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"Ένας άντρας που έχει δύο σπίτια χάνει το μυαλό του. Ένας άντρας που έχει δυο γυναίκες χάνει την ψυχή του." Με φόντο την Κίνα της αλματώδους οικονομικής ανάπτυξης, των μεγάλων ευκαιριών, αλλά και της διαφθοράς, των αδιέξοδων ερώτων, της σκληρότητας και πολύ συχνά, των απάνθρωπων συνθηκών ζωής, όταν η επιβίωση αποτελεί τη μεγαλύτερη φιλοδοξία των περισσότερων ανθρώπων, ζούμε την ερωτική ιστορία ενός Δυτικού και μιας Κινέζας. Ο νέος και φιλόδοξος δικηγόρος Μπιλ Χόλντεν με τη σύζυγό του, Μπέκα, και την τετράχρονη κόρη του, Χόλι, μετακομίζει στην πολύβουη Σανγκάη προσδοκώντας μια καλύτερη ζωή. Εκεί θα βρεθεί αντιμέτωπος με το πάθος ενός νέου και απρόσμενου έρωτα, που θα θέσει σε δοκιμασία τον μέχρι τότε ευτυχισμένο γάμο του. Θα ερωτευτεί την Τζιν Τζιν, μια Κινέζα για την οποία ο έρωτας αποτελεί μέσο επιβίωσης. Ωστόσο, η σχέση τους θα αλλάξει και τους δύο. Εκείνος θα ανακαλύψει τον εαυτό του, θα προσμετρήσει τα όρια των δυνατοτήτων του και θα γνωρίσει μια Κίνα που ούτε καν υποψιαζόταν την ύπαρξή της. Εκείνη, για πρώτη φορά, θα μάθει τι είναι αληθινή αγάπη και πόσο αυτή μπορεί να πληγώσει. Και οι δύο, τελικά, θα πρέπει να κάνουν τις επιλογές τους. Και να υποστούν τις συνέπειες.
464 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2007
66 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Tony Parsons
66 books892 followersThere is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Tony Parsons (born 6 November 1953) is a British journalist broadcaster and author. He began his career as a music journalist on the NME, writing about punk music. Later, he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, before going on to write his current column for the Daily Mirror. Parsons was for a time a regular guest on the BBC Two arts review programme The Late Show, and still appears infrequently on the successor Newsnight Review; he also briefly hosted a series on Channel 4 called Big Mouth.
He is the author of the multi-million selling novel, Man and Boy (1999). Parsons had written a number of novels including The Kids (1976), Platinum Logic (1981) and Limelight Blues (1983), before he found mainstream success by focussing on the tribulations of thirty-something men. Parsons has since published a series of best-selling novels – One For My Baby (2001), Man and Wife (2003), The Family Way (2004), Stories We Could Tell (2006), My Favourite Wife (2007), Starting Over (2009) and Men From the Boys (2010). His novels typically deal with relationship problems, emotional dramas and the traumas of men and women in our time. He describes his writing as 'Men Lit', as opposed to the rising popularity of 'Chick Lit'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Par...
Tony Parsons (born 6 November 1953) is a British journalist broadcaster and author. He began his career as a music journalist on the NME, writing about punk music. Later, he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, before going on to write his current column for the Daily Mirror. Parsons was for a time a regular guest on the BBC Two arts review programme The Late Show, and still appears infrequently on the successor Newsnight Review; he also briefly hosted a series on Channel 4 called Big Mouth.
He is the author of the multi-million selling novel, Man and Boy (1999). Parsons had written a number of novels including The Kids (1976), Platinum Logic (1981) and Limelight Blues (1983), before he found mainstream success by focussing on the tribulations of thirty-something men. Parsons has since published a series of best-selling novels – One For My Baby (2001), Man and Wife (2003), The Family Way (2004), Stories We Could Tell (2006), My Favourite Wife (2007), Starting Over (2009) and Men From the Boys (2010). His novels typically deal with relationship problems, emotional dramas and the traumas of men and women in our time. He describes his writing as 'Men Lit', as opposed to the rising popularity of 'Chick Lit'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Par...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
February 12, 2022
So there I was, gazing at my over-laden “to read” bookcase, desperately seeking something funny to read, with no death, cruelty or sadness (I’m temporarily fed up with thrillers, when I unearthed (unbooked?) this, which I picked up at a charity fair ten years ago. It’s by the author of Man and Boy, which I thought I’d read, but perhaps I only saw the movie, so I figured poignant humour would have to do. Oh man, how wrong can you be. Not only does this feature sadness (that men can be so crap), cruelty (by a whole country towards its people) and (spoiler alert) death, but there wasn’t a single chuckle in the whole bloomin’ book. Even so, it was heading for three stars, because the China stuff was interesting, until I got to the last quarter, which features the most ridiculous climactic scene and subsequent worst ending in years.
