What do readers think of All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson? Write your own review.

This book was a very slow read and very difficult for me to really get into. None of the characters were very likeable and the subject of this book has been over used. It just wasn't a new subject - I have read too many other books on this subject that were just more interesting and informative. The ending lacked a conclusion and never tied things together.

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.

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.

This reminded me of The Secret Fan in many ways, the Chinese sense of duty to family and the unworthiness of women. Feng, the main character, makes some poor choices that are meant for revenge but only cause pain to herself. She has some people in her life that prove to be truly good people and, perhaps, are more patient with Feng than she deserves. A good story that is not tied up too neatly at the end.

A very enlightening story of an innocent young woman exposed to privilege but against her will. Can be enjoyed by anyone interested in the place of girls and women in pre-WWII and in the Cultural Revolution that follows. Enjoyable but heartbreaking as well. Oddly, though, flowers per se as a theme seems a bit inchoate but it didn't detract.

This is an interesting book. The author gives us great detail describing courtship and arranged marriage in 1930s China, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Even more interesting were the expectations, duties, and traditions of an affluent Chinese household after the marriage.

I empathized with Feng throughout the book, even as I liked her less and less as the story progressed. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but only to find out what happens next with Feng. I was desperately hoping she would try to make right her mistakes, and cheer up a little! But easy for me to say, I'm sure her bitterness and anger were insurmountable under such circumstances.

ALL THE FLOWERS IN SHANGHAI brings history alive in a spellbinding tale of Shanghai in the 30's to the time of the revolution. Feng, a sympathetic young girl, makes mistake after mistake after being caught in an unexpected arranged marriage while totally unprepared for the life she must lead. The book is a fine read that gives a solid overview of historical perspective.

This is a fun read that keeps your interest. I became Interested in Xiao Feng and her life. I felt I knew her!
This is a fun and informative story. It is a fast read.
The story includes mysteries and cultural information about the Chinese family before and after the revolution and at the same time is an interesting and captivating, particularly to women.