
Dreams of Joy: A Novel
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In her beloved New York Times best sellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in her most powerful novel yet, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed 19-year-old daughter, Joy.
Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, and anger at her mother and aunt for keeping them from her, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the communist regime.
Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.
Acclaimed for her richly drawn characters and vivid storytelling, Lisa See once again renders a family challenged by tragedy and time, yet ultimately united by the resilience of love.
- Listening Length15 hours and 43 minutes
- Audible release dateMay 31, 2011
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB0053ET4DC
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 15 hours and 43 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Lisa See |
Narrator | Janet Song |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | May 31, 2011 |
Publisher | Random House Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B0053ET4DC |
Best Sellers Rank | #17,615 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #277 in Fiction Sagas #892 in Women's Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #917 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) |
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Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019
Top reviews from the United States
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See researched both books extensively, but I could not warm up to the character of Joy. Pearl follows her to China, and it is the story of Pearl, who sacrifices everything to return to her homeland to chase after Joy. Her love and devotion moved me because her actions are unselfish and motivated by love. Joy reacts to life's events without thought of anything but herself. As a result, she ends up in a loveless marriage of her own choosing. In the end, the love of Pearl rescues her.
I grew tired of reading the endless scenes of poverty and starvation and cruelty and deprivation. I feel selfish even writing that sentence because these conditions did and do exist for those living under dictatorships couched under euphemisms of social reform and power to the people. Perhaps that was See's intent with this book - to make the reading of it as intolerable as the conditions she repeatedly shows.
Even though I didn't enjoy Dreams of Joy as much as her other novels, I give praise to See for writing such detailed accounts of historical events that must be remembered lest we forget, and worse, repeat. Novels that entertain and inform stand a chance of making a difference, and I don't fault her for doing that in both of these books.
I just wanted to be swept away by both, and that didn't happen with the sequel.
Top reviews from other countries



Informative, fascinating and at times horrifying for those,
Like myself who had no IN depth knowledge of "the great
Leap forward"
I love all Lisa See 's books but found this one particularly
affecting.