Bill and Becca Howden arrive in the Shanghai of the early 2000s lived up and full of excited hope about their bright future. He’s a corporate lawyer while she gave up work to care for their young daughter, so the money and luxury lifestyle on offer seem a dream compared to life in London. The gloss soon starts to wear off, as his long working hours and exposure to endemic corruption take a toll on their marriage. When Becca takes Holly back to the UK, lonely Bill, who has been fascinated by the beautiful kept women who populate their apartment building, falls for JinJin, and everything changes.
As a happily married middle-aged woman, books about adultery make me uncomfortable at the best of times. It’s interesting to read a women’s fiction book by a male author, and I was hoping for a new perspective, but this was profoundly depressing. While Bill doesn’t leap into bed with the first Bar Girl he meets (unlike some of his colleagues) and the path to his affair is a series of mishaps beyond his control, it’s what he does from there on in that filled me with contempt. His pathetic self-pity and attempts to justify his behaviour made my skin crawl. My initial sympathy for him - his wife decides she wants to be a kept woman herself and pushes for the move which will fund the lifestyle she’s come to expect - soon evaporated: he’s out boozing with colleagues and clients every night, then feels sorry for himself that he has no time to spend with his family - whereas he easily makes time for his hot mistress…
I’ve never visited China, other than a short stay in Hong Kong as a backpacker in the late 90s, and a horrific airport transfer at Pudong a few years ago, but I’ve traveled to other big Asian cities and stayed with friends & family living the expat lifestyle in places like Penang and Singapore, so could picture the places that the Holdens visit quite easily. Parsons writes well, although the sudden perspective shifts got confusing at times - there’s a sub-plot about Shane, Bill’s Australian colleague, which took a very dark turn, as well as scenes where Bill witnesses first-hand the exploitation of local people that indirectly funds his high salary. There’s a philosophical debate over whether taking tens of millions out of poverty justifies keeping a third of the population below subsistence level. Then there’s the judgement imposed by smug Westerners on women selling the only commodity they have - themselves - to get by: when Becca inevitably finds out about JinJin, she immediately labels her a whore, but is she? Her calculated decision about what to do with the relationship shows she’s really no better. Bill deludes himself that he is in love with both Becca and JinJin - and ultimately goes to ridiculous extremes to prove this to himself.
I don’t completely regret reading this, as it did get me thinking about things, and it was at least very different to everything else I’ve read recently, but I can’t say I enjoyed it and would recommend it with caution. On the plus side, it’s one more treebook off the shelf and into the Book Club bag, and since that’s this afternoon I can go back to ebooks (and resume my quest for actually funny non-romantic comedy!)
Bill and Becca Howden arrive in the Shanghai of the early 2000s lived up and full of excited hope about their bright future. He’s a corporate lawyer while she gave up work to care for their young daughter, so the money and luxury lifestyle on offer seem a dream compared to life in London. The gloss soon starts to wear off, as his long working hours and exposure to endemic corruption take a toll on their marriage. When Becca takes Holly back to the UK, lonely Bill, who has been fascinated by the beautiful kept women who populate their apartment building, falls for JinJin, and everything changes.
As a happily married middle-aged woman, books about adultery make me uncomfortable at the best of times. It’s interesting to read a women’s fiction book by a male author, and I was hoping for a new perspective, but this was profoundly depressing. While Bill doesn’t leap into bed with the first Bar Girl he meets (unlike some of his colleagues) and the path to his affair is a series of mishaps beyond his control, it’s what he does from there on in that filled me with contempt. His pathetic self-pity and attempts to justify his behaviour made my skin crawl. My initial sympathy for him - his wife decides she wants to be a kept woman herself and pushes for the move which will fund the lifestyle she’s come to expect - soon evaporated: he’s out boozing with colleagues and clients every night, then feels sorry for himself that he has no time to spend with his family - whereas he easily makes time for his hot mistress…
I’ve never visited China, other than a short stay in Hong Kong as a backpacker in the late 90s, and a horrific airport transfer at Pudong a few years ago, but I’ve traveled to other big Asian cities and stayed with friends & family living the expat lifestyle in places like Penang and Singapore, so could picture the places that the Holdens visit quite easily. Parsons writes well, although the sudden perspective shifts got confusing at times - there’s a sub-plot about Shane, Bill’s Australian colleague, which took a very dark turn, as well as scenes where Bill witnesses first-hand the exploitation of local people that indirectly funds his high salary. There’s a philosophical debate over whether taking tens of millions out of poverty justifies keeping a third of the population below subsistence level. Then there’s the judgement imposed by smug Westerners on women selling the only commodity they have - themselves - to get by: when Becca inevitably finds out about JinJin, she immediately labels her a whore, but is she? Her calculated decision about what to do with the relationship shows she’s really no better. Bill deludes himself that he is in love with both Becca and JinJin - and ultimately goes to ridiculous extremes to prove this to himself.
