Comments (20)

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Jan 21, 2021Einer2 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A very good read! Not often you find a book with a good story and a local connection. Would love to know how she settled on Plain City, Ohio as the home of one of the three protagonists! She has to have been there because she even knew…
Jul 25, 2019
A frank look at what it meant to be Chinese or Japanese in America in 1930-1940 something. Although America has been billed as the "land of opportunity" -- it is clear that is not equally true for all as we follow these characters on their…
Jun 07, 2019Leah_R rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Lisa See makes her characters and the history come alive. Definitely worth reading.
Oct 17, 2018
Interesting reading.
Dec 19, 2017
Interesting enough everyone of the characters were "passing" as someone else and never wanted to be true self: all three girls, Eddie, Joe, Charlie, Ivy, Japanese interment camps, even Helen half bred son. That is the take away and the…
Aug 04, 2017jodifloria rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I liked this book and found it different than what I usually read..The book intrigued me and as I read it flowed well and the characters were seemingly real people...Easy to read and fast..
Jul 30, 2017ArapahoeMaryA rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This historical fiction novel follows the lives of three young Asian women who become performers in San Francisco’s “Chop Suey Circuit” during the WWII era. While I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this slice of history, I had a…
Jan 02, 2016cemetery613 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book. Well written. History that I was totally unaware of. Well worth the read.
Aug 20, 2015DanglingConversations rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
not well written and not a good in-depth portrait of immigrant Asian women trying to make it in America's frenetic pre WWII culture. Interesting plot, too bad it was so poorly written.
booklady413
Oct 01, 2014booklady413 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Lisa See writes about friendship and being Asian in an unfriendly pre-war 1938 era in America. Ruby, Grace and Helen are dancers at the Forbidden Garden, a club primarily for Asians. As WWII approaches and begins with Japan's attack on…
Sep 25, 2014singasong70 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Did not care for this book - did not finish it. I found the dialogue stilted and formulaic - hard to believe they talked the way author portrays them as talking in the thirties - "I so wanted to hit her." Really?
Aug 14, 2014occy rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this novel. Definitely one of those "hard to put down" reads.
Jul 24, 2014
This descriptive, richly detailed novel introduces three Asian-American nightclub performers in San Francisco's Chinatown. Grace, a talented dancer, has fled both her sleepy Midwestern hometown and her abusive father; Helen, a recent…
Jul 15, 2014finn75 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I love Lisa See's novels. She tells a great story about female experiences and relationships. This book is no different. A very interesting story of the lives of three very different women in the entertainment business in the 30's and…
aisha65
Jul 11, 2014aisha65 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
l loved this book. I have also read several of Lisa See's other novels and have enjoyed them as well.
Jul 11, 2014writermala rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I'm a huge fan of Lisa See, and her latest book "China Dolls" did not disappoint. Ruby, Grace, and Helen tell their stories of friendship, betrayal, and love in a really poignant way and it is quite heart-rending. The historical issues…
alexica
Jul 10, 2014alexica rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I founf this book very disappointing. The writing was awkward and the plot elements rather unbelievable. The women seemed to act unnaturally, more to move the plot along than have their stories unfold. I'm a fan of Amy Tan and Maxine Hong…
Jul 08, 2014
China Dolls spotlights the undertold story of Asian-American entertainers during the 1930s and 1940s through the story of a trio of women who become a complex constant in one another's lives. China Dolls shines in its portrayal of female…
Jul 08, 2014kindrabirss rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I wanted to love this one, because I love Lisa See's writing and have read most of her other books. I found it lacking however. It's typical Lisa See in that she explores the relationships between women of Chinese descent and how their…
Jane60201
Jun 07, 2014Jane60201 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I saw this in the "Most Wanted" and picked it up because of the author. I thought it was nowhere near as outstanding a literary work as "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and that was a disappointment. The characters seemed sort of "light…