Rating: 
Summary: powerful historical action thriller
Review: Early in 1949 while her journalist husband Aidan Shaw works in the China Bureau, Joanna manages a retreat for young New Delhi girls sold into prostitution. Because of his criticism of Chiang Kai-Shek, the House on un-American Activities through the FBI begins looking into Aidan and Joanna. To reduce the heat from the States, Aidan is reassigned to cover the war in Kashmir. However, Joanna learns that his plane crashed, but no bodies were recovered.Needing closure and in denial, Joanna refuses to accept the official position that her spouse is dead. She tries official channels, but the State Department, Aidan's media agencies, and other government officials provide her with stonewalling bureaucratic bunk. Disgusted with everyone from the US to China to the UN to India, she turns to Aidan's best friend, Australian Secret Service Agent Lawrence Malcolm who insists that if she wants the truth she must journey to Kashmir. Joanna, Lawrence, and ten-year-old Kamla (rescued from a brothel) begin their trek in Kashmir, but soon finds the Civil War in China holds the answers. FLASH HOUSE is a powerful historical action thriller that brings to life the period of the Communist Revolution in China. The story line vividly displays the era in China and India, and implies what the atmosphere back in DC was like. The audience will care about Joanna and want her to succeed even though she may detest what she learns about Aidan. Though loaded with action, Aimee Liu insures the key players (the three travelers and indirectly Aidan) are fully developed in a tale that guides the reader through the dynamics of 1949 Asia. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Storytelling
Review: I am exhausted. I have just spent the last week racing around India in the late 1940's, struggling with the loss of love, fighting to keep faith and belief alive, and despairing at the imperfections of the human heart. Aimee Liu's Flash House is a myriad of subplots all rolled into one dazzling central theme - fighting for what you believe in and never giving up on what or who you love.
Joanna Shaw met her husband Aidan in a 'Maze of Mirrors' attraction at a beach-side carnvial. From word go, his interests in the world, his unique beliefs outside of Joanna's previous "Pleasantivlle" life were a gasping, sweet breath of fresh air for Joanna. When Aidan follows his journalism career to India, Joanna packs up their home and their son Simon and dutifully and happily follows. Settled in New Dehli, Aidan leaves Joanna asleep in their bed to set out on what she has been told is an 'assignment'. In his absence, Joanna goes ahead with her employment in New Delhi - running a Safe House for rescuing child prostitues...one of which becomes elemental in ironically rescuing Joanna. From the minute little Kamla, the girl with the turquoise eyes, rests her sight on "Mrs Shaw" she "claims" her as the physical entity of her freedom. After suffering a savage destruction of her innocence, Kamla runs to the only place she can think of, Joanna's residence. Amidst highly volatile political unrest, Joanna takes Kamla in after learning of her history and decides to deal with the consequences of personally rescuing an Indian orphan later. Just days later, Joanna receives a telegram of Aidan's disappearance after his plane went down in the Karakoram mountain range and Joanna's entire existence gets thrown off course.
So begins this wonderful, wild adventure told with scissor-sharp precision by the glorious writer, Aimee Liu. As it increasingly appears to the reader, the circumstances that Joanna met Aidan in, the maze of mirrors, may have laid the groundwork for what Liu slowly reveals of their smoke and mirror marriage. Accompanied by Lawrence Malcolm, an Australian friend of Aidan's and little Kamla who proves to be a talented translator, Joanna packs up her son Simon and does the only thing she feels sure of - going after Aidan.
This novel explores the strength, the stubborness, the fraility and the invicibility of unconditional love and all of the complicated mess of emotions that are unable to be contained, that don't fit neatly into a clean little box. Liu's language and descriptions left me breathless and shaking my head - walking alongside these beautifully crafted characters was an absolute joy...with the ultimate question of Aidan's location dangling above me like a carrot for the entire journey. Flash House is a convicting satsifying and unpredictable read and overall was a perfectly paced tale of adventure and love, a combination that Aimee Liu has pulled off with great skill and authenticity.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! A Wonderful Read!