I don’t completely regret reading this, as it did get me thinking about things, and it was at least very different to everything else I’ve read recently, but I can’t say I enjoyed it and would recommend it with caution. On the plus side, it’s one more treebook off the shelf and into the Book Club bag, and since that’s this afternoon I can go back to ebooks (and resume my quest for actually funny non-romantic comedy!)
February 3, 2012
Parsons by numbers. How many times have we seen this - married man in crisis, child in tow, chinese angle, working class roots and disapproving father. Its fucking lazy writing it is - look at faulks, tc byle, william boyd, ian mcewan, iain banks etc. They all vary it.
However, for 2/3rds of the book this works well. the political, social and worldwide consequences of new china are very well written - informative and entertaining. Not sure if was just cause Ellie had been there.
A working class boy done good lawyer goes out to Shanghai - sees the mistresses, rather too quickly and too seriously gets involved, gets found out, father gets sick, reconcillition - oh havent I been a stupid boy kind of vibe.
Where the books falls down is the last third, where he goes on a mission of mercy to get closure with his chinese bird, crossing the flooded plains of china, fighting soldiers being the big white hero.... this section is stupid and unecessary and leaving you going "oh please".
Easy money for parsons and no boundaries pushed.
However, for 2/3rds of the book this works well. the political, social and worldwide consequences of new china are very well written - informative and entertaining. Not sure if was just cause Ellie had been there.
A working class boy done good lawyer goes out to Shanghai - sees the mistresses, rather too quickly and too seriously gets involved, gets found out, father gets sick, reconcillition - oh havent I been a stupid boy kind of vibe.
Where the books falls down is the last third, where he goes on a mission of mercy to get closure with his chinese bird, crossing the flooded plains of china, fighting soldiers being the big white hero.... this section is stupid and unecessary and leaving you going "oh please".
Easy money for parsons and no boundaries pushed.
April 2, 2023
3.5⭐
Greitai skaitėsi , gan neblogo turinio, priverčianti susimąstyti;bet buvo tokių dalykų, kurie labai erzino ir na negalėjau nereaguoti. Manau, kai vyras (pagr. herojus) "nuklysta" į šoną, nors turi mylinčią žmoną ir nuostabią dukrą, turėtų suprasti savo klaidą,atgailauti, nes puikiai žino, kas ant kortos pastatyta, tai ne jis dar vis negali pamiršti kitos ir elgiasi labai neapgalvotai.Ir žmonos vietoje, negalėčiau atleisti išdavystės , vien dėl to, kad yra geras ir mylintis tėtis, ir gyventi toliau. Ir pabaiga tokia tarsi sugreitinta visa.
Greitai skaitėsi , gan neblogo turinio, priverčianti susimąstyti;bet buvo tokių dalykų, kurie labai erzino ir na negalėjau nereaguoti. Manau, kai vyras (pagr. herojus) "nuklysta" į šoną, nors turi mylinčią žmoną ir nuostabią dukrą, turėtų suprasti savo klaidą,atgailauti, nes puikiai žino, kas ant kortos pastatyta, tai ne jis dar vis negali pamiršti kitos ir elgiasi labai neapgalvotai.Ir žmonos vietoje, negalėčiau atleisti išdavystės , vien dėl to, kad yra geras ir mylintis tėtis, ir gyventi toliau. Ir pabaiga tokia tarsi sugreitinta visa.
October 28, 2018
This book made me feel you can never trust men.
November 20, 2024
This should be renamed to 'My Favourite Prostitute' hahahahhaha
August 5, 2011
It's an interesting story, from the point of view of a man in love with two women; but I found it impossible to feel any kind of sympathy towards him in his predicament of having to choose between the two. The descriptions of China and Shanghai sound realistic (though I've never been, so don't know for sure); and it does make you think about the price people pay for the 'next big thing'. All in all though, not one I'd choose to read again - not bad, but not that great either.
