review by Amy
In attendance: Jayne M., Jane E., Frances, Carolyn, Pam, and Amy. Thadd (Jayne M's son) was also there, built a great fire, and it was nice to catch up with his plans.
Frances went overboard with an array of Chinese-inspired snacks (fried rice, shrimp rolls, sauces, noodles, etc.), tea and wine. At first everyone said they enjoyed the book, until Jane E. dared to say she didn't. No one disagreed with her opinion that it was hard to keep the characters straight and that the story was oversimplified. "Better to just reread The Good Earth" was her remark, more or less. Much of the story seemed to rely on what was not said between the characters, which revealed a lot about Chinese culture. However, as Pam pointed out, it was a great introduction for someone who knows nothing of China during this time period and what life might have been like for young women there. Frances is ordering the sequel, which might be interesting for the group to read one day.
I think there will be some good follow-up discussion, although few suggestions were offered. In bringing up the lesbian element to the story, and the atmosphere that these girls lived in, and that there didn't seem to be one sympathetic male character (save the brother of Lin [was that Pei's friend's name?]), I recalled a book I read several years ago about an ethnic group in China, near Tibet, that is matrilineal. Sons live with their mother. Daughters can take as many lovers as they like and raise the children themselves along with their sisters and mother. The core of the family is the mother and her home, but I forget all the details about how this system really works. It's called "Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the End of the World."
