Breaking the Cycle
This is a novel of cultural mores and betrayals. Up until she is seventeen, Feng has been taught her obligation in life is to care for her aging parents. Without any considerations of her desires or preparation, Feng is thrust into the haughty suffocating world of upper class Shanghai in the 1930s. Feeling betrayed by those she thought loved her and hoping to avoid a life of humiliation, Feng puts in place, a plan of revenge, and this is the story the readers will follow.
Despite the slow, slightly confusing, beginning, the author paints a compassionate portrait of Feng that readers will cheer for her as she conquers one trial after another, even when she acts irrationally. This deep characterization is strength of the book and will appeal to readers of women’s fiction.
I was disappointed at the lack of historical detail provided in the storyline, especially since Shanghai was a volatile place in the 1930s and 1940s. When historical detail was provided towards the end of the book, it was to help transition Feng into an act that was out-of-character, and thus unbelievable and upsetting the flow of the story. Overall the story was a little too unpredictable to me, and I left like I was watching a Lifetime movie. However, it is an easy book to read so will help past a rainy afternoon.
Rated of 5
by Sally D. (Racine, WI)
Flat
When I received this book, I was curious to read it but I was immediately put off by the cover and the title. I was afraid I had received poor imitation of some of the better books with the same setting.
But after putting it off for several weeks, I plunged in and discovered that I still held the same feelings. The story line itself might have been interesting but for some reason the minute details really slowed down the pace of the novel. Perhaps the fact that Duncan Jepson is a filmmaker and a lawyer makes prone to details but it doesn't always work in this book.
The characters and their motivations are somewhat confusing. When Feng had her first child she gives it away because she is angry. But I never really understood why she wanted her baby daughter to be raised in poverty. Then suddenly she gives in to enjoying the wealth and position of her family but it is never really clear why this transition took place.
I struggled through this book and would be hesitant to recommend it.
Rated of 5
by Hydee F. (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Slow going- ultimately an enjoyable read
I picked this book up and immediately put it down feeling uninspired to continue by the drab beginning. When I did finally pick it up, weeks later, it took on a better momentum and I found myself wanting to see what would happen next... While much of the book is predictable, and the characters seemed undeveloped I found it to be a compelling read once it got going. The story is remarkably sad, if not unfortunately, a realistic depiction of heartbreak in China during those years.
Rated of 5
by Elinor S. (Loudonville, NY)
All the Flowers in Shanghai
After recently reading Lisa Sea's two books about Flowers-"All the Flowers in Shanghai" was lacking depth. I never felt that the main characters actions were justified and never sympathized with her self pity. However, the book moved quickly and seemed historically correct. I must admit that I may have read too many "Shanghai stories" in too little time.
Rated of 5
by Barbara P. (Worcester, MA)
All the Flowers of Shanghai
Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston's ghosts speak and guide us in their familiar histories. "Flowers in Shanghai" does not strive or accomplish any social mores of the Chinese tradition. The main character, Feng, didn't act out, is unemotional, and just hides in her room like a dormant flower. Feng comes to the wealthy Sang family with no experience or with any practical advice. The only beauty in the story is the garden and her grandpa. Feng is the wounded, wilting, and uncaring mother instead of the customary heroine. She needs to plot action to grow. Or does Jepson want her to appear as a non-person showing the readers the prevailing attitude toward daughters in the East? He certainly accomplished this. The historical fiction of the new modern era verses the old China seems to come too late into the story.
Rated of 5
by Julie H. (Pine Grove, PA)
All the Flowers in Shanghai
This cultural novel was a disappointment to me. The novel was extremely narrow in its focus on Feng, the narrator of the story. Although it was set in China in the thirties, there was little detail in the novel about the setting, and I felt that omission was an error on the author’s part. Feng was a passive character that was not easily likeable. She was a kind, innocent child who only seemed to have things happen ‘to’ her. As she grew into adulthood when she did take action, it was mean spirited and bitter. There were times that the language of the novel changed from beautiful to crass and I found those changes distracting and disturbing. Overall, it was a dark book that offered little hope or meaning and left me feeling that it did not live up to its potential.
Rated of 5
by Patricia S. (Chicago, IL)
All the Flowers in Shanghai
I was excited to hear about this book because Shanghai in the early 20th century was such a fascinating time--the transition between the old imperial China and the modern one. The description indicated that it spanned many years and centered on the place of the mother in the Chinese family. I hoped for exotic atmosphere, fascinating characters and a real feel for the period. Unfortunately, I got none of this. Instead the main character, Feng, was totally unlikable, very bitter and vindictive, and she hardly left her rooms in her house. The events of World War II and the Cultural Revolution mostly passed her by and she seemed to live in a total vaccuum. I found her motives impossible to understand and her determination to make everyone pay for the difficulties in her life was not attractive, nor did it allow us to see the other people in her life as fully-developed characters in their own right. While she was resentful at her forced marriage (and how was that worse than being raised solely to take care of her parents in their old age?), we never saw what her husband thought of the marriage. He didn't get the bride he expected either, and was pretty much under his parents control for many years, and all his wife did was blame him for her condition and belittle him. As far as examining the Chinese mother's place in the family, there is only one place--the dictator. Each mother lived at quite a distance from her children and seemed set-dressing for Feng's selfishness. All in all, this is one book I cannot recommend.
A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
read more
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
read more
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
read more
British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
Full Story
of 5
by Beverly J. (Huntersville, NC)
of 5
by Julie H. (Pine Grove, PA)
