I put off reading this book for a long time because of the horrible reviews. I can see some of the reviewers points, but overall, I really enjoyed this novel.
This is definitely a departure from Tan's normal novels about the relationships between Chinese-born mothers and their Chinese-American mothers. Although she does a wonderful job capturing the dynamics of those relationships, while weaving in fascinating glimpses of Chinese history, I'm glad to see her trying something new.
A few of the characters in this novel are Chinese, but the majority are not. One of the criticisms I have read is that she has too many prominent characters and therefore spreads her character development too thin. I agree somewhat, but beyond the narrator, the recently deceased, but always bigger than life Bibi Chen, the plot is more important.
Plot-wise, this is also a huge change for Tan. This is an adventure novel which ventures into the land of magical realism. This begins with the idea that Bibi's spirit is following her friends on the trip through China and Burma that she was supposed to lead.
Thrown into the mix is a glimpse of life in the military regime of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Overall, this was a great read, which I found to be relatively quick, despite it's healthy length.
This is definitely a departure from Tan's normal novels about the relationships between Chinese-born mothers and their Chinese-American mothers. Although she does a wonderful job capturing the dynamics of those relationships, while weaving in fascinating glimpses of Chinese history, I'm glad to see her trying something new.
A few of the characters in this novel are Chinese, but the majority are not. One of the criticisms I have read is that she has too many prominent characters and therefore spreads her character development too thin. I agree somewhat, but beyond the narrator, the recently deceased, but always bigger than life Bibi Chen, the plot is more important.
Plot-wise, this is also a huge change for Tan. This is an adventure novel which ventures into the land of magical realism. This begins with the idea that Bibi's spirit is following her friends on the trip through China and Burma that she was supposed to lead.
Thrown into the mix is a glimpse of life in the military regime of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Overall, this was a great read, which I found to be relatively quick, despite it's healthy length.
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