Rating: 
Summary: Lacks credibility
Review: A story different than Woman of the Silk and The Language of Threads that continues with the themes of independence and self sufficiency. Tsukiyama's style is true and this book is also written in her simplistic, beautiful, prose.Perhaps this story was a bit more predictable than her previous works, but I enjoyed it just as much. Tsukiyama has inspired me to read more about China, its culture, and women.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoy!
Review: A story different than Woman of the Silk and The Language of Threads that continues with the themes of independence and self sufficiency. Tsukiyama's style is true and this book is also written in her simplistic, beautiful, prose. Perhaps this story was a bit more predictable than her previous works, but I enjoyed it just as much. Tsukiyama has inspired me to read more about China, its culture, and women.
Rating: 
Summary: Very juvenile and shallow writing.
Review: After reading the early customer comments on this book, I could hardly wait to start it, then I had to force myself to finish it. I had chosen it after reading "Memoirs of a Geisha". What a disappointment. All through the book I had the feeling that it was being written by a high school student. The plot was dismally predictable and the characters lacking in any depth. Guess I kept at it for the descriptions of the food--the only redeeming quality in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best work
Review: Gail Tsukiyama is a gifted writer with the ability to relate a complex story simply and beautifully. Unfortunately this was not evident in this book. None of the characters ever really came to life or reached their hinted at dreams or potential. Despite some level of vision, insight, independence and drive, no one was able to change the "fate" that was so often mentioned. One might argue that this was done deliberately as some commentary on people, society and contemporary literature, but I am not sure this is the case. Full of repetitious stereotypes and undeveloped ideas, I would never recommend this as an inspiring story of strong women or families. "Dreaming Waters", Tsukiyama's latest, is a much better read.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful and Moving..
Review: Gail Tsukiyama is one of my favorite authors! Night of Many Dreams is a wonderful tale of family and the bonds that are never broken..even over the years! The author has a wonderful way of bringing the characters to life and the book just draws you in and keeps your interest to the point of where you can't put it down. It is about relationships and how love and family transcend all tragedy..You will love this book!
Rating:
Summary: 16 year old loves this book
Review: I advise everyone to read this book. It's full of laughs, and tears. I couldn't put it down!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not her best work
Review: I can't even remember why I bought this book -- I just happened upon it last week, and once I started reading it, I quickly got sucked into the stories of these women's lives. I read some of the of other comments regarding this book -- that's it's not "historical" and that it doesn't represented men well (except Emma's husband). While this is true, I don't think this is a hinderance at all. Tsukiyama tells a really good story, it's a good read, and you end up caring about the characters immensely. It's a story about women's lives -- and the differences between them. While history does play a part in the plot, it's not the center piece. History doesn't drive the plot, per se, but the different relationships and the difference experiences between daughters and mothers and aunts and, yes, even men drive the plot. I would highly recommend this book if you just want to escape for awhile. You might even see a little bit of yourself in one of these women, and you might even learn a bit more about the women that touch your life. Just be prepared for the ending. It's tragic, but it completes the circle as well. I think this is when all the women in the story really learn about themselves, if they hadn't before.
Rating:
Summary: Great READ!
Review: I can't even remember why I bought this book -- I just happened upon it last week, and once I started reading it, I quickly got sucked into the stories of these women's lives. I read some of the of other comments regarding this book -- that's it's not "historical" and that it doesn't represented men well (except Emma's husband). While this is true, I don't think this is a hinderance at all. Tsukiyama tells a really good story, it's a good read, and you end up caring about the characters immensely. It's a story about women's lives -- and the differences between them. While history does play a part in the plot, it's not the center piece. History doesn't drive the plot, per se, but the different relationships and the difference experiences between daughters and mothers and aunts and, yes, even men drive the plot. I would highly recommend this book if you just want to escape for awhile. You might even see a little bit of yourself in one of these women, and you might even learn a bit more about the women that touch your life. Just be prepared for the ending. It's tragic, but it completes the circle as well. I think this is when all the women in the story really learn about themselves, if they hadn't before.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks credibility
Review: I had great hopes for this book as I love Chinese-American literature. Although I have not finished reading the book yet (so this is not my definitive critique), I am rather disappointed with it so far. After reading the other reviews, I am very much inclined to agree with the readers who have voiced disappointment with the book. The characters are superficial and seem to play up to some stereotype or image the author has of how the "smart" girl should look, how the beautiful girl should conduct herself, or how the elusive mother should behave. Even then, the characters lack depth.
Moreover, I am having an incredibily difficult time believing this is supposed to be set in Hong Kong and Macau during WWII. First of all, she has yet to delve into the culture of Chinese people. The relations between the women and with the father appear contrived and unrealistic for a Chinese family. How many chinese families do you know kiss and hug each other??? Perhaps, more Americanized ones, but certainly not a chinese family set in Hong Kong during WWII.
Another question I have is how well did the author do her research? The way I was reading it, gave me the impression I was set in modern day Hong Kong, not 1940s HK.
And as far as I understand, the Chinese hated the Japanese beyond anything. The father seemed to move between Hong Kong and Japan like there was no socio-political crisis taking place. I am truly having a hard time believing she has much knowledge or understanding of the culture or history.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I really thought from the description of the book that it would be a great story. But despite the fact that the characters and setting lend themselves to an interesting story, the author doesn't seem to write very well. I tired of this book very quickly and just read it to find out what happened to everyone in the end. If you're interested in novels about women's relationships (such as sisters) in an Asian setting, I highly recommend Divakaruni's "Sister of My Heart."
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