Donald C. Lee

Set in China during the student protests against corruption in the 1989. The story follows a middle-aged American teacher, (a Buddhist with a violent streak?) as well as 2 student protestors who are in love. The story had potential but maybe was too ambitious. There is a lot of dialogue, which helps establish the cultural climate and mind sets of the many folks involved. But any action (like an army invading or a violent physical altercation) was poorly described. These events that should have been advancing the story seemed to be forced into the text and brushed over awkwardly. It resulted in poor pacing and clunky writing, and left me with no visual sense of what I was reading. I didn’t feel invested in the characters or interested in the story, which dragged on and on.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.… (altro)