What do readers think of A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson? Write your own review.

I enjoyed the interplay of the two stories and timelines and I was surprised by how they connected but I didn't care very much about the characters. I set it down before a a weekend trip since I was nearly done with it and wanted a new book to take me through the weekend and then was not compelled to finish it when I returned. The variety of characters and the cultural differences though could make for interesting book club conversations.

I read the description of this book and thought I might find it interesting. Upon reading it, I found it to be slow and uninteresting. It is what I would call literary fiction, a genre I don't always enjoy. The plot was interesting, but Suzanne Joinson's writing style slowed it down and I would often just want her to get on with it. I did finish the book, but I was never really involved with the characters. I just wanted to see how she would end it.

I love the idea of what the writer was creating with this story. Three women who leave London to become missionaries in Kashgar. Each of them with their own "agenda" as to why they were really going. I found some characters not very well developed, and the writing fairly bland, especially in the earlier part of the book. I also felt that the description of the different cultures were not fully realized, though the emotional intent was. It felt like this story is still in rough form, though with great potential if fleshed out more. I do like the counter story of modern day London, and the woman who gets left this estate with no idea of the connection to her. And the growing romance between the modern protagonist and an immigrant from Yemen was to me a delightful set of circumstance that unknowingly reverberated with her families past.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It feels undone.

Overall, I enjoyed this book though I would not put it into the same category as Major Pettigrew's Last Stand which I loved. Suzanne Joinson has created two interestingly interconnected stories stretching from 1923 in Kashgar to present day London. Both tales were engaging though I liked the present day one better. I think Joinson could have developed the Kashgar tale more fully - I did not engage with all of the characters. I also would have liked to have the map which was not in the ARC edition.

I started to read this book the first day it arrived. Halfway through it, I had no idea where I was with the characters and their relationship to one another and with the past and the present. So I started to read again from the beginning and I began to focus on the story and the possibilities of how the characters were interrelated. I guess this is the reason that I stayed with the book. Would I recommend this book to my book club, I don't think so. This book needs to go back to the drawing board. The premise is good, but it is poorly developed and it leaves many questions unanswered.

There are quite fine passages mixed in with others that did not measure up. She shows sensitive insights to those from vastly different cultures. With maturity there is almost a certainty she will become a fine, creative writer. The negatives will not prevent reading every page.

This fiction has a great premise "lady adventurers trekking through Asia." Its execution, however, left me cold. For me, I wish it had lived up to its marketing.

This book is two stories in one with some chapters taking place in the early 1920s and the other chapters set in present day. The first part of the book, I'm sorry to say, bored me, but I felt obligated to read on. About half way through the book, the present day story started to show signs of becoming interesting. At that point, I continued to read only the chapters that took place in present day and that part of the book turned out to be a decent story. I have no desire to go back and read the unread chapters.
I was somewhat irritated to read the back cover of the book where it equated this book to Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, two of my favorite books; in my opinion, this book was not in the same league.