July 9, 2010
It was my first Tony Parsons book to read, so I had no expectations towards the writer or the book.
It was smoothly written and I liked the way he described the modern Shanghai. This part of the book I found fascinating.
The twisted love story was in my opinion little weak and stayed for me for several reasons not understandable. After I finished the book, I was wondering: Why do people make their own lives so much more complicated than needed? Both Bill and Becca were in my opinion weak characters, not being able to give each other up and Bill not being able to make a clear choice for his life.
It was smoothly written and I liked the way he described the modern Shanghai. This part of the book I found fascinating.
The twisted love story was in my opinion little weak and stayed for me for several reasons not understandable. After I finished the book, I was wondering: Why do people make their own lives so much more complicated than needed? Both Bill and Becca were in my opinion weak characters, not being able to give each other up and Bill not being able to make a clear choice for his life.
July 27, 2023
🤦♀️
I didn’t care for the story. I gave two stars for all the research that he must of done on China.
The infidelity bothers me. The woman using married men for their living and married men doing it. As Becca said it’s cruel.
Edit to original review.
Upon rereading I’m 2023 I sill didn’t like the story. I do want to give him another star for his writing because I was enthralled again. In the end I still didn’t know which one was his favorite. I thought the wife forgave way too soon and he still saw her. The story did make me angry.
I didn’t care for the story. I gave two stars for all the research that he must of done on China.
The infidelity bothers me. The woman using married men for their living and married men doing it. As Becca said it’s cruel.
Edit to original review.
Upon rereading I’m 2023 I sill didn’t like the story. I do want to give him another star for his writing because I was enthralled again. In the end I still didn’t know which one was his favorite. I thought the wife forgave way too soon and he still saw her. The story did make me angry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2020
Skim read.
February 27, 2010
I wasn't a fan of this book at all. I found it rather long, boring and to be honest rather depressing. The whole book seemed an effort to shove in as many issues as possible (father dying, affairs, love for a child, work problems, suicide, prostitution... etc etc etc), to the extent that nothing seemed to be followed in enough detail to engage my interest. None of the characters were particularly appealing, and I found the main character selfish and unlikeable... and had no idea how he came about his reasoning.
The only redeeming feature of this novel is the research that must have gone into life in China... assuming that it is reasonably accurate (I admit to knowing practically nothing about China) I did find the portrayal of life in China interesting, and rather different from what I believed.
However, I picked up this book for a 'funny, charming and sad' read, not to learn about China so I wasn't that impressed. I really wouldn't recommend it and have no idea why it made the recommended reads section of the library.
The only redeeming feature of this novel is the research that must have gone into life in China... assuming that it is reasonably accurate (I admit to knowing practically nothing about China) I did find the portrayal of life in China interesting, and rather different from what I believed.
However, I picked up this book for a 'funny, charming and sad' read, not to learn about China so I wasn't that impressed. I really wouldn't recommend it and have no idea why it made the recommended reads section of the library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2017
I've read a couple of Tony Parsons' books before and this continues on a similar theme - the trials, tribulations and temptations of contemporary family life. He writes beautifully and accessibly; the book is another page turner which keeps you intrigued.
The main character, despite his initial best intentions, gets drawn into an affair: his moral turmoil is the overriding theme of the novel. On one hand is the desire for faithfulness and being a decent family man and husband to his best friend. On the other are the exotic pleasures of his Chinese mistress. The setting of Shanghai and brief visits to other parts of China add further interest.
The main character, despite his initial best intentions, gets drawn into an affair: his moral turmoil is the overriding theme of the novel. On one hand is the desire for faithfulness and being a decent family man and husband to his best friend. On the other are the exotic pleasures of his Chinese mistress. The setting of Shanghai and brief visits to other parts of China add further interest.
September 25, 2020
i hated this from beginning to end
February 22, 2023
Bill, Becca si fetita lor Holly traiesc in Shanghai, unde s-au mutat pentru a incerca prin munca sa isi constriasca un viitor mai bun.
Cand tatal Beccai se imbolnaveste, aceasta decide sa se intoarca pentru o perioada la Londra.
Bill ramas singur, ajunge sa o cunoasca pe Jinjin Li, o femeie intretinuta. Fascinat de chinezoaica, se ataseaza iremediabil de aceasta si ajunge chiar sa o iubeasca.
Un proverb chinezesc spune: " Un barbat cu doua case isi pierde mintile. Un barbat cu doua femei isi pierde sufletul." Asa si Bill, desi pretinde ca iubeste in acelasi timp dar in moduri diferite ambele femei, este constient ca va veni timpul sa ia o decizie. Oare alege familia, sau fascinatia orientala?
