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A review by obsidian_blue
China Dolls by Lisa See
5.0
I previously read and loved Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel and Peony in Love: A Novel. I was less enamored with Lisa See's last two novels, Shanghai Girls: A Novel and Dreams of Joy: A Novel.
Lisa See's newest novels focuses on three Asian women who end up dancing at the Forbidden City nightclub in 1938. The entire novel takes place from the 1930s to 1988. The three women are Ruby Tom, Grace Lee, and Helen Wong. Ruby is sexier and flashier than the other two women. Grace is from the mid-west and bored with her life. Helen is from a wealthy family in San Francisco's Chinatown. The three women meet at the nightclub and become fast friends.
What I really loved about this novel is that it describes how suddenly the United States became a different place after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly Asians could not be trusted and the Japanese were the enemies. The United States also became more confusing for many women during this time period since women were able to go out into the work force en masse and hold jobs that typically were held by men. I thought Ms. See was able to show that these women coming from a traditional background were expected to be even more traditional than most American women were in this time and place. I also loved how Ms. See worked in the pain of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I think sometimes most Americans forget about that time in our history and it was interesting to read about since it impacted one of the characters.
That said I gave this novel 4.5 stars. Having three characters is a tough thing for most authors to juggle. You have to keep three story-lines going and also manage to make all the story-lines and characters weave together seamlessly. Ms. See I thought was not able to work all of the story-lines together very well. For me the character I was most interested in was Ruby. I don't want to get too spoilerish in my review but when readers start reading about Ruby you will find out why she held my interest the most out of the three women.
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program. It will be released on June 3, 2014.
Lisa See's newest novels focuses on three Asian women who end up dancing at the Forbidden City nightclub in 1938. The entire novel takes place from the 1930s to 1988. The three women are Ruby Tom, Grace Lee, and Helen Wong. Ruby is sexier and flashier than the other two women. Grace is from the mid-west and bored with her life. Helen is from a wealthy family in San Francisco's Chinatown. The three women meet at the nightclub and become fast friends.
What I really loved about this novel is that it describes how suddenly the United States became a different place after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly Asians could not be trusted and the Japanese were the enemies. The United States also became more confusing for many women during this time period since women were able to go out into the work force en masse and hold jobs that typically were held by men. I thought Ms. See was able to show that these women coming from a traditional background were expected to be even more traditional than most American women were in this time and place. I also loved how Ms. See worked in the pain of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I think sometimes most Americans forget about that time in our history and it was interesting to read about since it impacted one of the characters.
That said I gave this novel 4.5 stars. Having three characters is a tough thing for most authors to juggle. You have to keep three story-lines going and also manage to make all the story-lines and characters weave together seamlessly. Ms. See I thought was not able to work all of the story-lines together very well. For me the character I was most interested in was Ruby. I don't want to get too spoilerish in my review but when readers start reading about Ruby you will find out why she held my interest the most out of the three women.
Please note that I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program. It will be released on June 3, 2014.