I highly recommend this book. It will appeal to those who enjoy books about family relationships, it will appeal to those who enjoy learning about historical events in foreign lands and finally it will appeal to those who enjoy historical biographies. This is a book of historical fiction. It is not based on real lives, but the writing feels so genuine that you believe the characters really did exist. The maternal grandparents of the author where Christian missionaries in China. The author knows China and this shows in her writing. Her research is impeccable. Historical facts and even such small details as the songs and movies, hits of those times, are woven into the thread. It is the details that makes this book feel genuine. The book grabbed me from the start. Anna, six years old, lives with her wealthy parents, an American mother and a father born in China but to American missionaries. He is educated in the States, where the couple meet. But China is his home, and Shanghai is the love of his life. His love for this city makes Shanghai in the 1930s just glow. His love for this city and his daughter are one. He teaches her everything about it. As he teaches her we learn too. You must know how someone's enthusiasm for a place or subject is contagious? This is what you experience when you read about the time he spends with his young daughter in the parks, walking along the Bund and eating in the restaurants in Shanghai. The statues and the marble columns and green domes, the glittery exuberance, the hotel where newspapers are ironed every morning. The details put you there. The Wangpoo River is not fragrant, the ships anchored along the side are noisy, the vendors are both noisy and smelly too. There is a map of the streets, buildings, the border of the International Settlement, th French Concession, the Soochow River crossed by the Garden Bridge. When they walk you know exactly where they are on the map. You see the city before the Japanese took over. This book offers a glimpse into the glittering lives of the Europeans living in the International Settlement. The story only begins here. Then the Japanese take control. Mother and daughter leave; father stays. Then the Jewish émigrés pour in, but this is not a book about them. Things go from bad to worse. What happened in in 1941 with the events of Pearl Harbor? And then later the Communists arrive. The book covers all of this. I must warn that the events are gruesome, but they were a reality for some. That the mother and daughter depart for the US, leaving the father behind, adds a second them to the story. This is well written too, but for me a bit less engaging. However I do think many others will enjoy this equally. The theme here is about family relationships, a bit about religion and simply growing older, finding out what we value in life and who we are. How do we relate to our parents both as a child and as we grow older? And it is about grandchildren and what passes from one generation to the next. Maybe a bit sentimental but quite nice! I recommend this book because it both teaches both about life in Shanghai from the 30s through the 50s and about the emotional feelings within one family. That family feels very real. This is not a book about the Jewish émigrés that flooded into Shanghai during the war. For that I suggest instead: Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China
This was a fascinating book. We begin in Shanghai in about 1930, where Anna, 5 years old, lives with her parents. Father Joseph, the son of missionaries, was born in China and has become a millionaire in the go-go rough and tumble of 30's Shanghai. Eve, the mother, is a beautiful, charming Southern California transplant, who seems to have fit in to the high society and privilege of her husband's world in China.The times are about to catch up with with the family as powerful historical and political events in China overtake their life.Joseph is revealed as a difficult, charismatic, impossible, charming man, central to Anna's life, and as things come apart in Shanghai his foibles and flaws become more and more apparent.The book covers the period from 1930 to 1981, as Eve and Anna leave Shanghai for Pasadena, and Joseph stays in his beloved Shanghai to face whatever comes, believing the turmoil is only temporary and that things will work out in the end.Eve and Anna make a life for themselves near Eve's mother, and the communication between Eve and Joseph is sporadic and worrisome to both Eve and Anna. As the years go by, Joseph eventually comes to Pasadena but can't make a life for himself there and returns again to Shanghai, just in time for the takeover of the Communist Party there.The novel is filled with horrific political and social events in China and paints a vivid picture of life in Shanghai during tumultuous times of huge historical significance. But the story also deals intimately with the dynamics of this family, the meaning and importance of stability and parental love in the life of a child, and the power of forgiveness.A wonderful read.
Do You like book The Distant Land Of My Father (2002)?
I also just finished The Distant Land of My Father. Totally enjoyed the revelations of each character as they dealt with life. I was interested in the historical aspect for Shanghai, the Chinese and the Japanese. I would definitely give this 4 stars...maybe 5! C
—Trudy
Now that I am retired I have discovered that I can allow myself the pleasure of reading, right in the middle of the afternoon, or whenever I feel like it! I have joined a book group, which has introduced me to some wonderful new titles. This book is one of the book group selections, as well as the "Silicon Valley Reads" for this year. It is a wonderful story of Anna, whose early childhood is spent in luxury in Shanghai in the 1930's. Live changes for the worse with the Japanese takeover, but Anna's father, an opportunistic businessman, refuses to leave. Anna and her mother return to southern California, where they make a new life for themselves; however Anna cannot lose the feeling that she was abandoned by her beloved father. This is beautifully written in a painterly style, with many details which transport the reader to Anna's experiences. The author is local, so she is speaking at many libraries in the area in February. I can't wait to hear her speak about her writing.
—Betsy Wachter
Everyone in my book club really enjoyed this book - a rarity! It is one of the best books I've read in awhile. From start to finish it was an engaging story that you wanted to finish. The story teeters back and forth between Shanghai and Southern California, the story spanning from 1930 to the 80's. A sneaky historical fiction novel that feeds you some WWII and Chinese history while you are enjoying the engaging story of a young family. I definitely recommend this book to anyone in need of a good summer read.
—Amy