Cand tatal Beccai se imbolnaveste, aceasta decide sa se intoarca pentru o perioada la Londra.
Bill ramas singur, ajunge sa o cunoasca pe Jinjin Li, o femeie intretinuta. Fascinat de chinezoaica, se ataseaza iremediabil de aceasta si ajunge chiar sa o iubeasca.
Un proverb chinezesc spune: " Un barbat cu doua case isi pierde mintile. Un barbat cu doua femei isi pierde sufletul." Asa si Bill, desi pretinde ca iubeste in acelasi timp dar in moduri diferite ambele femei, este constient ca va veni timpul sa ia o decizie. Oare alege familia, sau fascinatia orientala?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2019
A wonderful, yet truly awful read.
Set in China, Bill a, not terribly successful, lawyer whose wife has big hopes for "improving" their lives by uprooting the family to Shanghai so Bill can work for a go-getting company making money from the new booming economy (emphasis on the sarcasm here).
What he finds is the reality of the financial boom. All the destitute and desperate displaced poor left with few options. There are girls/women everywhere with nowhere to turn, but to sell their only commodity - themselves. Many of them try to do this with dignity becoming a kept mistress, often hoping the man might one day marry them, but at least they have a home and food on the table.
Although it's, more or less, a love story this book shows a lot of man's inhumanity to man.
A really good read that moved me to tears.
Set in China, Bill a, not terribly successful, lawyer whose wife has big hopes for "improving" their lives by uprooting the family to Shanghai so Bill can work for a go-getting company making money from the new booming economy (emphasis on the sarcasm here).
What he finds is the reality of the financial boom. All the destitute and desperate displaced poor left with few options. There are girls/women everywhere with nowhere to turn, but to sell their only commodity - themselves. Many of them try to do this with dignity becoming a kept mistress, often hoping the man might one day marry them, but at least they have a home and food on the table.
Although it's, more or less, a love story this book shows a lot of man's inhumanity to man.
A really good read that moved me to tears.
June 13, 2019
I have never read any books written by Tony Parsons, so I had no expectations. Although the plot was easy to follow, this book is not one of my favourite. Personally, none of the characters were likeable and there was no proper reasoning behind their actions (which made me dislike them even more). It feels like the book had a potential but it simply got lost somewhere.
January 14, 2023
I found the descriptions of China (the landscapes, cities and people) very interesting. The story itself was just okay and feels a bit flat in parts.
Read
January 10, 2021I don't understand why the weekly British Magazine 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 labelled this book 'A funny, sad love story'. So much is falling apart for the main characters that it is difficult to find humor anywhere, or maybe the psych of the reader is already aware that by and large the characters are doomed. Credit to the author for painting a vivid picture of Chinese culture and the modern practice of men keeping concubines in major booming cities and suburbs , which forms the crux of the story. This happens to be the first book I finished reading in 2021. About the book (SPOILERS): The story is about the modern day hardships we all face in our relationships. While the protagonist on one hand is dealing with loneliness in a completely new place far away from home, he has a father who's not getting any younger or easier to deal with by the passing day. The resultant emotional and psychological mess unfolds interestingly. Although I feel the lead up to his affair with the "second wife" wasn't delivered smoothly, overall it was a good page turner!
August 16, 2021
“A funny, sad love story” is promised on the front cover. What is funny about a novel which deals with marital break-up, exploitative prostitution (with the question of who is exploiting who?), seedy night-life, flagrant fraudulent financial dealings, death of close family members, murder and suicide, a cancer scare, several severe beatings and disastrous flooding causing widespread death and destruction?
Whilst quite an engaging read set firmly in the financial / legal districts of Shanghai this novel certainly shines a light on the morality and behaviour of those gilded professionals sent out East to cash in on China’s economic boom. The central character, Bill Holden, tries very hard to be upstanding, but fails with his eyes wide open. He is not very sympathetic, despite his attempts to be fair to his wife, daughter and Chinese “girlfriend”.
Whilst quite an engaging read set firmly in the financial / legal districts of Shanghai this novel certainly shines a light on the morality and behaviour of those gilded professionals sent out East to cash in on China’s economic boom. The central character, Bill Holden, tries very hard to be upstanding, but fails with his eyes wide open. He is not very sympathetic, despite his attempts to be fair to his wife, daughter and Chinese “girlfriend”.
