Set in Hong Kong, in two time periods, during WWII and about 10 years after. Starts out with a nice writing style, that really kept me reading. Hong Kong was (and is) a melting pot of cultures, and here we see the British Colonials, the properous Westerners, the local business men, the local servants, and then the Eurasian. The book is very much about black and white, versus grey areas. We have a beautiful Eurasian socialite Trudi, who doesn't feel like she fits into a particular place in society, and her relationship with Will, a British national who finds himself round up in the Stanley Internment Camp when Hong Kong is captured by the Japanese. Due to Trudi's background, she stays out of the camp. As the book plays out, there is the mystery of what happened to Trudi, as it is clear from the chapters set after the war that she is no longer around. The details of the Internment Camp, and the anarchy of life of the remaining citizens is quite harrowing. There is also Claire, a newlywed naive young British women that accompanies her husband to Hong Kong after the war, and seems to find that she is reinventing herself.
One of the big themes is the question of being a collaborator with the enemy. Were do you draw the line between collaborating, and survival? And different people judge and are judged differently.
I found it to be a quick read, as I kept wanting to find out what happened to everyone. I did feel that the ending was a little flat. Hard to say why though.
Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
- diamondlil
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2642
- Joined: August 2008
I've had this on my list for a while now! Thanks for the review.
My Blog - Reading Adventures
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton