Review: Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China

Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China by Jung Chang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Chang's research, as always, is astonishing. In this intimate portrait of the Soong sisters, you get a real sense of who they were. I've seen one or two reviews be critical about the fact that the book focuses a fair bit on the men in sisters' lives. I can understand that - I think Chiang Kai-Shenk was given more prominence than "Big Sister" Ei-Ling.

But, all three sisters were in the positions they were because of who they were married to (or in Ei-Ling's case, who her sister May-Ling was married to). The reality was a woman would never have power without some connection to a powerful man at that time in China's history - though all three certainly played fundamental roles in helping the men in their lives gain and keep power.

Overall, an interesting read but one that was a bit of a slog at times. Possibly a good book to read on holiday when you have time to devote it.

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Review: Me: Elton John Official Autobiography

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography by Elton John
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really good! Whether or not you're a fan of John, his autobiography has so much to offer. You get bitchy comments about celebrities (Rod Stewart and John apparently have a decades-long competition to see who can outshine the other), shocking tales of debauchery (he really was an enthusiastic user of cocaine...), and poignant tales of redemption. One of the saddest recollections is John's fraught relationship with his Mum and his Dad, particularly as he never able to really reach an understanding with either of them.

But best of all is John's self-awareness. He knows his temper tantrums are ridiculous, that his drug and alcohol problems didn't make him a nice person to be around, and that part of him will always be Reg Dwight.

I also listened to some of this on the Audible version. I can see why they got Taron Egerton to do the narration given his brilliant performance in RocketMan and he does do a great job. The problem is he's just too young. Hearing a 29-year-old man refer to something that happened "45 years ago" is a bit weird to be honest.

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Review: Doctor Who: The Women Who Lived

Doctor Who: The Women Who Lived by Christel Dee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a good 30 years too old for this but I actually found it quite fun and engaging. I've only really watched "new Who", so it was interesting to find out about some iconic female characters of "old who". Importantly, they've thrown in some villians as well as the companions/one-story heroines. If this meant as an empowering book for young girls, then the message should be that women are just as capable of making poor decisions/being selfish as men are!

Strictly for Doctor Who fans only though. A lot of things you're not going understand if you've never seen the programme!

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Review: The Wall

The Wall by John Lanchester
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The idea of the UK putting a Wall to keep "Others" out is, given Brexit, is an relevant and important one to explore. However, I was never really convinced that Kavanagh was in any real danger. The prolem with having him as the narrator is that you know that he's going to survive any situation because he's the one telling you about it!

Plus, as the book went on, I didn't think he had that much depth - he muttered about blaming his parents for the "change" happening on their watch (mainly because they acted guilty), but his relationship with them was never really explored. Would have been more interesting for Lanchester to address whether the parents (or their generation and, by extension, our generation) really were guilty etc.

I think my issue is that I'm just a bit bored wth male narrators - particularly white (I think), middle-class ones. They can come across as somewhat bland after a while.

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Review: Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An absorbing read that, despite being chunky (500 pages), I managed to get through quite quickly (I finished the last 150 pages during a two-hour flight).

The underlying mystery of the book - how a child who appeared dead could come back to life and who that child is - slowly unfolds. But, the real joy of the book is the characters and how they interact. All of them, in their own ways, are at turns vulnerable and strong.

I watched the TV adaption of the 13th tale a few years ago and I regret that now. I wished I had read the book as I think I would have enjoyed it more. Mind you, the TV adaption did have Olivia Coleman (post Broadchurch but way before Oscar) and Vanessa Redgrave. So, the adaption was probably worth it for those two alone!

I might now investigate Bellman & Black (Setterfield's second novel) to see what that's about as, I think anyway, there hasn't been a TV adaptation of that!


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