December 1, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, set in modern day Shanghai and some of the other parts of China. It does a good job of showing the ambivalence it is easy to feel as a Westerner in China; there is so much happening to modernize the country and raise the standard of living, and yet there are 500 million people there not being helped at all and often being hurt (by pollution, by seizure of their ancestral property for commercial uses, by employment conditions in sweat shops, etc.) Individuals still have almost no rights there, and as long as that is true, it will continue to be a Third World Country. Tony Parsons tends to write about very flawed and weak men, and Bill in this story is no exception.
October 16, 2011
Interesting enough read. The culture shock of moving and working in a new city, the strained relationships between husband and wife as he works long hours to fulfill the "dream" that she wants but at the expense of family. Then when his family leaves how he turns into a cliche, or is it a cliche? The characters are well written and sympathetic, you can see each person's perspective and how none of them are "bad people" but that someone has to get hurt if not everyone in this situation. It also takes on some larger themes about the influence of the West on China both good and bad, and the poverty and difficult life choices that millions of people are still forced to make. Definitely worth your time to read.
September 7, 2008
very interesting and complicated social commentary on the economic state of China. My biggest issue with the novel was the wife's character... it's supposedly Parson's strongest woman character but I found the fact that she gave up her career as a financial journalist because her daughter got asthma a little unbelievable. but I liked his depiction of the expat world of China, and the 'concubines' of China. that was definitely a believable setting though the things that happen to them are a little dramatic. worth a read if you're interested in China from an expat perspective.
March 14, 2009
As with other Tony Parsons books I did enjoy reading this one. A nice change not to be based in the UK or US. Maybe the characters didn't behave quite as one would expect but I'm still left wondering what happened next.....
April 29, 2009
The story disgusted me at first, it told about an affair of a good husband because he was lonely. But in the end it taught us about forgiveness and about what matters most in your life. It is beatifully written.
March 24, 2013
Very frustrating story about a 'good' husband who fell in love with another woman, a wife who persevered, a mistress who was obviously be with this husband for monetary gain. But everything was alot more complicated than it really was.
April 1, 2009
This was just a poorly written book. Bad story, bad writing, bad foreshadowing, bad.
May 13, 2023
𝑀𝓎 𝐹𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓊𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒲𝒾𝒻𝑒
- romantični i surov svet Kine kroz zapadnjačko iskustvo
3.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
’’𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓃𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒? 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃?’’
Toni Parsons je britanski pisac poznat po knjizi Čovek i dečak. Uvek me je privlačio njegov stil pisanja. Poseduje tu britansku sentimentalnost, tu neku ’’britansku romantiku’’, barem ga ja tako doživljavam. Hoću da kažem da voli da voli, da se ne boji da voli i da daje sve onome koga voli.
U ovoj knjizi pratimo život jednog advokata koji odlazi u Šangaj sa suprugom i ćerkom. Bil i Beka su muž i žena, a mala ćerka je Holi. Kroz knjigu vidimo i korpuciju vlasti u Kini, zgražavanje nad pravima nemoćnih radnika u fabrikama. S druge strane, noćni život bluda i razvrata u Šangaju koji proizvodi nekoliko stotina novih milionera svaki dan, na račun bespomoćne sirotinje.
Bil upoznaje Kineskinju Džin Džin Li i zaljubljuje se do ušiju. Beka se vratila u London sa ćerkom da bi se brinula o svom bolesnom ocu. Džin Džin Li je kineska prodavačica ljubavi i ona svojom ljupkom nesavršenošću oduzima razum i dah romantičnom Bilu.
Bilove kolege upadaju u sopstvene nevolje. Recimo, Šejn će oženiti Rozalitu, filipinsku ljubavnicu, da bi na kraju ubio njenog ljubavnika i sebe. Drugi kolega Devlin će sa svojom ženom da razotkrije njegovu aferu sa Džin Džin Li.
Naravno, nema Tonija Parsonsa bez osvrta na stari svet kroz neki lik dede. Bilov otac je otelotvorenje tog starog sveta koji je grub, alergičan na nežnost i slatkorečivost, ali koji duboko u sebi krije ogromna osećanja ljubavi i brige.
Još jedna knjiga Tonija Parsonsa koja osvaja svojom emocionalnom inteligencijom i zrelošću, bez obzira na neke rasističke momente i tipičan odgovor zapadnjačkog sveta na istočni svet. Na primer, Beka će nazvati Džin Džin Li ’’a Third Wolrd whore’’... zaista?!
- romantični i surov svet Kine kroz zapadnjačko iskustvo
3.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
’’𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓃𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒? 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃?’’