Review: I loved this book! I picked it up on impluse, just liked the look of it. I had no idea when I finished it, I would put it down as one of my favorites. Joanna Shaw and the people who make up her family and life are unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: an intriguing tale.....
Review: I loved this book. It took me on a captivating voyage, through India, Kashmir and China, area known for the 'Great Game' of espionage. The author captures the mood and feel of those places really well, and I found myself drawn in and hooked, ever curious what was going to happen next. Terrific history and culture, delivered in an intriguing tale of spying and unrequited romance. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Unknown history and personal drama
Review: I was hooked on the first page of Aimee Liu's Flash House. Reading it was a delicious adventure. I raced through chapters pulled by the gripping story, and with equal pleasure, slowed to savor the lush and intimate descriptions of India, Kashmir and China. This is a great "read", as well as a fascinating introduction to recent history being played out in today's headlines.
If Ms. Liu had written merely about the political changes and struggles of post W.W.II South Asia, the book would be both compelling and relevant. But in addition, Liu adds the emotional drama of four characters, each of whom has suffered a profound family loss, including, surprisingly, international adoption. As an adoptive parent, I found Liu's sense of the culture clash between adoptee and parent accurate, and a fascinating metaphor for the larger geo-political situation she describes.
Rating:
Summary: Unknown history and personal drama
Review: I was hooked on the first page of Aimee Liu's Flash House. Reading it was a delicious adventure. I raced through chapters pulled by the gripping story, and with equal pleasure, slowed to savor the lush and intimate descriptions of India, Kashmir and China. This is a great "read", as well as a fascinating introduction to recent history being played out in today's headlines.
If Ms. Liu had written merely about the political changes and struggles of post W.W.II South Asia, the book would be both compelling and relevant. But in addition, Liu adds the emotional drama of four characters, each of whom has suffered a profound family loss, including, surprisingly, international adoption. As an adoptive parent, I found Liu's sense of the culture clash between adoptee and parent accurate, and a fascinating metaphor for the larger geo-political situation she describes.
Rating:
Summary: TEN STARS IS THE ONLY APPROPRIATE RATING
Review: If I could give this novel ten stars, I would because this is everything that a novel should be. The twists and turns in the plot capture your interest and hold you captive yet it is the rich lyrical use of language that truly make the book memorable. This is an author who uses words like magic to weave you into a spell of love and intrigue.
The epilogue of this plot-driven novel is satisfying at all levels and the author does the reader the great service of truly wrapping up the novel to a lovely and believable ending.
The only negative that I would caution about is that on occasion the jump from the novel being told in the voice of Joanna to the voice of Kamla is not a smooth transition. However, it is hard to conceive of any way in which the author could have made the transition less jarring.
In the beginning it is somewhat disappointing that Aidan is not a fully drawn out character that would allow the reader to fully understand why Joanna is so driven in her search for the truth. Yet as the novel progresses, it becomes more clear why the author is so clever in slowly revealing the complexities of this character.
The insights into history and culture whet your appetite to learn more about Asia in the post World War II era. This is a book that will capture the delight of book clubs for the foreseeable future!
Rating: 
Summary: Good spy novels aren't dead; read this one!
Review: Set against the backdrop of The Game in which the U.K. and the Soviet Union strive to influence India's future, this historical espionage novel is a terrific read. The story is a good one, the writing better than usual and the detail and ambience superb.
Rating:
Summary: "Ironies are the way of the world."
