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Apr 25, 2017
Disappointing, It almost reads as another version of the Joy Luck Club. Tan fails to discuss the cultural and political history of Shanghai during this chaotic period of history. The gangs, the rise of the Communists, the takeover of Chang gets the shortest and most passing references. The narrative's focus. the lives of high class prostitutes, has little or no meat on these bones. The book could have been about writers, or jewelers. Being a prostitute serves only as a backdrop to her stories of 3 generations of women. The story of the kidnapping and return to the 3rd generation is virtually unbelievable. How can a high class person, with money and contacts just let her daughter be taken is it a best an clunky plot device to bring the mother and daughter back together. All the men are bad or foolish. All the women are good. And having the mother and daughter sailing off in the the happy sunset at the beginning of the really bad times of WW 2 gives us all a happy and contented ending. Jane Austin of the 21st century without the writing talent.