Toni Parsons je britanski pisac poznat po knjizi Čovek i dečak. Uvek me je privlačio njegov stil pisanja. Poseduje tu britansku sentimentalnost, tu neku ’’britansku romantiku’’, barem ga ja tako doživljavam. Hoću da kažem da voli da voli, da se ne boji da voli i da daje sve onome koga voli.
U ovoj knjizi pratimo život jednog advokata koji odlazi u Šangaj sa suprugom i ćerkom. Bil i Beka su muž i žena, a mala ćerka je Holi. Kroz knjigu vidimo i korpuciju vlasti u Kini, zgražavanje nad pravima nemoćnih radnika u fabrikama. S druge strane, noćni život bluda i razvrata u Šangaju koji proizvodi nekoliko stotina novih milionera svaki dan, na račun bespomoćne sirotinje.
Bil upoznaje Kineskinju Džin Džin Li i zaljubljuje se do ušiju. Beka se vratila u London sa ćerkom da bi se brinula o svom bolesnom ocu. Džin Džin Li je kineska prodavačica ljubavi i ona svojom ljupkom nesavršenošću oduzima razum i dah romantičnom Bilu.
Bilove kolege upadaju u sopstvene nevolje. Recimo, Šejn će oženiti Rozalitu, filipinsku ljubavnicu, da bi na kraju ubio njenog ljubavnika i sebe. Drugi kolega Devlin će sa svojom ženom da razotkrije njegovu aferu sa Džin Džin Li.
Naravno, nema Tonija Parsonsa bez osvrta na stari svet kroz neki lik dede. Bilov otac je otelotvorenje tog starog sveta koji je grub, alergičan na nežnost i slatkorečivost, ali koji duboko u sebi krije ogromna osećanja ljubavi i brige.
Još jedna knjiga Tonija Parsonsa koja osvaja svojom emocionalnom inteligencijom i zrelošću, bez obzira na neke rasističke momente i tipičan odgovor zapadnjačkog sveta na istočni svet. Na primer, Beka će nazvati Džin Džin Li ’’a Third Wolrd whore’’... zaista?!
June 6, 2023
I kinda like this book and mostly in agreement on what he thoughts about the Western preoccupation with China's booming economy during the early 2010s.
The story is about this guy ; Bill and his family who move to Shanghai living that expats life that us Asians can only dream about. ( Because Asians moving to another country are never really expats... just immigrants, unless you are the wealthy east asians)
From there I guess, what you call it, he and his wife experienced a culture shock. Amidst a city where the modern glitz clash with the old charms, hedonism is expected when a new business is coming to town. This affect the family.
Opposite of their apartment block is where the kept women (or another wife as he wants to call it ) reside. I like that there are much empathy and life given to these women. They are not pitiful, but practical. And amongst them, there is a woman that catches Bill's eyes. And we can guess what follows.
The book keep it simple but also it feels realistic on how capitalism is really ruining the world, and it showed a harsh look on what economic imperialism looks like and what it will churns out. We don't see the whole China or Shanghai in this one woman who Bill likes. I feel we only seen the worst and the best... and even the mundane is in the worst. However in this narrowed point of view, it is surprisingly empathetic and insightful.
Honestly I didnt expect to like it but I did, only the ending kinda marred it a bit as it became a bit white saviour to my liking. ( But I dont think it is meant to convey that way, but it feels kinda displaced from the other )
The story is about this guy ; Bill and his family who move to Shanghai living that expats life that us Asians can only dream about. ( Because Asians moving to another country are never really expats... just immigrants, unless you are the wealthy east asians)
From there I guess, what you call it, he and his wife experienced a culture shock. Amidst a city where the modern glitz clash with the old charms, hedonism is expected when a new business is coming to town. This affect the family.
Opposite of their apartment block is where the kept women (or another wife as he wants to call it ) reside. I like that there are much empathy and life given to these women. They are not pitiful, but practical. And amongst them, there is a woman that catches Bill's eyes. And we can guess what follows.
The book keep it simple but also it feels realistic on how capitalism is really ruining the world, and it showed a harsh look on what economic imperialism looks like and what it will churns out. We don't see the whole China or Shanghai in this one woman who Bill likes. I feel we only seen the worst and the best... and even the mundane is in the worst. However in this narrowed point of view, it is surprisingly empathetic and insightful.
