You might not become vegetarian after this, but you’ll definitely think twice before consuming most foods again.

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 411
Type: Non-Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-1-4088-1218-1
First Published: 2006
Date Reviewed: 1st August 2013
Rating: 5/5

Pollan looks at three methods of creating food – industrial, natural farming, and hunter-gathering, in order to find the ‘perfect’ meal. Following some of the foods from field to table, he explores the effects the different methods have had on our world and our health and aims to make his reader aware of the entirety of what they are eating.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is an in-depth book written in a casual, friendly, style, that seeks to inform.

Besides the obvious information, the best aspect is undoubtedly Pollan’s style, his approach to the work. Humorous, unbiased in general and open when not, he comes across as both an expert and layman and the book is enjoyable and engrossing.

The biggest ‘takeaway’ from the book is surely Pollan’s detailing of the industrial food industry. Albeit that the book concerns America and therefore may not be so relevant elsewhere, the details of unnaturally fed cattle, of drugged-up animals, petrol-filled pigs, and cruelty, is enough to make you want to put the book down for a moment to clear your mind. Some of what’s written is hard to read, especially when you know your digestive system depends on the very food discussed – both meat and vegetables are described in equal ‘ickiness’.

This is balanced by Pollan’s second study, natural farming. ‘Beyond organic’ (organic as a completely natural method having been debunked earlier), this is where Pollan introduces the reader to the farmers who work entirely with nature. Of particular interest are the sections that deal with natural farming being easier because the farmers are working with nature instead of trying to change it.

The hunter-gather sections aren’t quite as historic as you might expect, but as you learn, it is as good as Pollan can get within the limits of present life.

Pollan isn’t out to turn people into vegetarians, but nor is he comfortable with changing the mindset of vegetarians, either. There is an inherent bias towards the omnivore, naturally, and many vegetarians who are such for reasons of principle, may find the latter sections of the book hard to comprehend. But Pollan doesn’t debunk vegetarianism or denounce it as silly, he provides unapologetic and undefended reasons why and in what circumstances it is okay to be a meat eater.

And he doesn’t ever condemn those who like fast-food, instead simply cautioning against it.

At times the book can be repetitive and Pollan’s choice of words and phrasing is strange, but overall this is a very solid book with a fair amount of research. Easy to read, it is accessible to anyone and should inspire an admiration of Pollan, if not of his work per se, then certainly his approachable style.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is an important book that contains knowledge everyone ought to have. As much for what it doesn’t say – perforce, as Pollan speaks of not being allowed inside industrial slaughter houses – it is recommended to everyone who so much as ponders what they’re putting in their mouths at meal times.

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Love and loyalty amongst lust and infidelity.

Publisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Pages: 382
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-060-78193-4
First Published: 2007
Date Reviewed: 4th March 2013
Rating: 5/5

Roberta needs to find a husband. Realising her problems lie in living with her eccentric father – a bad poet with an inclination towards melodrama – she decides to leave for London to stay with family. Her hope is that cousin Jemma will help her make a stunning entrance into Georgian life and improve on the reputation her father has ruined. It was love at first sight when Roberta careened into Villiers, but Villiers doesn’t favour marriage. When Jemma is asked to exact revenge on Villiers by another woman, the plans to shame him as well as marry him to Roberta come together – but then there’s Jemma’s brother Damon who does favour marriage and wants Roberta for himself.

Desperate Duchesses is a surprisingly funny novel with all the basics of a good romance. Set in Georgian England, there is plenty of time for James to poke a little fun at costumes, and opportunities to take advantage of the daring and stereotypically sexy idea of a man who refuses to wear a wig. And there is time for explorations of society to be presented with aplomb.

Roberta is the sort of character that, apart from her era-specific interests, would fit any time period. She worries about how her father’s behaviour will affect her future, she is sexually naïve but not at all reserved, and her propensity to correct the hero’s son’s grammar, though bordering on obsessive, will resonate with readers. She knows what she wants and will strive until she gets it, and her belief that she is in love with Villiers is funny rather than annoying. James never suggests that you ought to believe she is in love and truly it is a case of her believing without knowing what love is. She may not be as compelling as Jemma, who is more aware and gets to show off her intelligence due to her role, but she is a person you can root for – and you’ll be rooting for her to make that crucial realisation about her choices before long. Whether she is likeable is another question, however.

As said, Jemma is rather smart. She is also rather scandalous and the source of a lot of the comedy. Her ideas, such as having a naked woman as a table centre-piece, speak just as much of modern liberation than debauchery. In fact, despite the wide tendency of all to sleep with everyone but their spouses, the book is lacking in the sort of discomfort and lust (without love) that might put you off. It is this aspect that is one of the greatest elements of the book.

