Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but frustrating.
Review: While the story was very interesting especially against the historical backdrop of pre and post communist China, I was completely frustrated by the end of the book. Dr. Mah wants the reader to place all blame for her ghastly child - early adulthood on Mah's wicked, cruel stepmother, Niang. Niang's cruelty and power over Adeline, her siblings, Aunt and Grandfather would never have happened without acquiesce by Dr. Mah's father. I find him at least as reprehensible as Niang. Dr. Mah appears to absolve her Father from responsiblity.
Rating: 
Summary: awesome
Review: I had to read it a second time. Although it was sad, it was also touching as well. She is a wonderful human being, being able to forgive her stepmother for her wickedness, being able to offer her emotional help in time of need.
Rating:
Summary: This book touches the nerve of women unloved by their mother
Review: This book certainly touches raw nerves for any woman who experienced the loss or lack of a mother's love throughout childhood. The reader keeps waiting for the moment when the stepmother will relent, give in and love all of her step children. The reader is puzzled by the father's abandonment of his children. Is not emotional bonding with his own children worth more than the manipulative love of his new wife? At the conclusion of the book, I was left asking, Why? The "why" is not about the daughter's treatment, but rather, why did Adeline write the book. Healing her anger and hurts? Getting even with her stepmother? Getting even with her siblings? The book has left me haunted by these questions, and I welcome a reply from the author!
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic, Emotional, Deep, and a Gut Wrenching Saga
Review: I just completed this novel, and it was the first book I have ever read that gave me a feeling of soulfoul emotions. By the end of the book, you feel as if you are a close freind of the author, and right there in China. Each character has its own tableu of sounds and color that echo off into a saga filled with pain, triumph, and respect. The evil Niang, is the most ruthless I have ever read of to date. I found this book to be excellant even though others have not, but it was touching and a true gripping story!
Rating:
Summary: An amazing child faced with all the odds.
Review: I was absolutely absorbed in this book until the very end! This unwanted child proved that against all the obstacles that her family presented her, she could still win the battle and become her own success in career, life and family. I admire the courage and hardship that she faced in order to become the person she is now. From her terrible experiences of cruelty, lack of love and loneliness as a child that her family gave her, she knew exactly what she didn't want in her future life. Living with such unreasonable and inhumane parents (especially her manipulative stepmother, Niang) did not discourage her lifelong strife for a better life. What makes Ada admirable is that she made sure she got the best marks at school in order to make herself feel special against the loveless control of her parents. That was her key to freedom in later life. Her story gives hope to those children in the world who have suffered unnecessarily. This book also gives valuable insight into the life and culture of China which was very thought-provoking indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but not very in depth.
Review: I found this book interesting but not very in depth. I do not truly understand why the characters act as they do nor did I particularly care about the characters. Why is the step mother so cruel? Why does the father allow it? Is money the only reason the brothers follow after the step mother? It leaves a lot of unanswered questions. I had a hard time caring about the author because she lacked emotion as well. She didn't really express how she felt about anyone-very surfacy.
Rating: 
Summary: Over-rated and over-hyped
Review: I read this book before it was re-released and I think it's a travesty and a pityfest that dies out after a few chapters. The title is basically an attention-grabbing effort to pull at the heart strings of home makers who need to fill lazy afternoons. Wouldn't have given it any stars if I had the choice.
Rating:
Summary: Painful
Review: I know nothing of Chinese culture but I feel I have learned something of it from this book. It's a difficult read because of the subject matter and the incredible level of neglect and abuse. It takes a certain level of courage to write about such things. I think the author's decision to focus on Niang and her childhood family, thus omitting much about her own children and family, was appropriate, as the book was mainly about a little's girl's relationship with her stepmother. I recommend this book to those who can stand to stomach the sorrow and who don't rate abuse by "oh that wasn't so bad" or "I know people who had it worse".
Rating:
Summary: Makes you want to cry. . .
Review: The story was an interesting read. Especially the history of China. It made me incredibly sad to know that in every time and place a child grows up in a loveless and abusive home.I found another reviewer's comments interesting in that they found this book "drivel" and wondered why it had been written or a bestseller at that. "She didn't have it so bad". Everyone has a story to be told and if it makes her whole, so be it. At least I could get through this book, which is more than I can say for "Angela's Ashes". Just because someone's story is not the worst, does not invalidate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sour Grapes
Review: It isn't easy growing up in a dysfuntional family and the times she grew up in were turbulent at best. But she wasn't abandoned like so many female Chinese and she had enough to eat, clothes to wear and an excellent education that prepared her to make her own professional living, plus she had the invaluable support of a loving aunt. So, why write a book spewing out such vitriol? And a pretty poorly written book at that. Better to read the magnificant, vastly more informative "Wild Swans." By the way, I bought this book a few years ago in hard cover after reading "Wild Swans" and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that this drivel made it the the best-seller list. If you want a memoir about surviving your family, read "The Liar's Club" - the author not only survived but overcame and forgave - arriving on the other side whole.
|
