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Women in Resistance & Renée Rosen
Member Q&A with Renée Rosen, Ocean Vuong's latest, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
This week, check out our online discussion of Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung, winner of last year’s BookBrowse Debut Book Award, which narrates the perilous journey of a mother and her daughters during China’s Communist revolution. Also in the community forum, enjoy our member Q&A with Renée Rosen, author of Let’s Call Her Barbie and other historical novels.
Our First Impressions readers comment on the slowly unrolling beauty of Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan, set in a future San Francisco plagued by floods.
In Editor’s Choice, we cover the latest novel from acclaimed poet Ocean Vuong. The Emperor of Gladness revolves around a complex cast of characters and family history in a Connecticut town.
And in connection with Suzanne Cope’s Women of War, a nonfiction account of women fighting fascism in Italy, we bring you a reading list of more books about women participating in resistance movements.
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
Book Club Discussions
Discussions are open to all! If you’d like to participate, you can do so by creating an account here. Please note that discussions can contain spoilers.
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
From the Jacket A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters' harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story. From the Discussion “Eve Chung effectively weaves the story of her own grandmother with the lives of the Ang family, the Chinese Civil War, the rise of communism, and the displacement and challenges faced by many people of China. It was a gripping blend of fact and fiction.” —Lynne_Zolli |  |
“I absolutely loved this book! 5 stars for me! The storyline, characters, descriptions, etc. were all so vivid.” —Amber_H
“This would be an excellent book for a book club or fans of historical fiction. I also think it would appeal to a younger audience who might not have knowledge of that period in world history.” —Elizabeth_Trainor
First Impressions
Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.
Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan
“Susanna Kwan has crafted a cleverly composed narrative. In a waterlogged San Francisco, the reader is instantly engaged and entangled in the thoughts and actions of the protagonist, Bo, who is reeling from the loss of her mother in a flood and currently wrestling with her pending decision to leave her beloved city. When Mia, a neighbor with health issues, requests her services, Bo finds herself unable to refuse and their relationship becomes integral to both of them. Can Bo find her way back to her true self? Will she fail Mia? Will she ever be able to escape the hold San Francisco has on her?” —Gloria M. (Los Gatos, CA) |  |
“I didn't expect a book about a futuristic, devastated, flooded San Francisco to be beautiful, but this one certainly is that along with its other positive qualities…Well worth the time to read and would generate discussion within a book club.” —Kay D. (Strongsville, OH)
“At its core, this is a novel about the importance of connection: to family and ancestry, to friends (old and new), to our creative muses, and to our need for meaning.” —Jill S. (Durham, NC)
BookBrowsers Ask Renée Rosen
In an “Ask the Author” session held in the BookBrowse community forum, members interview Renée Rosen, author of Let’s Call Her Barbie. You can see upcoming and former author coversations here.
Kim Kovacs: Please tell the group a little bit about yourself and your books. Renée Rosen: To date I’ve written 9 historical novels and am working on number 10. I tend to write about strong, trailblazing women like Helen Gurley Brown (PARK AVENUE SUMMER), Estee Lauder (FIFTH AVENUE GLAMOUR GIRL), Alva Vanderbilt (THE SOCIAL GRACES) and Ruth Handler (LET’S CALL HER BARBIE). But I’ve also written a few books that feature mostly fictional characters (DOLLFACE and WHITE COLLAR GIRL). I also jump around in time periods and have two books set in the Gilded Age, one in the Roaring Twenties, and several in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. I guess you could say I write all across the board. |  |
My most recent novel, LET’S CALL HER BARBIE has been out since the end of January and I’ve been on the road ever since, promoting from the West Coast to the East, so it feels great to be at home, sitting at my desk and having this time with all of you. … continued
Editor’s Choice
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong's second novel, The Emperor of Gladness, opens with nineteen-year-old Hai about to jump off a bridge in East Gladness, Connecticut when he hears a voice demanding to know what he's doing. He tries to deny he was planning to take his own life ("I'm just inspecting the bridge") but the voice — which he can now tell belongs to an elderly woman — is having none of it. She insists that he come inside her ramshackle house. Hai learns his savior is Grazina, an 82-year-old widow with dementia who coincidentally just lost her live-in caregiver, and with nowhere else to go, Hai agrees to fill this role. … continued Review by Kim Kovacs |  |
Beyond the Book
A Women in Resistance Reading List
Suzanne Cope's Women of War details the efforts of four female resistance fighters in Italy during World War II, but it also highlights the efforts of countless unnamed women who supported revolutionary efforts. For those interested in learning more about the role of women in resistance movements, the following books explore stories on and off the battlefield … continued Article by Rose Rankin |  |
Wordplay
Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"B W M in H M"
Click for the answer to the last Wordplay (A C on H S), and a detailed breakdown of its meaning and history.
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