Because if the book is character-driven (and it must be said that Damon is just as wonderful a character as his sister and Roberta), then James has made a big effort to bring history into it in a way that won’t alienate. If a romance with infidelity is off-putting, then James has made sure to keep the infidelity confined to the other characters and referred to far more often than shown. Despite Damon’s prior mistresses and illegitimate child, and despite Roberta’s decision to throw caution to the wind, you will not find a faithless couple here. Whilst it might strike you as unbelievable given the setting and other characters, it is understandable and acceptable that James has left out infidelity from the development of the romantic thread.

The book asks, to some extent, what love is. Roberta wants to marry Villiers and believes she loves him. From the text it seems possible that she does indeed love him, but when Damon makes his move she finds what is obviously ‘purer’ than lust, and it is on the part of the reader to see what Roberta does not.

Bringing in something completely unrelated to sexuality is chess. Or rather chess is generally unrelated but of course James uses terminology for innuendo and suggestions. There is a great deal of information and playing of chess in the book, to the extent that a person who hates it will likely find the book boring. Most of the characters practically breathe chess and it forms the basis for other plot points, too. Indeed anyone who enjoys the game or wants to learn more about it may see its potential as a tips and trick book – there really is that much in there.

As supposed for a book where the heroine has been brought up in a house of literature, the book prizes the written word and good English. What errors there are are editing errors and James employs a believable mixture of historical and modern language. One of the characters even makes fun of the language of his ancestors.

As for the romance? Damon wants Roberta and does make decisions without her, but his weakness around her takes away any feeling of inequality and possession. You have a heroine who has learned a lot from her father’s lovers and isn’t shocked by impropriety but has no knowledge of the actual experience; therefore some of the sex scenes are lessons of sorts. There is no colourful language and the relationship begins and ends (as far as the book is concerned) with love. If not quite on Roberta’s side.

Desperate Duchesses sees a situation where the daughter of a man who adopts peculiar pets, runs to the house of her cousins who aren’t cousins, in order to get married to a man who thought she was a servant. It sees a situation where well-dressed people decide to start playing at discus with cow pats, and hilariously bad seamstresses are employed to make ball gowns for the gentry.

It’s silly, it’s stereotypical, and it’s an absolute riot.

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When a woman dared to tread.

Publisher: Wiley
Pages: 270
Type: Non-Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-470-84881-4
First Published: 2003
Date Reviewed: 22nd November 2012
Rating: 3.5/5

Please note that whilst the title of the book may suggest another woman had ruled in China before Ci Xi, Laidler himself makes no mention – thus it should be noted that there had been another Empress to rule China, Wu Ze Tian (also called Wu Zhao), between the years 690-705. Please also note that due to the different methods of transliterating Chinese into English, I have included the two most, in my opinion, used. (Any discrepancies are my own as I used my own knowledge to transliterate the method not used in the book.)

Laidler presents a biography of the Empress Ci Xi (Xu Xi/Tzu Hsi) from teenager to death, looking at how she managed to defy tradition to become the ruler of China and the ways in which she kept that power in the face of opposition.

The Last Empress is a difficult book to define. At once very detailed politically, it misses out a lot of information that would have been of use, yet what it does include is incredibly interesting and Laidler’s style makes for an easy read.

Ci Xi is surely a fascinating character to learn about (though it should be noted that for reasons unknown Laider has called her by her clan name – don’t let that fool you into thinking she was the only Yehonala at court). The way she came to power, her confidence and intelligence, the punishments she meted out to her enemies, and her lack of emotion for many of those in her care – Laidler makes sure that he provides a balance and includes discussions of why she became such a despot. Whilst admitting that her lust for power was unquenchable, Laidler questions her background and how being a woman, and at that a woman forced to become an emperor’s concubine instead of marrying the man she loved, would have given rise to a vengeful spirit, a woman with no love for the dynasty she had been brought to serve.

And this is key to what makes Laidler both accessible and hard to dispute – he may have his own views, but seldom are these included subjectively. Laidler’s work is incredibly unbiased, he damns and glorifies both sides, always presenting the various arguments and possibilities, and succeeds so well in his goal that the reader will have a tough time working out where his loyalties lie beyond his loyalty to introduce Ci Xi to his reader. Indeed all evidence points to him being completely objective. Such a method of writing is a relief when you consider that many books err more on one side than another, creating discomfort when the reader does not agree with the author’s views.

Unfortunately, however, Laidler’s writing is marred by a lack of referencing. Sometimes this is literal – he doesn’t reference any source at all, leading it to seem as though he wrote all the facts when he of course did not – and otherwise there is just a simple lack of footnotes. Both issues are a major drawback as they bar further study into the sources and limit the knowledge the reader can gain into what Laidler has researched, what is common knowledge, and what he took from elsewhere – is what you’re reading true or made up, and how much is speculation? (From the way it’s written all speculation appears to be what is obvious speculation – the rumours recounted by Laidler.) It also means that on many occasions where quotations are included, there is no way of finding out the original source of the work, beyond the name of the speaker. The only upside of this marring is that the work is largely chronological and there is no major aim to convince the reader of a certain idea, meaning, at least, that one will not be able to cite Laidler as the source for reasons of debate. It does mean that Laidler’s work has little value for the student, which given the overall lack of importance given to Chinese history in western academic institutions is disheartening.

