Night of Many Dreams

Rating:
Summary: ...absolutely enchanting...a feeling that stays with you
Review: This is a book that will leave you crying at the end. Maybe out of sadness, maybe out of joy, maybe for some untouched human emotion. Six very different members of my family read it...each one having the same reaction. An absolutely joy to read...peaceful, evoking, calming.

Rating:
Summary: Good story line, but lacked character development
Review: Though the book was written from the perspective of several of the main characters, I never felt that I got to know them. The book seemed to go from event to event in a hurried fashion. The story line was interesting, but lacked depth. The Samurai's Garden is a much better read.

Rating:
Summary: Simplicity Counts
Review: To speak of the truth, I was initially attracted to the book because of its shimmering cover. Little did I realize that something more exciting awaited me. The moment I start flipping the pages, I was hooked. The lives of Emma and Joan had me so captivated. Though the lives they lead were not exactly riveting, it felt real to me. I could relate to how they were feeling especially when Emma was in America all by herself. I felt like I know her and reading her encounters in America brought back memories for myself. Also, how the characters' lives in the book were all interwined makes me view family ties in a different light. The unconditional love Joan had for Emma, Emma had for Joan, Auntie Go's love for her nieces and the girls' mother who loved them in her own unique way touched my heart. The story also shed light on the bond between Emma and her friend in Macau. Absence only makes the hearts grow fonder. The bond they shared was incredible. I also admire Joan's wits and bravery in the beginning of the novel whereby she, a teenager had to collect debts on the behalf of her father and the clever tactics she used to handle tricky debtors. I like the way Gail Tsukiyama depicts the courage of the girls regardless of how adverse the circumstances may be. There are two unexpected twists to the story. A good read for those who prefers simplicity and a slow, relaxing read for all the ideas to sink in. More for the gals out there, definitely!

Rating:
Summary: Plot? What plot?
Review: What exactly is this book about? We are given the most obvious of devices--two sisters different as night and day, a misguided mother, the devoted aunt, the philandering husband--and absolutely no character to care about. Were you interested in the father's unrequited love for Auntie Go? Too bad--you get about a page. Curious about what motivated the steadfast servant? Tough--Tsukiyama gives us only a cartoon. The New York Times called this novel "evocative," but almost every page lumps along in generalities. After daughter Emma is permitted to go the United States for college, a turning point in the girl's life, Tsukiyama writes: "Then came the exciting search to find the right colleges to apply to...'California isn't so far,' Emma said, thinking of all she'd read about Hollywood and the Golden Gate Bridge." Evocative? I don't think so. Each time Auntie Go pours herself or a guest some cognac, we are treated to the same description of how it warmed the throat. Am I the only one who, when the last glass is poured, knew we were in for another "throat-warming" clause? That's not evocative, that's predictable. "Delicately fashioned," writes the Times reviewer. Huh? When Emma's husband, Jack, telephones to say he'll be driving back to California following some military training, is there any doubt about his fate? Or Emma's? Or her father's? (Hint: Two of three don't get to have their throats warmed again by--well, you know.) What a tired, contrived, aimless, generic piece of writing this is!

Rating:
Summary: Clumsy and mechanical
Review: WOOO-WEE -- here's a breezy little treatise disguised as a historical novel that would have us believe that men are completely dispensable!!!! First, a look at the male archetypes: Ba-ba, whose mysterious potential is hinted at but, just as mysteriously, never materialized by the author (?!!?!!!) is a shadowy, pre-occupied, slim figure always off in Japan, leaving the females to fend for themselves; glamorous Joan's dates are unfaithful wretches; and Emma's poor husband, whose tragic flaw is being a good guy I guess, was conveniently written out of the story with the clumsiest deus ex machina I have seen since the kind woodcutter jumps in to save the day in Little Red Riding Hood!!!! Secondly, on to the stiff rendering of characters. As one astute reviewer pointed out, in the first few chapters of the book the reader is reminded again and again of the distinguishing traits of each character. Without variation, Foon is the "old servant flashing a gold tooth", Joan is the glamour queen with a mole on her lip, the mother leaves the lingering scent of Shalimar in the room, amazingly enough Emma, intelligent and serious, is the exact counterpoint of her beautiful sister... All of these points would have been fine, had they been made once, even twice would be forgivable, but the poor reader is continually flogged with these blunt tools throughout the read. The book also aspires to, but never achieves, some sort of a look at the politics of race and nation, as a backdrop to the main story about how a family of strong women survives against the odds. However, the author's attempt at finessing the politico/historical backdrop is so contrived and drags out so many old saws, the reader feels she has stumbled into a lumber camp: the Japanese are hateful plundering creatures; the Hawaiians are a peaceful relaxed, sensual people; Americans are jocular bunch, slapping each other on the back and eating bland, tough food; Chinese people are tight with their family and offended by bland, tough food... Do we really need another reinforcement of these stereotypes???!! I give the book one star because I like that the author writes of the relationships between women, I give it a half star for the attempt made on the part of the author to bring to life the world of Hong Kong cinema, I give it another half star for whatever it was in the story that kept me reading to the end, for a total of 2 stars. In conclusion, I would like to quote one astute reviewer who wrote "we expect more from a professional writer."