Review: This rip-roaring, old-fashioned saga is plot-based from beginning to end, a novel which quickly engages the reader with its excitement and never lets up. Set from 1949 to 1950, with an epilogue which brings the characters up to date in 2001, the novel uses the political tensions of the mountainous area where Kashmir, the Soviet Union, Outer Mongolia, Tibet, Afghanistan, and China converge as the catalyst for the action. Aidan Shaw, a Chinese/American journalist with Socialist/Communist leanings, disappears while on a story, and his wife and young son find themselves at the mercy of consulates, embassies, and intelligence services, none of which can give adequate information as to his fate. Packing up her young son, Aidan' wife Joanna goes to Srinagar in search of information. Lawrence Malcolm, the Australian friend whose "hot tip" to Aidan inspired him to undertake his journey, accompanies her, bringing along Kamla, a street child Joanna has "rescued" and whose original home may have been the mountains through which they are traveling. Kamla's story parallels that of Joanna. Her first person account of life on the streets of Delhi and her "rescue" by Joanna broaden the scope and show the contrasts between those who hold the life of one individual to be paramount, such as Joanna, and those for whom survival is such a struggle that soft feelings, or "impossible goodness" are regarded as a weakness. Coincidence plays a big role in this romantic, and at times melodramatic, novel, which uses the search for Aidan as the vehicle through which the plot progresses. The action moves from Delhi to Srinagar and the mountains around Sinkiang, and eventually includes Hong Kong, Calcutta, Milwaukee, and Washington. Liu keeps the pace moving smartly, with important details revealed at each location so that the search for Aidan never flags. As in any plot-driven novel, we learn only as much about the characters as we need to know: the author does not dwell on psychological motivations. Aidan remains a cipher, and Joanna's transformation from idealist to more self-absorbed pragmatist is not explained in any detail. Of greater consequence is the author's belief that "Truth, in the end, requires...fact, illusion, faith--alone each is equally incomplete." The conclusion, which mirrors this belief, destroys the reader's own illusions as the facts unfold, and it is not one in which everything is resolved as the reader might expect or hope. Ultimately, what matters most, according to Kamla is not right or wrong. "It was not politics or fidelity or even understanding...It was simply our mutual ineptitude at love." For readers who believe that fidelity and understanding should be paramount values, the ending will be a surprise, and perhaps not a welcome one. Book clubs should have fun analyzing the author's choice of ending. Mary Whipple
Rating:
Summary: "Ironies are the way of the world."
Review: This rip-roaring, old-fashioned saga is plot-based from beginning to end, a novel which quickly engages the reader with its excitement and never lets up. Set from 1949 to 1950, with an epilogue which brings the characters up to date in 2001, the novel uses the political tensions of the mountainous area where Kashmir, the Soviet Union, Outer Mongolia, Tibet, Afghanistan, and China converge as the catalyst for the action. Aidan Shaw, a Chinese/American journalist with Socialist/Communist leanings, disappears while on a story, and his wife and young son find themselves at the mercy of consulates, embassies, and intelligence services, none of which can give adequate information as to his fate. Packing up her young son, Aidan' wife Joanna goes to Srinagar in search of information. Lawrence Malcolm, the Australian friend whose "hot tip" to Aidan inspired him to undertake his journey, accompanies her, bringing along Kamla, a street child Joanna has "rescued" and whose original home may have been the mountains through which they are traveling. Kamla's story parallels that of Joanna. Her first person account of life on the streets of Delhi and her "rescue" by Joanna broaden the scope and show the contrasts between those who hold the life of one individual to be paramount, such as Joanna, and those for whom survival is such a struggle that soft feelings, or "impossible goodness" are regarded as a weakness. Coincidence plays a big role in this romantic, and at times melodramatic, novel, which uses the search for Aidan as the vehicle through which the plot progresses. The action moves from Delhi to Srinagar and the mountains around Sinkiang, and eventually includes Hong Kong, Calcutta, Milwaukee, and Washington. Liu keeps the pace moving smartly, with important details revealed at each location so that the search for Aidan never flags. As in any plot-driven novel, we learn only as much about the characters as we need to know: the author does not dwell on psychological motivations. Aidan remains a cipher, and Joanna's transformation from idealist to more self-absorbed pragmatist is not explained in any detail. Of greater consequence is the author's belief that "Truth, in the end, requires...fact, illusion, faith--alone each is equally incomplete." The conclusion, which mirrors this belief, destroys the reader's own illusions as the facts unfold, and it is not one in which everything is resolved as the reader might expect or hope. Ultimately, what matters most, according to Kamla is not right or wrong. "It was not politics or fidelity or even understanding...It was simply our mutual ineptitude at love." For readers who believe that fidelity and understanding should be paramount values, the ending will be a surprise, and perhaps not a welcome one. Book clubs should have fun analyzing the author's choice of ending. Mary Whipple
|
