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jaymeshaw's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not what I expected at all. Part of it was written from a males perspective by a female writer, and that messes with my head a bit. Definitely some interesting bits in the book though.
chantale's review
5.0
This book is about identity and acknowledging who you are. Everyone is worried about what their family, friends and neighbours will think of them if they knew their dark secrets.
The lives of two strangers intersect: Danny Lim a Chinese boy who grows up gay in the 80's when AIDS was first recognized as a disease and Miss Val/Valerie who is a burlesque dancer in Chinatown. They give each other the courage to no longer hide from those they love.
Danny's relationship with his parent's is strained. He fears his Dad's opinion of him. Danny goes from being embarrassed by his mother and wishing she dressed differently and took better care of herself to accepting her at the end. "He meets his mother's eyes and sees her for what she is: (...)He doesn't wish she were someone else anymore. He doesn't wish that for anyone" (p. 346). We get to experience his mother's hidden self at the end of the book too. I felt a loss and sadness when she thinks "The quiet, muddy-skinned mother couldn't possibly have music and dance and laughter ringing inside her body. Those things belonged to the beautiful people" (p. 334).
A moving and sad book.
The lives of two strangers intersect: Danny Lim a Chinese boy who grows up gay in the 80's when AIDS was first recognized as a disease and Miss Val/Valerie who is a burlesque dancer in Chinatown. They give each other the courage to no longer hide from those they love.
Danny's relationship with his parent's is strained. He fears his Dad's opinion of him. Danny goes from being embarrassed by his mother and wishing she dressed differently and took better care of herself to accepting her at the end. "He meets his mother's eyes and sees her for what she is: (...)He doesn't wish she were someone else anymore. He doesn't wish that for anyone" (p. 346). We get to experience his mother's hidden self at the end of the book too. I felt a loss and sadness when she thinks "The quiet, muddy-skinned mother couldn't possibly have music and dance and laughter ringing inside her body. Those things belonged to the beautiful people" (p. 334).
A moving and sad book.
drawmeabookreview's review
emotional
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
nickelini's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? No
4.5
unphilosophize's review against another edition
4.0
I knew nothing about this book when I first started reading it other than it was canlit chosen for book club by one of my friends who was anticipating it being a good book.
The book has two stories in it, one of Danny, a second generation Chinese Canadian, and Miss Val, an exotic dancer who grew up in a small logging down outside of Vancouver, covering from the 1940's to 1982, when the AIDs epidemic was just starting to sweep through the gay communities in Canada.
Although I had little expectations for the book because I knew nothing about it, I would say that it far exceeded anything that I could have expected had I known the subject matter or minor plot details. The book in wonderfully written with huge emotional depth and describes both what it was like to be a Chinese Canadian in the 80's, as well as a gay man and all the trouble that accompany them both.
Although I found that it skipped over some of the cultural appropriation that was apparent in the novel, I found that that was also suited for the period in which it was taken place, something I'm sure was not missed by the author who is Chinese Canadian herself.
A wonderful book. I am so glad to have met this author in writing and look forward to looking for more of her books in the future.
The book has two stories in it, one of Danny, a second generation Chinese Canadian, and Miss Val, an exotic dancer who grew up in a small logging down outside of Vancouver, covering from the 1940's to 1982, when the AIDs epidemic was just starting to sweep through the gay communities in Canada.
Although I had little expectations for the book because I knew nothing about it, I would say that it far exceeded anything that I could have expected had I known the subject matter or minor plot details. The book in wonderfully written with huge emotional depth and describes both what it was like to be a Chinese Canadian in the 80's, as well as a gay man and all the trouble that accompany them both.
Although I found that it skipped over some of the cultural appropriation that was apparent in the novel, I found that that was also suited for the period in which it was taken place, something I'm sure was not missed by the author who is Chinese Canadian herself.
A wonderful book. I am so glad to have met this author in writing and look forward to looking for more of her books in the future.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
A wonderful novel, moving between years. The main character is Danny Lim. Danny grew up in Vancouver's Chinatown, but left as soon as he became 18, not wanting the life his parents envisioned for him. Danny is struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality and remains in the closet to all but his sister and close friends. He works as a wedding photographer but dreams of a photography exhibit of his personal work. When Danny was a child he had an encounter with an exotic dancer that he has never forgotten. When something reawakens that memory, he is determined to find out more about her. So part of this book is Val's story too. Her act was the 'Siamese Kitten' and her story is also one of not facing up to her truth. The two bolster and encourage each other to move forward in their lives by being open about who they are and what made them that way. A novel of secrets, and of self-awareness, this book is hard to put down.
ginn's review
3.0
I won this book from goodreads first reads giveaways.
I normally don't read this kind of book, but I'll try anything. While I enjoyed reading it, and wasn't necessarily disappointed, there were a few things that were a bit off for me.
The novel has two interconnected tales: that of Val, a Burlesque dancer whose peak of popularity happened in the 50's, and Danny, a gay man of Chinese descent who works as a photographer in the early 80s.
I found Val's story to be more poignant and relevant to the book's title. She was a likeable character; she had found her calling in life and took pleasure in doing it. Danny, however, I did not sympathise with. He seemed to dislike his mother for no good reason, he had a job he disliked, and to fill the relationship gap in his life he went out to Stanley Park and had sex with random men.
It's that last part that I have the most trouble with. Am I supposed to feel sympathy when these types get AIDS? STDs and their transmission was known about for a long time. Having frequent unprotected sex with random people is a good way to get sick. It doesn't matter what face you put on it, whether you argue that they are only doing what society has forced them to do, or that they're just looking for comfort, or it was a new disease that no one had heard of. I am unsympathetic to those who do things they shouldn't when they know better.
Aside from that, it's a good character-driven novel.
I normally don't read this kind of book, but I'll try anything. While I enjoyed reading it, and wasn't necessarily disappointed, there were a few things that were a bit off for me.
The novel has two interconnected tales: that of Val, a Burlesque dancer whose peak of popularity happened in the 50's, and Danny, a gay man of Chinese descent who works as a photographer in the early 80s.
I found Val's story to be more poignant and relevant to the book's title. She was a likeable character; she had found her calling in life and took pleasure in doing it. Danny, however, I did not sympathise with. He seemed to dislike his mother for no good reason, he had a job he disliked, and to fill the relationship gap in his life he went out to Stanley Park and had sex with random men.
It's that last part that I have the most trouble with. Am I supposed to feel sympathy when these types get AIDS? STDs and their transmission was known about for a long time. Having frequent unprotected sex with random people is a good way to get sick. It doesn't matter what face you put on it, whether you argue that they are only doing what society has forced them to do, or that they're just looking for comfort, or it was a new disease that no one had heard of. I am unsympathetic to those who do things they shouldn't when they know better.
Aside from that, it's a good character-driven novel.
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