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China Dolls
Sports reporter Michelle Yu and lawyer Blossom Kan introduce a vibrant, irresistible novel set in New York City. Based on personal experience, China Dolls is the story of three best friends from childhood--each an unforgettable Asian woman--tackling their late twenties over drinks, laughs, and dim
M. J. Wyn, the hip, tomboyish sportswriter trying to achieve her dreams of becoming an on-air broadcaster. Ambitious and driven, M.J. has always struggled to fit into different her high school boyfriend's blue-blooded country club sphere, her family's traditional Chinese culture, and the very white, very male world of sports.
Alex Kwan, the confident, tough, no-nonsense attorney constantly fighting the stereotype of the submissive, docile Asian woman. After a heartbreaking romance, Alex has gone from a fearless daredevil to a woman terrified of taking risks--in her career, in her life, and with love.
Lin Cho, the risk-taking, daring stockbroker who has spent her whole life trying not to make the mistakes her mother did. But then Lin falls head over heels with the office playboy, a guy she knows she should steer clear of but can't seem to stay away from.
Exploring life at the intersection of two worlds--one of Asian grandmothers and red envelopes, and another of career challenges and dating disasters-- China Dolls is an exhilarating debut from two sensational new talents.
M. J. Wyn, the hip, tomboyish sportswriter trying to achieve her dreams of becoming an on-air broadcaster. Ambitious and driven, M.J. has always struggled to fit into different her high school boyfriend's blue-blooded country club sphere, her family's traditional Chinese culture, and the very white, very male world of sports.
Alex Kwan, the confident, tough, no-nonsense attorney constantly fighting the stereotype of the submissive, docile Asian woman. After a heartbreaking romance, Alex has gone from a fearless daredevil to a woman terrified of taking risks--in her career, in her life, and with love.
Lin Cho, the risk-taking, daring stockbroker who has spent her whole life trying not to make the mistakes her mother did. But then Lin falls head over heels with the office playboy, a guy she knows she should steer clear of but can't seem to stay away from.
Exploring life at the intersection of two worlds--one of Asian grandmothers and red envelopes, and another of career challenges and dating disasters-- China Dolls is an exhilarating debut from two sensational new talents.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2007
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 3, 2007
I am offended by this book. Not only is the writing bad, but the book is laden with stereotypes. Clearly, the writers have issues with Asian men. They're portrayed as domineering assholes who like to show off. Thus, they mainly date white. I don't know of any 22 year old ABC woman who spoon-feeds her Asian man. The main characters are around 27, my age. I find it hard to believe that one of the mothers was betrothed to a guy in her village around the late 70s! In addition, most Chinese people aren't excited to go eat at Shun Lee Palace, a Chinese restaurant that caters to Caucasian tastes. Finally, the Chinese accents made me angry. If they're conversing in Chinese, why would they have a freaking accent?
July 26, 2010
I wanted to like this book. Really, truly I did. But there were problems. For me, the biggest problem is that the book made me mentally pull out my editor’s pen and never put it away. While that’s a big problem, it’s not the worst – at least this book I think is fixable.
This is a chick lit novel of 3 Chinese-American women in their late 20s in Manhattan. The biggest issue for me, that would have fixed 70% of the problems, is the structure. First M.J.’s story is told, then Alex’s, then Lin’s. The whole story takes place over a year (bookended by visits to a fortune teller on Chinese New Year’s) and each woman’s story is told sequentially and consecutively. So they don’t overlap at all. M.J. and Alex each get about 2 months for her story, Lin’s takes 8 because she goes to London for 6 months, although it’s really the 2 months before London that are her story. As such, everything is highly compressed. You have the whole traditional chick lit story arc – introduce our protagonist, introduce a couple of men, have her pick the wrong one, go through a whole mini relationship, break up, get over him, and then pick up with the new guy – in only 60 days, and 80 pages. Sure, I buy that this happens from time to time, but not to three best friends all in such a short time frame. And it’s repetitive. While each woman’s story is going on, the other 2 are simply shunted aside to an occasional chorus/conscience role and are indistinguishable. Nothing goes on in their stories whatsoever while they’re on hold. Meanwhile, because of the 60 day deadline, the protagonist at hand seems overly emotional, erratic, short-tempered, and impulsive (otherwise there wouldn’t be enough forward movement of plot, as there isn’t enough time for it to progress at a normal pace.) This does our girls no favors. Also they are all too similar. They all work in male-dominated industries, they all are treated misogynistically at some point and react with anger (can’t just one of them react with humor? Or work in a 21-st century workplace where alpha males are at least forced to keep their sexual-harassment comments to themselves?) They all want to get married and have kids. But they all have only had bad relationships with other Chinese men who apparently are all sexist assholes (not my opinion – this stereotype is consistent and loud throughout the novel.) They all have a boyfriend from the past resurface during their story, although with varying results. If the structure was changed so that perhaps each chapter alternated narration and all three women had 12 months for their story to unfold, many of the above issue would either go away, or the repetitions would have been so much more obvious when they were side-by-side rather than separated by 100 pages.
