I found this book to be terribly sad. The lives of most of the characters are bleak, with endless work and no joy whatsoever . When two of them do find some semblance of happiness, it's not a good thing at all.
This book tells the story of the Chinese in Canada. The characters are extremely vivid in the book, and one really cares about Su-Jen (aka Annie) right away. The author handled incidents of racial discrimination experienced by the sensitive Annie during elementary school very poignantly. You really feel for this little Chinese girl, stuck between this lovely unhappy mother, a frustrated and good looking half brother, a traditional but kindly father, and her Canadian born classmates.
I really enjoyed this book. A great book about a Chinese-Canadian girl caught between cultures and her parents bad marriage.