Bo Caldwell
Paperback | Pages: 400 pages Rating: 4.12 | 4547 Users | 601 Reviews
Specify Out Of Books The Distant Land of My Father
| Title | : | The Distant Land of My Father |
| Author | : | Bo Caldwell |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 400 pages |
| Published | : | September 9th 2002 by Mariner Books (first published 2001) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. China. Asia |
Explanation Concering Books The Distant Land of My Father
Anna, the narrator of this riveting first novel, lives in a storybook world: exotic pre- World War II Shanghai, with handsome young parents, wealth, and comfort. Her father, the son of missionaries, leads a charmed and secretive life, though his greatest joy is sharing his beloved city with his only daughter. Yet when Anna and her mother flee Japanese-occupied Shanghai to return to California, he stays behind, believing his connections and a little bit of luck will keep him safe. Through Anna's memories and her father's journals we learn of his fall from charismatic millionaire to tortured prisoner, in a story of betrayal and reconciliation that spans two continents. The Distant Land of My Father, a breathtaking and richly lyrical debut, unfolds to reveal an enduring family love through tragic circumstances.Itemize Books Toward The Distant Land of My Father
| Original Title: | The Distant Land of My Father |
| ISBN: | 0156027135 (ISBN13: 9780156027137) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | California(United States) Shanghai(China) China …more Los Angeles, California(United States) Pasadena, California(United States) …less |
Rating Out Of Books The Distant Land of My Father
Ratings: 4.12 From 4547 Users | 601 ReviewsJudge Out Of Books The Distant Land of My Father
Riveting story told by Anna the child of Eve and Joe- Americans in China in 1938 on the cusp of WWII. Her father stays as mother and daughter flee to California to wait for Joe who does not leave China and is then trapped.A novel about choices, decisions, family and how we are shaped by our parents. Excellent read full of fascinating history of China in the mid- twentieth century.This book is the reason I have not accomplished much in the last few days. So good--
Annas father, Joseph, is not an American who wont come home, he is an American born in China to missionary parents and at home there. Shanghai is his home and he loves it. His wife, Eve, is an American who wants to go home, and Anna is a child with one foot in each culture. It is obvious to everyone that there is trouble on the horizon by 1941, but when Eve decides it is time to leave China, Joseph refuses to go with her. Thus, he is still present in Shanghai when the Japanese occupy the city
My Goodreads friend Chrissie recommended this book to me, and from the opening pages I was hooked.My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s. Polo ponies, a Sikh chauffeur, a villa on eight acres in Hungjao, in the western part of the city. Nights out with my mother at the Cercle Sportif Francais, the Venus Cafe, the Cathay Hotel, the Del Monte - these were the details of his life. He was also an insurance salesman and a smuggler, an importer-exporter and a prisoner, a borrower and a
I found the Shanghai parts of this novel to be wonderfully interesting. I had zero interest in the life of the Los Angeles adolescent.
This was pretty much a perfect book. I loved this book. The one and only flaw I can see is that at one point Anna spreads tuna fish onto raisin bread (ew). Other than that tiny detail, everything about this book was great. I loved the characters and the places. The story was wonderful and believeable. I felt like I could see Shanghai and California and each and every person in the story. I wish I could give this six stars, one of the best books I think I've ever read.
Bo Caldwell's fictional memoir "The Distant Land Of My Father" resonates with the story of my great grandmother Anna. The main character also Anna, the place also Shanghai China, the place also Los Angeles and the date also 1936. My great grandmother Anna Dennis also taught at the Church of The Open Door where the distant father of Caldwell's novel got saved. After a journey of nearly a month by freighter and delivered from a terrific storm enroute, Mrs Anna L. Dennis and Alma Bertschin
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