The stereotyping and yelling and crying all needed to be toned down drastically. There was also some sloppiness that should have been caught in editing. For instance on p. 18 M.J. bumps into a long-ago acquaintance, Kevin, while in the press room at Madison Square Garden. She says “What are you doing here?” and when she introduces Kevin to Ming, he says “So, you and M. J. are old high school pals, huh?” On the very next page she runs into Jagger and says “what are you doing here?” (gee, a producer for RealSports, what would he be doing at Madison Square Garden at a Knicks practice?) She introduces him to Kevin, and he says “So, you knew M.J. back in high school huh?” Also Brady takes out a cigarette in his office! On p. 154 which made me wonder if it was 1986. M.J. has a DVD of favorite Michael Jordan highlights, but sends out her audition clips for sportscaster jobs on VHS. Oh, and both she and Alex drive cars! In New York City! Alex and Lin make 6-figure salaries but M.J. doesn’t, so where does she park her car and why on earth does she have one? It only appears once in one scene, and there’s no reasons he couldn’t have been in a cab or even on the subway.
All this being said, I liked the breezy tone. I liked that this was a slightly different take on the usual chick lit genre. I loved that the women all had real jobs and were successful and had their own apartments. I hate the chick lit novels where a confused woman just sits around waiting for life to happen to her so she doesn’t have to make any decisions. While I was very frustrated by this book, I do look forward to their next one to see if hopefully they learned a lot after this one which should make for an improvement.
Oh, and publishers, please stop publishing first-time-novelists of chick lit in hardcover. Just stop it. That’s what original trade paperbacks are for. This was a perfect book for that format, not hardcover.
It's certainly true that once an editor, always an editor. But when reading for fun, I want to be able to keep that part of my brain shelved.
This is a chick lit novel of 3 Chinese-American women in their late 20s in Manhattan. The biggest issue for me, that would have fixed 70% of the problems, is the structure. First M.J.’s story is told, then Alex’s, then Lin’s. The whole story takes place over a year (bookended by visits to a fortune teller on Chinese New Year’s) and each woman’s story is told sequentially and consecutively. So they don’t overlap at all. M.J. and Alex each get about 2 months for her story, Lin’s takes 8 because she goes to London for 6 months, although it’s really the 2 months before London that are her story. As such, everything is highly compressed. You have the whole traditional chick lit story arc – introduce our protagonist, introduce a couple of men, have her pick the wrong one, go through a whole mini relationship, break up, get over him, and then pick up with the new guy – in only 60 days, and 80 pages. Sure, I buy that this happens from time to time, but not to three best friends all in such a short time frame. And it’s repetitive. While each woman’s story is going on, the other 2 are simply shunted aside to an occasional chorus/conscience role and are indistinguishable. Nothing goes on in their stories whatsoever while they’re on hold. Meanwhile, because of the 60 day deadline, the protagonist at hand seems overly emotional, erratic, short-tempered, and impulsive (otherwise there wouldn’t be enough forward movement of plot, as there isn’t enough time for it to progress at a normal pace.) This does our girls no favors. Also they are all too similar. They all work in male-dominated industries, they all are treated misogynistically at some point and react with anger (can’t just one of them react with humor? Or work in a 21-st century workplace where alpha males are at least forced to keep their sexual-harassment comments to themselves?) They all want to get married and have kids. But they all have only had bad relationships with other Chinese men who apparently are all sexist assholes (not my opinion – this stereotype is consistent and loud throughout the novel.) They all have a boyfriend from the past resurface during their story, although with varying results. If the structure was changed so that perhaps each chapter alternated narration and all three women had 12 months for their story to unfold, many of the above issue would either go away, or the repetitions would have been so much more obvious when they were side-by-side rather than separated by 100 pages.
