Overall, what did you think of Daughters of Shandong? (no spoilers, please!)

Book Clubs Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung Discussion
1

Overall, what did you think of Daughters of Shandong? (no spoilers, please!)

1 Like
2

An amazing story of strong and determined women! Mother/Mom is the true heroine. Each step they took resulted in yet another challenge with the undercurrent of constant fear. I highly recommend the book.

3

Frankly I was disappointed with the book. While the story was most compelling and the journey harrowing, there was little character development. At times it felt like a recitation of facts and events.

4

I loved it. The characters and the story itself. It amazes me how strong the human spirit really is.

1 Like
5

The journey- where would a narrator be without a journey? This is a journey filled with flavorful characters, cultural mobilizations. You have to hope for a rainy day so you can settle in with an exceptional contemporary read.

6

I thought it was excellent but often painful to read. A great story of courage and resilience.

7

After the slow beginning overall liked the book. The journey and the different characters, and the motivation of the different characters were interesting. I believe the ending will make for great book club discussions.

8

I liked the book, as I felt I was learning about a different culture than mine. Wow, what a tough life and the resilience needed to just live till the next day was amazing. I don’t think I could have done it!

1 Like
9

I loved the people they met in the most difficult and trying circumstances - there were GOOD people who cared and risked and invested in them, with no expectation of “quid pro quo”. But the story began and ended with family, and they were such a disappointing lot to this reader. Very informative book - I enjoyed it very much - but maddening at the beginning and the end.

10

Another novel about strong women. They went through so much but endured and survived.

11

I was born in 1949, grew up in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and was not aware of the revolution and take over by Communism and Mao. But in 1967, I went to college and roomed with a young Nationalist Chinese woman who lived in Taiwan. She opened my eyes to the pain of takeover, the difficulty of living under an oppressive regime, and the losses leading to escaping to a free country. This book took me back to my dear friend’s history, the parts I came to know and the pieces she never shared.

12

I really enjoyed this book. What I love about historical fiction is an author’s ability to place fictional characters into a period of time without the constraints one would have if telling a story with real people. Eve Chung effectively weaves the story of her own grandmother with the lives of the Ang family, the Chinese Civil War, the rise of communism, and the displacement and challenges faced by many people of China. It was a gripping blend of fact and fiction.

1 Like
13

You learned from a key source! Did your roommate return to Taiwan? Were you able to keep in touch?

1 Like
14

While I did enjoy the book, I agree with @Elizabeth_Trainor that even though it was a compelling story of a harrowing journey, it did at times read as a mere recounting of events–or as Chung described in the author’s note on page 381, as collection of snippets:

“Line by line, I strung together paragraphs that morphed into scenes–collections of snippets that I had taken from my mom and interviews with other relatives.”

15

I agree with [Lynne_Zollian analysis of the book because I enjoy and learn from historical fiction novels I also found it difficult to get into but once I did I became absorbed.

16

I thought the book told a fascinating story. I was familiar with a lot of Chinese history and have been lucky enough to visit China twice, and to meet a woman who was Mao’s secretary of sorts and who talked about the revolution. But I hadn’t heard a story of what actual hardships people fleeing went through—the day to day struggle and terror and impossible-seeming obstacles brought it all to vivid life. I agree, however, that some did feel like ‘this happened and then that happened’ and it could have been more humanized and dramatized. I would have liked to have known more about the mother. I think it’s hard to write about a beloved grandmother and fictionalize her, and more fully probe into her feelings, fears, etc. We’d tend to self-censor (grandma wouldn’t think that!) In general, I wished Chung had dug deeper into her characters, but the book was nonetheless exciting and informative.

1 Like
17

What a wonderful opportunity though painful for your friend

18

Lynne, I love historical fiction for the same reasons you do. This information was all new to me. I agree with your description of how well written the book was.

19

I really enjoyed this book. It was on my TBR list and was thrilled to get the book from BookBrowse. Historical fiction is a favorite and I with it being inspired by events from author’s grandmother, made it mote interesting. When I read and learn things that I didn’t know, always makes a book better. This holds so much about Chinese and Taiwanese history (and the present). I paired the book with the audio, which was done to perfection.

20

I enjoyed and became engrossed in the book, There several reasons the book kept my interest, first historical fiction is one of my go to genres for my reading experience but this was my first novel involving Chinese history so I learned a lot plus we experience the emotional, often heartbreaking but determined journey of a mother and her four daughters from their home in the countryside to the bustling city of Qingdao, and onward to British Hong Kong and eventually Taiwan