pickThis story follows the paths of several people living in China during the Cultural Revolution who eventually make their way to America. There were some weaknesses in the writing, but the characters and strong storytelling, along with the interesting historical details, more than made up for the deficiencies.
@BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
pickThe writing style annoyed me, but that‘s a matter of taste and I liked this well enough otherwise to call it a pick. I cared about the characters who are subject to the vagaries of chance & circumstance. The setting—China‘s cultural revolution plus its aftermath—is also fascinating & clearly portrayed without lengthy elaboration. Music has a central role & I can actually imagine this story adapted into a wonderful opera. #CanLit #shadowgiller2021
Littens, here‘s another sex scene to evaluate. Yay or nay?
Usually when I flag a bunch of passages in a book, it‘s because I like how something is expressed, or because I take notice of the content. With this novel, however, I kept marking passages that exemplify why I find the writing style clunky & annoying. Information dumping is one of the things that bug me.
Okay Littens, tell me what you think: is this cheesy writing or a lovely description of intimacy?
I‘m finding the writing in this Giller longlisted novel unpleasantly awkward, as in this passage that imparts information about cultural differences in a clunky way.
They came to the paddock enclosing one of the most popular animals in the zoo, a species nicknamed “Quadruple-Not-Look-Alike.” The placard said its formal name was Elaphurus davidianus or Père David‘s deer, and that the animal had the hooves of a cow, the neck of a camel, the antlers of a deer, and the tail of a donkey, but was none of those things.
(Internet photo)
Swimming Back to Trout River | 
