eyes.2c Reviews

The Lotus Shoes : A Novel  by Jan Yang      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Even though she’s from a peasant family Little Flower’s mother, Aa Noeng, had insisted Little Flower have her feet bound from the age of four. In this way Little Flower might make a more prosperous marriage in the future. (“Four Inch Golden Lillies” is the name given to properly bound feet. The explanation of how this custom came into being is told.) Only that advantage was not to be. Little Flower’s father died and the family fell on hard times. So much so that Aa Noeng sold Little Flower into slavery. She becomes a muizai- From that time on Little Flower’s spirit was sorely tested but she rose up and in her own way faced down all the hardships she encountered. Trapped in the same cycle is her spoilt mistress , who continually blames Little Flower for her problems. Linjing is implacable in her dislike and tries to foil any advancement Little Flower might make at every opportunity. Aa Noeng had been so proud of L...

Shanghai : A Novel by Joseph Kanon      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wonderful expose of Jews trying to leave Europe prior to Hitler taking complete control. Shanghai is the only port not requiring entry visas.   Daniel Lohr, a Jew, leaves Germany bound for Shanghai, to join his uncle. Uncle Nathan  has  been running a nightclub with a sideline in gambling. The relationship between Daniel’s father Eli and his brother Nathan is intriguing. We are given fascinating snippets of their lives, pictures from which we must deduce what’s happening. That’s the tone of this biting thriller. Bits and pieces are leaked to us. We infer much. Like real life we don’t see all the factors at first glance. Daniel had been an unregistered member of the communist party. His cell had been compromised, fortunately he wasn’t. He barely escapes Germany. On the ship he meets a cross section of people he’ll run into again in Shanghai. Leah whom he has a voyage only relationship with, Florence a membe...

The Fox Wife : A Novel  by Yangsze Choo      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There’s a lot to recommend in this tale. The fascinating background of 1908 Manchuria, mythical characters such as the fox gods, in particular Ah San meaning “snow” who is seeking vengeance for the killing of her daughter, and Detective Bao Gong who can detect when someone lies. He’s seeking the identity of a courtesan who was found sitting dead in the snow and smiling. He believes a fox is involved. He has a history with the fox gods, tricksters or something more? The story of these two slowly intertwines as both travel with others to Japan.  A moving story, beautiful in its execution. Here the slowness meanders to the heart of the matter. Second chance romance is in the offing. I burned with anger over Ah San’s daughter’s cruel death. Just love the cover btw. So simple yet evocative, reflecting the tale. A Henry Holt ARC via NetGalley.                     ...

Love and Murder in the Time of Covid  (Inspector Chen #13) by Qiu Xiaolong     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A confronting novel. Chen Cao, now relegated to director of the Shanghai Judicial System Reform Office, is recalled from convalescent leave to solve a high profile crime. It seems there’s a serial murderer loose just as China is fighting Covid. Chen is a poet and policeman. Much like the famous Judge Dee. Only it’s not an empress Chen is keeping at bay, it’s the Chinese Communist Party. A constant heartbeat underlying the investigation of what is being seen as the work of a serial murderer, is the story of the Covid pandemic in China. The inhumane efforts the Chinese government went to to control the spread of the disease, their infamous zero Covid policy, their surveillance, and severe rules and punishments carried out by the party faithful, administering the harsh regime. People nailed into their apartments, children separated from parents, left alone, no food, people taken into c...

Hold Your Breath, China (Inspector Chen Cao #10)   by Qiu Xiaolong       A serial murderer and extreme air pollution activists in China are the focus of Shanghai Chief Inspector Chen and Detective Yu Guangming, with of course, the requisite People's Party attendant. Chen however is diverted away from the murders and directed by Zhao, "Comrade Secretary Zhao, the retired first secretary of the Party Central Discipline Committee," to investigate a group of activists researching and filming about the pollution levels in the country. The figure of Zhao whom for Chen, "had been something of a political patron, having entrusted [Chen]with several high-profile cases and backed him up on a number of occasions. Chen could have long been crushed by his adversaries, as whispered in the inner circle, but for Zhao’s speaking out for him at the top." Complex and intriguing developments are set against the modern Chinese background. I must admit that I have long puzzled...

Foresight: The Lost Decades of Uncle Chow Tung (Uncle Chow Tung #2)   by Ian Hamilton    Once more I am dazzled by Hamilton's understandings of historical times in China and Hongkong. An escapee from China under tragic circumstances has Uncle vowing never to return. But needs must. When Uncle turns his eyes towards Shenzhen there is the worry that even though Uncle has HongKong ID, the People's Republic will not respect that. I was absorbed by the continuing story of Uncle Chow and the Fanling triad's move into business in the Special Economic Zone in "Shenzhen, next door to Hong Kong and on Fanling’s doorstep." Zones created by Premier Deng Xiaoping as a move towards transforming "China into an economic superpower." (A happening we are now all familiar with.) Its 1981 and Uncle and the Fanling triad are in trouble. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a legal betting monopoly and they have been gathering momentum putting Uncle's operations under i...

How We Disappeared: A Novel by Jing-Jing Lee           I have read quite a few novels and attended at least one heart wrenching play over the past few years about Comfort Women. Basically women taken and forced to be sex slaves in brothels set up by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II to service their occupation troops. These women were treated as little more than animals. Their circumstances, their treatment and their violation was horrific. Disease and brutality with no quarter given marched hand in hand. The problem of reintegration was real for most of these women. The notion of someone from the younger generation, in this instance Kevin, discovering or questioning the life of an elder (parent, grandparent) is a frequently used trope. JIng-Jing Lee has used this method to advantage. Kevin becomes the agent for healing. The story of Wang Di, taken from her village at gun point on the Singapore Peninsula by Japanese invaders and interred as ...

Fate (The Lost Decades of Uncle Chow Tung #1) by Ian Hamilton          How could I resist another series by the creator of Ava Lee, the forensic accountant, and one of my favorite, contemporary mystery characters? What I didn't realize was that I'd be so fascinated by Uncle Chow Tung's story. We first meet him in the Ava Lee novels and always there's been something different about him.  And this series explains it. How the young man from communist China becomes a leading triad figure.  Set in the 1970's in Hong Kong, Chow Tung is the accountant (the White Fan) for the Fanling Triad. The tension builds when the Dragon Head of the Fanling Triad is killed in a hit and run accident. A new Mountain Master is to be appointed. Chow calls for an election as per the triad's rules. He sees the next in line as weak and ineffectual and is concerned. So we have an internal power struggle, with other triad's poised for action and the mystery of who is behin...

City of Ink (Li Du Novels #3) by Elsa Hart  First up I am a huge fan of historical mysteries set in earlier times in China and other parts of Asia. I have not read Hart's previous novels featuring Li Du, but I am now hooked and will remedy that mishap very soon. The title 'City of Ink' is so fitting as one becomes aware of the novel's setting, with the frenzied hoards of scholars that have descended on the city of Beijing. It's the early 1700's and Li Du, a scholar of some note, previously exiled from Beijing, returns to investigate his mentor's demise. His mentor was executed for conspiracy. Working as a humble clerk, the assistant to the Chief Inspector Sun of the North Borough Office, Li Du becomes involved with the murder inquiries into the death of a local factory owner's wife. As the investigation continues Li Du feels there is more to the death than it appears on the surface. However the city officials want things solved quickly. The husb...