Rating: 
Summary: POWERFUL
Review: this book had the power to make me laugh and to make me cry..and to make one cry, it has to reach the heart..this book did that
Rating:
Summary: This book is a treasure
Review: This book is a treasure, a novel that transported me back in time. It is a vivid journey back to the distant land of the narrator's childhood, the city of Shanghai, her father's city which he could not bring himself to leave. The book is beautifully, historically accurate. I spent my early childhood in the Far East and have visited Shanghai. I recognized the sights, sounds, tastes, and allure of this magical city. But more than a journey through time and distance, this book is a journey within, to the depths of compassion and the narrator's own self-discovery. It holds a world of experience between its covers, blending human weakness and dignity, power and beauty. Reading this book is to follow the path with heart.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This book is beautifully written. I can't remember when I have been so mesmerized by the language, the beautiful visual descriptions, and the way in which characters are brought to life by gently folding back the layers of their souls until you feel you have actually been in their skin. An absolutely great read that should not be passed up.
Rating:
Summary: Old Shanghai reborn
Review: This book was great... the smells, sounds, sights, and tastes of Old Shanghai drip from the pages. Sadly, as Shanghai itself is transformed into a government bureaucracy¡¯s vision of modernity, books such as this are one are some of the few surviving places that the old city lives on. Ironically, the main characters infatuation with Shanghai can be seen again with the large influx of foreigners returning to the city in the past five years. If you liked this book, you may also enjoy ¡°Rice¡± written by the Chinese author Su Tong. This novel also takes place in pre-communist Shanghai and is centered on a Chinese organized crime boss.
Rating:
Summary: Old Shanghai reborn
Review: This book was great... the smells, sounds, sights, and tastes of Old Shanghai drip from the pages. Sadly, as Shanghai itself is transformed into a government bureaucracy¡¯s vision of modernity, books such as this are one are some of the few surviving places that the old city lives on. Ironically, the main characters infatuation with Shanghai can be seen again with the large influx of foreigners returning to the city in the past five years. If you liked this book, you may also enjoy ¡°Rice¡± written by the Chinese author Su Tong. This novel also takes place in pre-communist Shanghai and is centered on a Chinese organized crime boss.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing and transporting...
Review: This is a great escape book - you won't want to put it down. I loved everything about it - the experience of being in Shanghai, of being part of another family, of sorting through life's emotions and curveballs in a very heartful and satisfying manner. Bo Caldwell is a stunning writer - it's hard to believe this marvelous book is her first novel. I'm eagerly awaiting her next book!
Rating:
Summary: Pass this book onto your parents
Review: This is the best novel I have read in years. It explores the themes of betrayal and forgiveness, commitment and impulse, and most importantly, the enduring love that exists between a parent and child.
The early part of this book is set in Shanghai in the 1930's. Anna lives there with her parents--Joseph, the son of missionaries, now a smuggler and millionaire, and Genivieve, the composed and graceful beauty. When Shanghai is taken over by the Japanese at the beginning of the Second World War, Anna and Genevieve escape to California, while Joseph cannot bear to part with the city he loves. Again and again he choses Shanghai over his family, and Anna resolves never to let him into her life again. But when Anna is an adult, he reappears and she reevaluates her resolution to shut her father out.
This book was magical. Anna's relationship with her mother is every bit as compelling and complex as her relationship with her father. What I really felt this novel stood for is the proposition that your parents' love guides your life from the cradle to the grave, long after they are gone. To me, one passage in the book stands out more than all others. Anna says, "My parents have been gone for more than 20 years, and every year I feel their love more strongly." I can't even write about it now without tears coming to my eyes.
The writing is so beautiful and the imagery of Shanghai is so rich. Also particularly beautiful is Caldwell's description of the various gardens that play a role in her story. This is a book to be read slowly, savored, and then passed on to your mother, father or child.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: This novel is a wondeful read and it is by far one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The book is so well written and detailed that you can almost see and hear the sites and sounds of Shanghai as you read. Bo Caldwell does a fantastic job of portraying life in Shanghai prior to the invasion of the Japanese and also in presenting historical facts about the changes and hardships which this invasion brought upon the people living there. She does this in such a way, that you are able to learn a great deal about Shanghai and it's past and at the same time enjoy a well written and intricate story. Not only does this book deal with Japan's invasion of Shanghai, but it is also examines the relationship between a father and the daughter whom he abandons. I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in Shanghai or anybody who simply wants to read a very interesting and well-written book.
Rating:
Summary: Magic. A Shanghai story read by a fireplace.
Review: You have to hand it to Chronicle Books.
A publishing house known for its refreshing non-fiction and cultural oddities publishes a magical book by a woman named Bo that could easily make the list at Knopf or Farrar Straus. Here is the high concept premise and I challenge you to pick up the first page and not continue. This is a fictional memoir of a daughter who adores her father and dreams to be like her mother -- set during World War II in a corner of Shanghai where stories are spun like so much colorful silk.
How can a San Francisco woman write a period story of China that seems so real?
Here is the first sentence which I read in downtown San Francisco
on the way to buy shoes. I then forgot about the shoes:
"My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s."
And it is preceded by a hand-drawn map. Yoknapatawpha County?
A little Huck Finn magic to come. Truly original and truly worth every penny.
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