Honestly I didnt expect to like it but I did, only the ending kinda marred it a bit as it became a bit white saviour to my liking. ( But I dont think it is meant to convey that way, but it feels kinda displaced from the other )
September 28, 2021
Bill probabil că adormise o clipă, pentru că limuzina dădu într-un hârtop, îl trezi şi dintr-odată iată-i în Shanghai. Turnurile din Pudong spintecau noaptea. Se frecă la ochi şi se întoarse să se uite la soţia şi la fiica sa aflate pe bancheta din spate. Holly, fetiţa lor de trei ani, dormea cu capul în poala mamei, iar cârlionţii blonzi de păr îi căzuseră pe faţă, fiind îmbrăcată ca o prinţesă din poveştile lui Disney. Nu ştia bine care. — Nu se simte confortabil în chestia aia, şopti el. Holly fusese trează sau doar aţipise pe toată durata zborului. Becca, soţia lui, scoase coroniţa de pe capul copilei. — E bine, spuse ea. — Străinii sunt foarte dornici să vadă asta, îi informă şoferul, pe care îl chema Tiger. El arătă linia orizontului la Pudong: Acum cincisprezece ani - totul mlaştină. Tiger era cu puţin trecut de douăzeci de ani şi purta o uniformă cu trei dungi aurii pe manşete. Tânărul dădu din cap cu mândrie. — Şef nou - totul nou. Bill aprobă din cap politicos. Însă nu noutatea Shanghaiului îl copleşea. Ci imensitatea locului.
July 20, 2019
Meh, not bad but not great. I felt like it took me forever to read this because the storyline didn’t catch me until the end. Once I got about 3/4 done, I couldn’t put it down.
The only big complaint I have is that I felt absolutely nothing for Bill’s wife, Becca, since we never really got to know her. It seemed like she was just a character, not someone I could empathize with. Bill however did get on my nerves A LOT. He’s a stupid cheating idiot that deserved a terrible ending, but instead got a happy one. So I guess I have two complaints, the wife and the unsatisfying ending. I did really enjoy reading about China, and Parsons writing painted a detailed picture of it. It felt like I’ve been there myself after reading this.
All in all, not a bad book for getting it from a free little library!
The only big complaint I have is that I felt absolutely nothing for Bill’s wife, Becca, since we never really got to know her. It seemed like she was just a character, not someone I could empathize with. Bill however did get on my nerves A LOT. He’s a stupid cheating idiot that deserved a terrible ending, but instead got a happy one. So I guess I have two complaints, the wife and the unsatisfying ending. I did really enjoy reading about China, and Parsons writing painted a detailed picture of it. It felt like I’ve been there myself after reading this.
All in all, not a bad book for getting it from a free little library!
February 13, 2021
Am acordat 3⭐ din următoarele motive:
- acțiunea (mă refer la ieşirile lui Bill, la tot felul de întâlniri) a fost destul de complicată;
- pe parcursul cărții au apărut tot felul de personaje (cu nume chinezeşti) pe care nu ştiam de unde să le iau;
- povestea celor 3 era una previzibilă: Becca şi Bill formau un cuplu (erau şi căsătoriți) şi aveau o fetiță: Holly. Au plecat din Londra pentru o nouă viață. Ajunşi în China, Bill ajunge să se îndrăgostească de JinJin. Becca află, se ceartă şi vrea să plece, dar ajung, spre finalul cărții, să fie împreună din nou.
- am citit-o greu. În momentul în care am ajuns la mijlocul cărții, am lăsat-o pe un raft şi am reînceput-o peste o săptămână.
Mi-a plăcut de Becca, am înțeles ce simțea şi de ce a făcut anumite alegeri. Cred că cel mai important este să ştii să ierți şi să oferi o a doua şansă! 😊
- acțiunea (mă refer la ieşirile lui Bill, la tot felul de întâlniri) a fost destul de complicată;
- pe parcursul cărții au apărut tot felul de personaje (cu nume chinezeşti) pe care nu ştiam de unde să le iau;
- povestea celor 3 era una previzibilă: Becca şi Bill formau un cuplu (erau şi căsătoriți) şi aveau o fetiță: Holly. Au plecat din Londra pentru o nouă viață. Ajunşi în China, Bill ajunge să se îndrăgostească de JinJin. Becca află, se ceartă şi vrea să plece, dar ajung, spre finalul cărții, să fie împreună din nou.
- am citit-o greu. În momentul în care am ajuns la mijlocul cărții, am lăsat-o pe un raft şi am reînceput-o peste o săptămână.
Mi-a plăcut de Becca, am înțeles ce simțea şi de ce a făcut anumite alegeri. Cred că cel mai important este să ştii să ierți şi să oferi o a doua şansă! 😊
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