The stereotyping and yelling and crying all needed to be toned down drastically. There was also some sloppiness that should have been caught in editing. For instance on p. 18 M.J. bumps into a long-ago acquaintance, Kevin, while in the press room at Madison Square Garden. She says “What are you doing here?” and when she introduces Kevin to Ming, he says “So, you and M. J. are old high school pals, huh?” On the very next page she runs into Jagger and says “what are you doing here?” (gee, a producer for RealSports, what would he be doing at Madison Square Garden at a Knicks practice?) She introduces him to Kevin, and he says “So, you knew M.J. back in high school huh?” Also Brady takes out a cigarette in his office! On p. 154 which made me wonder if it was 1986. M.J. has a DVD of favorite Michael Jordan highlights, but sends out her audition clips for sportscaster jobs on VHS. Oh, and both she and Alex drive cars! In New York City! Alex and Lin make 6-figure salaries but M.J. doesn’t, so where does she park her car and why on earth does she have one? It only appears once in one scene, and there’s no reasons he couldn’t have been in a cab or even on the subway.
All this being said, I liked the breezy tone. I liked that this was a slightly different take on the usual chick lit genre. I loved that the women all had real jobs and were successful and had their own apartments. I hate the chick lit novels where a confused woman just sits around waiting for life to happen to her so she doesn’t have to make any decisions. While I was very frustrated by this book, I do look forward to their next one to see if hopefully they learned a lot after this one which should make for an improvement.
Oh, and publishers, please stop publishing first-time-novelists of chick lit in hardcover. Just stop it. That’s what original trade paperbacks are for. This was a perfect book for that format, not hardcover.
It's certainly true that once an editor, always an editor. But when reading for fun, I want to be able to keep that part of my brain shelved.
January 21, 2008
I picked this up from the library while tutoring - it was on the shelf across from me and I was waiting for her to write a sentence. It was good, but nothing spectacular. 3 Asian city girls trying to find themselves.
October 9, 2022
The opening pages are rocky to read (not the best writing in the book), but once you proceed into the three separate narratives, it's fun escapist fiction. I picked it up to share with my cousins at a family funeral later this month, but it's so fun and reminds me of "Sex and the City," but set amongst only three Asian-American girlfriends. Sweet.
[continued... said, no matter what indignities she’d been subjected to, she held it all in. She was Chinese stoicism personified — aloof, impassive, impervious to insult. Caucasian histrionics were not for her — the tears, the screams, the naked emotion. Better to retain one’s pride than be reduced to such petty behavior, she one told Alex. Better to work hard and have the last laugh in the end. (p. 123)]
[continued... said, no matter what indignities she’d been subjected to, she held it all in. She was Chinese stoicism personified — aloof, impassive, impervious to insult. Caucasian histrionics were not for her — the tears, the screams, the naked emotion. Better to retain one’s pride than be reduced to such petty behavior, she one told Alex. Better to work hard and have the last laugh in the end. (p. 123)]
gave-up
September 19, 2018Yeah...sometimes you have to trust the reviews. This has been on my shelf forever, and I wanted it to be a hidden, diverse gem. I read the first 100 pages of this tonight and it was...fine. Cliched, all over the place, and just not something I’m going to spend any more time on. I’ll find another diverse read for the contemporaryathon.
May 10, 2020
Omg. Thank f*ck it’s finished! I just can’t. Sorry.. Genuinely thought this was gonna be a chick flick adventure in my dream city NYC. Well... the world just seems so small around them (the characters)... :(
January 20, 2025
Read this book years ago and it wasn’t memorable
November 29, 2025
Loved this book. Lisa See is an amazing author and the story was gripping.
March 18, 2012
I just finished the final pages of China Dolls by Michelle Yu and Blossom Kan.
This story is about 3 Chinese-American, career-driven women--best friends since forever--in their late 20's. The book is written in "acts"--each one chronicling the character's story from her P.O.V.
ACT I - M.J., who is trying to make it as sports caster in a white male's world where women know nothing of the sorts. The "Black Sheep"
ACT II - Alex, the Chinese success story....in her career, not when it comes to romance. The careful and responsible planner.
ACT III - Lin, the risk-taker and who has all the men fawning over her
Even though we get the scoop on each chick's love life in segments, it all intertwines with each other because these girls constantly get together for brunch and stuff; and through it all, they advise, console, and have fun together.
I loved the Asian theme background in the story, especially when it seeps through the American modern lifestyle of today (same as any other culture, really.) The prologue is what started it all when the three girls go see a fortune teller to see how the year would turn out. Each one had a different fortune. It was interesting to see how it all played out for each one.
For M.J., the traditional Chinese custom was: to major in business, get a job in the corporate world, and make lots of money; but M.J. was too artistic for all that, so she ditched her family plan for a shot as a sportscaster--you can feel her frustrations as she tries desperately to achieve her goals.
Alex is the "perfect Chinese daughter"--she got the good grades, got her degree, got a career as a top-notch lawyer, and is making lots of money so she doesn't need a man to support her; but lately, she's wishing that could change. She would like to have a family someday, but she refuses to succumb to the traditional role of the housewife. She's not afraid to speak her mind. If something is sexist, she says so.
Lin has always been the pawn in a match-making scheme by her overbearing mother, who wants her daughter to settle down with a nice and successful Chinese man. Then the white man enters her life, and her mother couldn't have been more shocked. Lin was so stupid to ditch everything for this guy that didn't even treat her right. Why do women do that?
Overall, all three girls seemed to be looking for love in all the wrong places when it was right there in front of them the whole time. They all seemed to have one thing in common: their worst nightmare is to be trapped in a traditional "Chinese" marriage, where the husband controls all the money and the wife is meant to cook, clean, and take care of the kids. Also, they all seem to think that what is working against them in their careers is the fact that they are Asian females, and they all constantly bitch about it!
This book was funny and relatable at times. I felt that I could empathize with all three--M.J. being the tomboy and never fitting in; Alex not wanting to waste her time with losers and would rather live alone; and Lin wanting to get out and explore the world (I so want that.)
This story is about 3 Chinese-American, career-driven women--best friends since forever--in their late 20's. The book is written in "acts"--each one chronicling the character's story from her P.O.V.
ACT I - M.J., who is trying to make it as sports caster in a white male's world where women know nothing of the sorts. The "Black Sheep"
ACT II - Alex, the Chinese success story....in her career, not when it comes to romance. The careful and responsible planner.
ACT III - Lin, the risk-taker and who has all the men fawning over her
Even though we get the scoop on each chick's love life in segments, it all intertwines with each other because these girls constantly get together for brunch and stuff; and through it all, they advise, console, and have fun together.
I loved the Asian theme background in the story, especially when it seeps through the American modern lifestyle of today (same as any other culture, really.) The prologue is what started it all when the three girls go see a fortune teller to see how the year would turn out. Each one had a different fortune. It was interesting to see how it all played out for each one.
For M.J., the traditional Chinese custom was: to major in business, get a job in the corporate world, and make lots of money; but M.J. was too artistic for all that, so she ditched her family plan for a shot as a sportscaster--you can feel her frustrations as she tries desperately to achieve her goals.
Alex is the "perfect Chinese daughter"--she got the good grades, got her degree, got a career as a top-notch lawyer, and is making lots of money so she doesn't need a man to support her; but lately, she's wishing that could change. She would like to have a family someday, but she refuses to succumb to the traditional role of the housewife. She's not afraid to speak her mind. If something is sexist, she says so.
Lin has always been the pawn in a match-making scheme by her overbearing mother, who wants her daughter to settle down with a nice and successful Chinese man. Then the white man enters her life, and her mother couldn't have been more shocked. Lin was so stupid to ditch everything for this guy that didn't even treat her right. Why do women do that?
Overall, all three girls seemed to be looking for love in all the wrong places when it was right there in front of them the whole time. They all seemed to have one thing in common: their worst nightmare is to be trapped in a traditional "Chinese" marriage, where the husband controls all the money and the wife is meant to cook, clean, and take care of the kids. Also, they all seem to think that what is working against them in their careers is the fact that they are Asian females, and they all constantly bitch about it!
