blanket and pillow and in the morning finds the bedding neatly folded and an exquisite drawing of a bird with a long feathery tail, some delicate Arabic writing, and a boat made out of a flock of seagulls on her wall. Tayeb, in flight from his Yemeni homeland, befriends Frieda and, when she learns she has inherited the contents of an apartment belonging to a dead woman she has never heard of, they embark on an unexpected journey together.
Of course there is a connection between the two stories. I never really connected well with either of them though.
It is 1923. Evangeline (Eva) English and her sister Lizzie are missionaries heading for the ancient city of Kashgar on the Silk Road. Though Lizzie is on fire with her religious calling, Eva's motives are not quite as noble, but with her green bicycle and a commission from a publisher to write A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar, she is ready for adventure.
In present day London, a young woman, Frieda, returns from a long trip abroad to find a man sleeping outside her front door. She gives him a blanket and pillow and in the morning finds the bedding neatly folded and an exquisite drawing of a bird with a long feathery tail, some delicate Arabic writing, and a boat made out of a flock of seagulls on her wall. Tayeb, in flight from his Yemeni homeland, befriends Frieda and, when she learns she has inherited the contents of an apartment belonging to a dead woman she has never heard of, they embark on an unexpected journey together.
Of course there is a connection between the two stories. I never really connected well with either of them though.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
One eventually figures out the connection between the two stories in this book. One story takes place in the 1920's during the British colonial occupation of the middle east. Three young women (two zealous missionaries and one adventurer) become 'strangers in a strange land' in Kashgar. Their isolation, confusion, curiosity and miscalculations are poetically described. The second story takes place in present-day England when the lives of journalist Frieda and immigrant Tayeb intersect. A decent, though not compelling, story.
gck's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free e-galley for the purpose of reviewing.
Lovely cover, exotic-sounding story... this sounded like it was going to be a beautiful adventure. In some ways, it was. Kashgar is located in the Uyghur region of China, an area that I wasn’t at all familiar with until I started researching places to visit in China. It was definitely a treat to visit a book that was (half) set there and get a glimpse into a city that mixed Chinese and Muslim influences. The descriptions of the food made my mouth water ("flatbreads, rose yoghurt and tomatoes sprinkles with sugar") and I happily let the book carry me away to the busy bazaars and sweltering heat of the desert. In the modern narrative, the location was less exotic, but there were still plenty of images for the mind to feast on – Tayeb’s artwork, a bohemian commune, and an owl expecting its owner to engage in a hoot-fest during mating season.
Overall, readers seem to dislike the alternating narrative form of storytelling. I’m not ready to commit myself to that opinion just yet, but I definitely understand the reasons for it. It’s hard enough for an author to come up with one point of view that readers love, and it’s even harder to come up with two. A lot of the time, I’ll strongly prefer one to the other and angrily skim past the less likeable character’s portion to get to what I want to read (like in [b:One Day|6280118|One Day|David Nicholls|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873020s/6280118.jpg|6463667]). With this book, I didn’t favor one character’s sections overall, but at various sections in the book, I definitely favored one narrative to the other. This was often because the two plotlines alternated in when they were more suspenseful, and I would be tempted to skip one narrator’s section to find out what was happening in the other. However, another reason why I didn’t have a strong preference for Eva or Frieda was because the characters weren’t very accessible. I’d describe both of them as independent and modern (for their respective times), but that’s about all I would come up with.
Another thing about having dual narratives is that they have to somehow connect to each other. In some novels, that connection is apparent from the beginning. In this one, it’s not. It isn’t revealed until pretty far into the book, and that revelation wasn’t particularly impactful. I kept reading past that, thinking that a stronger connection would materialize, but it never did. It seemed like the ending of the book could have been fleshed out a lot more.
I’m not an expert by any means, but a few details stood out to me as being inaccurate, which makes me wonder what else might be wrong. There’s a reference to women "looking through the slits of their hijabs," but typically hijab refers to a head covering. A niqab or something like that would have a slit. There’s also a place where they eat "jiaozi pancakes," which I’m pretty sure does not exist.
Overall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this unique and interesting book. The plot and setting kept me engaged, and I only wish the conclusion could have done justice to the rest.
Lovely cover, exotic-sounding story... this sounded like it was going to be a beautiful adventure. In some ways, it was. Kashgar is located in the Uyghur region of China, an area that I wasn’t at all familiar with until I started researching places to visit in China. It was definitely a treat to visit a book that was (half) set there and get a glimpse into a city that mixed Chinese and Muslim influences. The descriptions of the food made my mouth water ("flatbreads, rose yoghurt and tomatoes sprinkles with sugar") and I happily let the book carry me away to the busy bazaars and sweltering heat of the desert. In the modern narrative, the location was less exotic, but there were still plenty of images for the mind to feast on – Tayeb’s artwork, a bohemian commune, and an owl expecting its owner to engage in a hoot-fest during mating season.
Overall, readers seem to dislike the alternating narrative form of storytelling. I’m not ready to commit myself to that opinion just yet, but I definitely understand the reasons for it. It’s hard enough for an author to come up with one point of view that readers love, and it’s even harder to come up with two. A lot of the time, I’ll strongly prefer one to the other and angrily skim past the less likeable character’s portion to get to what I want to read (like in [b:One Day|6280118|One Day|David Nicholls|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873020s/6280118.jpg|6463667]). With this book, I didn’t favor one character’s sections overall, but at various sections in the book, I definitely favored one narrative to the other. This was often because the two plotlines alternated in when they were more suspenseful, and I would be tempted to skip one narrator’s section to find out what was happening in the other. However, another reason why I didn’t have a strong preference for Eva or Frieda was because the characters weren’t very accessible. I’d describe both of them as independent and modern (for their respective times), but that’s about all I would come up with.
Another thing about having dual narratives is that they have to somehow connect to each other. In some novels, that connection is apparent from the beginning. In this one, it’s not. It isn’t revealed until pretty far into the book, and that revelation wasn’t particularly impactful. I kept reading past that, thinking that a stronger connection would materialize, but it never did. It seemed like the ending of the book could have been fleshed out a lot more.
I’m not an expert by any means, but a few details stood out to me as being inaccurate, which makes me wonder what else might be wrong. There’s a reference to women "looking through the slits of their hijabs," but typically hijab refers to a head covering. A niqab or something like that would have a slit. There’s also a place where they eat "jiaozi pancakes," which I’m pretty sure does not exist.
Overall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this unique and interesting book. The plot and setting kept me engaged, and I only wish the conclusion could have done justice to the rest.
tigerknitting's review against another edition
4.0
What makes you choose to read a book? The title? The book cover? A review? Favorite author? For me, it can be any of those reasons, or even a combination. As part of my job, I read book reviews so I see the titles of lots of new books, as well as read their reviews. Some of my review sources even show the front cover. Of course, I also have my favorite authors.
When I saw the title The Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar I was intriqued. The first review I read was very good, so I put it on my list of books to read (which I keep on Goodreads.com, a great place to keep track of books). One of the book review blogs that I follow also reviewed it and that really piqued my interest, so I put it on reserve. Oh, the cover is very intriquing as well. Warm yellows with an early 20th century woman cyclist standing in front of the mountains of an Asian desert.
The book tells two stories, one in 1923 of three British women missionaries (Millicent, Eve, and Lizzie) to Kashgar. The other of a young British woman-Frieda, and a young Yemeni man-Tayab, in present day London. The missionaries witness a young girl trying to give birth outside of her town as they arrive in Kashgar. Millicent, the lead missionary, helps the girl give birth, but the young woman dies and the community blames Millicent. Millicent gives the baby to Eve to take care of. As it turns out, Eve is not interested in the missionary work, but her sister Lizzie is, and she didn't want to be parted from her. She is writing a book about their travels. The three are put under house arrest while the authorities decide what to do about Millicent. She continues with her unorthodox missionary style, which does not help her cause.
Frieda is just back from an overseas trip when she notices Tayab sleeping in the hall outside her flat. He is in the country illegally and is in hiding. While going through her mail, Freida discovers that she has been named next of kin to someone who has died and she is asked to clear out that woman's flat. She asks her father if he knows this woman, but he doesn't, so she decides to get in contact with her mother, who left Frieda when she was seven. One of the things Frieda finds when cleaning the flat is the book Eve wrote!
The book is beautifully written, and the stories are fascinating. I wondered how they would come together, and if my guess about it was right. (It was!)
When I saw the title The Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar I was intriqued. The first review I read was very good, so I put it on my list of books to read (which I keep on Goodreads.com, a great place to keep track of books). One of the book review blogs that I follow also reviewed it and that really piqued my interest, so I put it on reserve. Oh, the cover is very intriquing as well. Warm yellows with an early 20th century woman cyclist standing in front of the mountains of an Asian desert.
The book tells two stories, one in 1923 of three British women missionaries (Millicent, Eve, and Lizzie) to Kashgar. The other of a young British woman-Frieda, and a young Yemeni man-Tayab, in present day London. The missionaries witness a young girl trying to give birth outside of her town as they arrive in Kashgar. Millicent, the lead missionary, helps the girl give birth, but the young woman dies and the community blames Millicent. Millicent gives the baby to Eve to take care of. As it turns out, Eve is not interested in the missionary work, but her sister Lizzie is, and she didn't want to be parted from her. She is writing a book about their travels. The three are put under house arrest while the authorities decide what to do about Millicent. She continues with her unorthodox missionary style, which does not help her cause.
Frieda is just back from an overseas trip when she notices Tayab sleeping in the hall outside her flat. He is in the country illegally and is in hiding. While going through her mail, Freida discovers that she has been named next of kin to someone who has died and she is asked to clear out that woman's flat. She asks her father if he knows this woman, but he doesn't, so she decides to get in contact with her mother, who left Frieda when she was seven. One of the things Frieda finds when cleaning the flat is the book Eve wrote!
The book is beautifully written, and the stories are fascinating. I wondered how they would come together, and if my guess about it was right. (It was!)
sardinetin's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst I didn't find this book to be a huge page turner (evidenced by how long it has taken me to finish it!), I loved the exotic imagery. There is no doubt the author has a very beautiful way with words.
villianess's review against another edition
2.0
Jumping from present day to past days was not congruant in my mind so I stopped reading this story.