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River East, River West
- Narrated by: David Shih, Jennifer Lim
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
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River East, River West
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Summary
Set against the backdrop of developing modern China, this mesmerizing literary debut is part coming-of-age tale, part family and social drama, as it follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity in a rapidly changing world—perfect for fans of Behold the Dreamers, White Ivy, and The Leavers.
Shanghai, 2007: Fourteen-year-old Alva has always longed for more. Raised by her American expat mother, she's never known her Chinese father, and is certain a better life awaits them in America. But when her mother announces her engagement to their wealthy Chinese landlord, Lu Fang, Alva's hopes are dashed, and so she plots for the next best thing: the American School in Shanghai. Upon admission, though, Alva is surprised to discover an institution run by an exclusive community of expats and the ever-wilder thrills of a city where foreigners can ostensibly act as they please.
1985: In the seaside city of Qingdao, Lu Fang is a young, married man and a lowly clerk in a shipping yard. Though he once dreamed of a bright future, he is one of many casualties in his country's harsh political reforms. So when China opens its doors to the first wave of foreigners in decades, Lu Fang's world is split wide open after he meets an American woman who makes him confront difficult questions about his current status in life, and how much will ever be enough.
In a stunning reversal of the east-to-west immigrant narrative and set against China's political history and economic rise, River East, River West is an intimate family drama and a sharp social novel. Alternating between Alva and Lu Fang's points of view, this is a profoundly moving exploration of race and class, cultural identity and belonging, and the often-false promise of the American Dream.
What listeners say about River East, River West
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jw91
- 19-10-24
Amazing Novel
Not the normal type of book I like to read/listen to but this turned out to be a fantastic novel which covered many different subjects. The have done narrators a really good job too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-03-24
Wow wow wow wow wow
This book is so good. This book explores so many different themes- social mobility, family fragmentation, suicide, wealth, grooming, ethnicity, belonging, unhappiness, parenting, lies, beauty, attention, re- writing your own history. All set in China discovering a different culture in two periods of time. It’s all so good. So much is covered, it just starts with a bang there is no getting off the ride of this book from the very beginning. An arc of redemption. For a book I only got because it’s up for the women’s prize, I really enjoyed this. Could be a winner.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Annie Levack
- 14-04-24
Trials and tribulations of a girl who is treated as an outsider
Well written, credible, I am interested in Chinese culture anyway so the setting was of great interest. I would love to listen to other books by same author. I appreciated the narrators’ voices too
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- C+V
- 06-05-24
Excellent
Such an enjoyable book. Moving, poignant and observant. Loved its honesty and humanity. Great narrators.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-03-24
A coming of age story with good pacing.
I thought this was very good, coming of age story: gradually revealing the truth. I found it optimistic in tone but for those people who want trigger warnings, I'd check them beforehand.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-04-24
Couldn’t stop listening
Didn’t want this book to end. And in fact the end was the only part that felt a bit too neat. Well-deserved Women’s Prize nominee. Possibly my favourite from the long list so far and a book I don’t think I would otherwise have found.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G. Swift
- 06-09-24
Brilliant writing, brilliant narration.
I listened to this in two sittings. The writing is excellent, as are both narrators.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Woodland Sprite
- 26-05-24
A story that needed telling.
This is a story that needs telling, a story of what capitalism has done to destroy Chinese culture, and every aspect of that sad, degrading tale is covered albeit clumsily.
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