This book was funny and relatable at times. I felt that I could empathize with all three--M.J. being the tomboy and never fitting in; Alex not wanting to waste her time with losers and would rather live alone; and Lin wanting to get out and explore the world (I so want that.)
October 14, 2007
My doctor gave me this book. She thought I would like it. It's about three Chinese American women who all have successful careers but can't manage their personal lives very well.
One is a tough lawyer, another is a high powered stock broker, and the last is a sport writer who wants to be a sports anchor but keeps getting discriminated against because she is Asian and female.
It's like Sex in the City for Asian women and without the sex. Typical chick book except all the women are Asian. The book is divided into three parts; each part is told from the perspective of one of the protagonists.
It's a good read if you are looking for pulp fiction. Nothing serious. Just entertaining. Chinese women would relate to it because all three characters are under pressure to get married to Chinese men.
One is a tough lawyer, another is a high powered stock broker, and the last is a sport writer who wants to be a sports anchor but keeps getting discriminated against because she is Asian and female.
It's like Sex in the City for Asian women and without the sex. Typical chick book except all the women are Asian. The book is divided into three parts; each part is told from the perspective of one of the protagonists.
It's a good read if you are looking for pulp fiction. Nothing serious. Just entertaining. Chinese women would relate to it because all three characters are under pressure to get married to Chinese men.
July 27, 2010
This book was okay. I liked the format of each character's specific story but it lacked a good wrap around end. It almost could have been three separate short stories. I read this book to get an idea about independent young women in asian culture which sounds so restrictive for women. The last story was about this character and her frivolous behavior with men due to her relationship with her mother! It came out of nowhere, was unnecessary, but pointed that other cultures also blame their mothers for everything bad happening to them. Then if you have a real heart to heart conversation with your mother, your life will be much better? Please!
November 14, 2014
Not her best; not her worst be far. Lisa See's China Dolls tells the story of three "Oriental" girls breaking into show business during WWII. It is a story of Chinese Americans, assimilating into American culture and the culture; it is story of friendship and deciept; love gained and lost; lust in abundance.
Being from Columbus, OH, I get a kick out finding the lead character grew up in Plain City, just a few miles away, I also enjoyed the factual references to Jack Soo and one of my favorite films, "Flower adrum Song."
China Dolls is a quick, nostalgic read, just right for a rainy or snowy weekend,
Being from Columbus, OH, I get a kick out finding the lead character grew up in Plain City, just a few miles away, I also enjoyed the factual references to Jack Soo and one of my favorite films, "Flower adrum Song."
China Dolls is a quick, nostalgic read, just right for a rainy or snowy weekend,
March 26, 2007
Recommended for anyone who has asian parents and who constantly question when you're getting married. This book really struck a chore, I feel, on the struggles of chinese american girls trying to succeed in the predominantly male dominated work fields. But it was a fun, easy read.
June 9, 2010
It was alright, that's it no more. The last chapter was really bad; it didn't even sound like the characters from earlier throughout the book. Earlier they seemed strong, in the last one, they seemed ditzy and childish. Bad ending.
May 14, 2012
i thought it was okay.. but the characters seemed very similar. sort of like they were all the same person just with different jobs. it was exiting at times and i liked the friendship aspect of it though.
May 30, 2007
Had hope for more from this book. Was a bit too simple and you could pretty much guess what was going to happen....
July 10, 2008
Fun Read about 3 20 something API women in NYC.
July 5, 2012
Casual Asian American chick literature. Not what I am used to because the content and characters lack depth. It's ok for a casual read.
December 3, 2012
Poorly written with obvious stereotypes. No interesting plot and nothing to look forward to. Waste of time and money.
May 27, 2014
Overall, I liked the book. I found it...interesting, for lack of a better word, how Chinese/Chinese-American men were portrayed throughout the book and how it could be predictable at certain points.
July 30, 2014
Okay, predictable, bit of a soap opera. Full of interesting stuff about first/second generation Chinese expectations and problems, especially with "white devils."
September 7, 2007
I gave up. Boring!!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews