I picked up The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel in the library and decided to give it a shot. I actually enjoyed it a lot.

The story was interesting. The characters were definitely interesting as well as being well developed throughout the story.

This book, however, is quite mature and I would advise for mature 16 plus.

gah! I read this for a book club, well, I should say I skimmed through it for a book club. The book is VERY focused on Eastern Jewel's sex life. I did not enjoy it in any way, shape, or form.

Interesting novel about Eastern Jewel, a chinese born princess that became a spy for Japan. Good read.

I requested this book based on the cover--I didn't know who Eastern Jewel was, which makes me wonder if I should somehow be ashamed to not know the history of my own race? Anyway. I asked for it, received it, and read it.

I have to admit, it took me a while to finish. Not because I didn't enjoy the book, but because the subject's life--while it must have been entertaining and adventurous to her--made me feel sad that she was as exploited as she was, and how willingly she participated in her own exploitation, all in the guise of freedom. Abandoned by her own family, mistreated by her adoptive family, and married off to live in a wasteland (especially when compared to her former homes!), Eastern Jewel, a.k.a. Yoshiko Kawashima, decides to make of the rest of her life what she wants. And so she runs.

Who knows if she might have been better served by staying in Mongolia? It's a moot point anyway, seeing as how her feet were set firmly on the path she was to traverse, from the tender age of fifteen. One wonders how her life might have differed, if the women in her adoptive family would have tended to her better than they did. Or if the family she was born into, would have kept her and taught her instead of sending her off to Japan.

As penned by Maureen Lindley, Eastern Jewel's story will resonate with those who seek to overcome society's mores to live their lives on their own terms. It also serves as a precautionary tale as to the predators who are willing to assist in achieving that life, yet exact a price--one that may be too high to contemplate.

Inasmuch as this is a fictionalized account of the life of a Chinese-princess-turned-Japanese-spy, I mourn the loss of a daughter of China to China's inability to love her own daughters.

This book follows Eastern, Jewel aka the Eastern Mata Hari aka the Last Princess of Manchuria. I never heard of her but I'm lacking a lot in Chinese history.

Her story is sordid and tragic. She was a relative of the Last Emperor of China and was "adopted", and abused by a Japanese family. Still she managed to survive and have a colorful life.

I must make note of the writing style of the book. Listening to her ramble, I felt more like I was doing an interview (a one way interview). She come across as matter of fact and not really likable (but i don't see her as a villain either).

Though I'm glad to have read the book, I'm not sure if I can take much away from it.

I wasn't sure what drew me to this book. I suppose I found the cover interesting, with its bright red and its Asian theme. Then reading the blurb on the kindle store and seeing it was about a Chinese princess, sent to live in Japan who turns spy. It certainly piqued my interest.

I haven't read that many historical novels, and this one, based on the real figure of Eastern Jewel (Dongzhen) (see [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiko_Kawashima]wikipedia[/link])and set during the early part of last century in the build up and duration of the 1st and 2nd world wars. I was not that knowledgable about the Sino-Japanese wars, despite having studied the language. War is not something that interests me. This book might have changed that.

Eastern Jewel (or Yoshiko Kawashima as she was also known) is often nicknamed the Eastern Mata Hari for her role as a female soldier/spy.

The book reads well, told in first person through her journals. She skips chunks of her life though which confused me because I thought it would take more time describing her childhood however once I got used to the idea of missing out huge parts of her life, I quite enjoyed the book. It added an extra layer of mystery which was extended by the ambiguous ending.

There is a lot of sex here. Essentially the character of Yoshiko is a bit of a sex-obsessed, opium-loving woman with trust issues, daddy issues and an inability to express her feelings properly. Despite her unlikable traits, you can't help but like her - she is brutally honest. Weirdly enough for a spy.

The book seems well researched, with lots of beautiful description and detailed insight into life in Japan, China and Mongolia during that time.

I think people who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha and other such historical novels will certainly find this one a good read.

Pornography disguised as historical fiction. Disgusting

Rather turned off by the constant sex scenes every couple of pages. Not sure that really added much to the story.

I have so many issues with this book that i don't know how to even start...
Eastern Jewel is presented to us as the rebellious daughter of the Chinese Emperor and one of his concubines. Due her behavior she is sent to Japan as the new member of a wealthy family. In that house she did not match well with the feminine figures. She also gets the same education as the sons of that family. When she is 14-15 years old she is ABUSED by the adoptive grandfather and the adoptive father. I put that word in capital letters because for readers that fact is presented as something powerful and something good that did no damage in our main character. After that, she is PROSTITUTED by her adoptive father and, again that is something good because she is not doing the same things as the other girls of her age and class.
Then 3/4 of the books it is just about how she pass from lover to lover leaving the rest of her life in a second place. I did my research and i think that there was much more to say about the life of Yoshiko than her sexual life.
Another thing i did not like at all were some license that the author took that made no sense between her cognitions and her actions. For example, how she can be such a good spy and then a guy she met for a day say that he will be moving with her (not asking, affirming) and the only thing she replay is "and we didn't even had sex yet". Also, in another occasion out of nowhere she gets to the conclusion that she is into jerks because "she feels sexually attracted by her biological father". I was shocked and i'm still.
Also i did not like Yoshiko at all. It was impossible for me to empathize with her. She was not coherent with her actions. She was selfish so many times through the book and when the rest of the characters do the same they are all the bad on the earth.
Finally the ending was awful and i will not say anything else about it.
It was a book with a lot of potential that was destroyed by a bad main character that i'm sure that has nothing to do with the real Yoshiko Kawashima.