- Hardcover
- Publisher: Picador USA (1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312155565
- ISBN-13: 978-0312155568
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #420,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most helpful customer reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Insider's Look into Vancouver's Chinatown,
By A Customer
This review is from: Jade Peony (Paperback)
Wayson Choy writes beautifully as he portrays three different voices. Learning about the immigrant experience to the Western world, Chinese culture is extremely apparent in this novel.Choy writes beautifully and his incorporation of the Chinese language into the dialogue is wonderful. You will see the differences in beliefs between the generations. Being Chinese, I found a lot of the details familiar as Choy captured small, Chinese nuances. This book captures a range of emotions; I cried within the first section, laughed later on, and felt frustrated with some of the characters and sided with others. Definitely read this book. It's a wonderful contribution to Asian literature as well as Canadian lit. It's an easy but insightful read.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great tale of the pull between old and new culture,
By Elizabeth (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Jade Peony (Paperback)
I was initially drawn to read The Jade Peony by a review in the National Post about Watson Choy's new novel, All That Matters. I have always been fascinated with literature about Asia and Asian culture (such as Life and Death in Shanghai and Wild Swans ) and novels about Asian-Canadian life, such as Denise Chong's Concubine's Children have held a particular appeal to me. Hence my interest in this book.I found The Jade Peony enjoyable for two reasons. First, it is a tale of Vancouver's Chinatown during the Second World War. It gave me a glimpse into what life would have been like in this city and in Canada during that time. In particular, the forbidden relationship between a teenage Chinese girl and a Japanese boy really demonstrates the cultural struggle faced by Canadians during the war. The lines between friend and foe are confused by fear of dreadful events far away. Second, it carefully and successfully expresses the delicate dance that immigrants and their children go through when they move to Canada: how to retain the old way and still embrace the new life. In The Jade Peony, we see these first-generation Chinese-Canadians want to run from the old culture and the older generation vainly grasping to keep them aware. It is hard to decide who should win out, because to change is required for survival but so much is dying out. (I suppose it is what every parent and grandparent goes through as they see their children grow up and away.) If you have ever lived in or near Vancouver, read this book. If you have ever experienced the duality felt by anyone who immigrates to a new country or who is born of immigrant parents, read this book. If you have experienced or seen neither of these things, read this book to get a good sense of what you have missed.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful ....,
THis is an amazing book! MY father grew up in Chinatown (Vancouver) at appox. the same time, it's nice to read and try to understand his early life. I read the first part in a matter of days. It was so powerful that I cried, in the middle of the waiting room at my doctors office. I still have not read the entire book as I'm scared to experence such powerful emotions, in public. I will finish it though.
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