- #1
It's a good novel, amazing even. It starts slow and unremarkable, very quiet and not exciting. I persisted only because I know this writer, she is very capable and creates stories that feel modern, full of witty, funny people who are strong and honest and feel at ease as they deal with people and circumstances, as they problem solve.The first time the story sparkled a bit was in ch 30 where the FL dealt with three crooked relatives in one swoop. Then by ch.72 I was already laughing uproariously at the FL and her biological father antics. The novelist finally started entertaining the readers!The FL in this novel is quite unique. She is one of several extremely smart characters in this novel, with all her M.D and Ph.D. Degrees and superb medical skills, she is a competent doctor, but she is very down to earth at the same time, working like a cow and a horse as she does laundry for her entire family, repairs the roof, goes for hunting-gathering in the mountains and cooks, and a typical Chinese wife and mom, extremely caring of her own.Yet there is something so scary in her, like a total lack of traditional values or maybe even manners which people usually care about, that I would never want to be her friend let alone her enemy. Not that she would care (which is precisely my point). I can read about her and her brilliant husband, heart-robbing little brothers, parents, and have fun, feel entertained by the plot, want to know what's next, but there is no attraction to the characters of this novel, especially the FL.