Poor editing and some bad writing join the source work. Sentences sometimes make no sense or are unfinished. Despite, or maybe due to, the easy style, phrases such as “had been begun” seem to have slipped through the net, and there are far too many errors. In fact it is as though no proofreader were employed at all. The extent to which grammatical and spelling errors flourish means that any actively engaged reader, wanting to make notes and copy sections, will likely have to edit the text themselves, and the writing on occasion reads as though written by a person with scant knowledge of the English language.

Laidler writes a great deal about the naval warfare between the Europeans who wished to trade according to their own customs, and the Chinese who wanted to keep their traditions. In the main this means that the reader not only develops knowledge of the Empress herself, but of the context surrounding her reign and the reasons she was the last empress. However sometimes Laidler does go off on a tangent in ways that don’t apply to his main subject, resulting in pages that suggest the author was perhaps more interested in military history than the woman who took charge. This is not a huge issue, but it does mean that there are gaps left in Ci Xi’s life where it would have been sensible to either concentrate more on the ruler or, if such is the case, simply let the reader know that there is little known about the empress at that particular point in time.

Because for all his fair treatment of Ci Xi, and the approach that suggests a writer unbiased about gender, Laidler also leaves out aspects of Ci Xi’s power that would have added much to his work. Whilst explaining that Ci Xi’s rise in power over her husband was due to her sexual prowess, and including an explanation for how a woman confined to a world devoid of intact men might improve certain muscles – emphasis here on ‘might’, for there is no evidence that she did – Laidler neglects to discuss the issue any further. And considering it is apparent that Ci Xi retained her place as favourite for reasons other than abilities in the bedroom, there is a seeming lack of information in general. It is not detrimental, but it does suggest that Ci Xi’s rise was predictable, which given her time was not the case. And although there was a prophecy that a woman of Ci Xi’s clan would conclude the dynasty, speculation is of course no good basis for argument. What does seem to be reality is that no one really knows how Ci Xi came to power; that really ought to have been highlighted.

Hearing one lady holding forth on the evils of foot-binding, she pointedly asked if the European practice of binding women’s waists in whalebone corsets was not similarly barbaric.

Laidler does succeed in demonstrating how familial and social tensions created problems for China when it was faced with the invasive forces of the Europeans. Setting the backdrop of the stereotypical dynastic court that believed itself invincible, the author shows how tradition which was otherwise sustainable fell flat when confronted by the opposing beliefs of other countries. He gives a lot of time to Kuang Hsu (Guang Xu), the impotent boy Ci Xi chose (for the very fact he could not sire children) as heir to her dead son, and the ways in which, upon reaching majority, the now emperor tried to balance what he knew to be the iron will of his aunt with his own views of cultural and political reform. This not only means that Kuang Hsu is given a prominent place in the biography, but also that Laidler can adeptly reveal how Ci Xi changed her opinions on tradition and foreign powers – which is particularly interesting when placed alongside the way she manipulated tradition for her own ends.

And what is endlessly interesting is how this most powerful ruler of the wrong gender, of little status, and hated by so many, was able to take over a dynasty, a people, and keep that power for so long that her actions gave her reformist enemies exactly what they wanted.

Laidler’s book may not be in anyway polished but it provides a basis for further reading. Yet a basis it is, due to the speculation and content choices.

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It is the east, and Juliet is the sun… and too much sun can wilt the flowers in the shop and cause the family to go out of business.

Publisher: Broadway (Random House)
Pages: 226
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-307-98672-6
First Published: 2000
Date Reviewed: 12th April 2013
Rating: 4/5

Florist families Cacciamani and Roseman have been rivals for three generations, causing havoc to each other’s businesses. But when 60-year-old divorced Julie meets widowed Romeo, sparks fly and they quickly fall in love. They might be able to see each other behind their families’ backs for a time but it’s unlikely to work, especially when it didn’t work for Julie and Romeo’s children. Can the mature version of the fight do any better, and just what is behind the feud, because to tell you the truth, Julie and Romeo have no idea.

Julie And Romeo was the début of Ray, the mother of Ann Patchett, and the book has recently been updated and thus reprinted. It’s a fun relatively short story that brings the older generation into the spotlight in a way that makes it appealing for all ages.

The story itself is rather predictable and light, but it might be those very qualities that make it difficult to put down. Although it doesn’t match the Shakespeare play entirely (time period and ages aside) there is enough of it to make it a fair retelling and the diverges make for a happier tale. There is a comfortable aspect to the story, you know it’s going to be humorous with no extreme hatred, and whilst there may not be much action, the book is exactly what it says ‘on the tin’.

Undoubtedly it’s the ages of the main characters that are the draw and reason d’etre here. Ray has shined a light on an age group largely neglected by the media. She does point this out literally a couple of times, but the book as a whole is devoid of preaching – Ray’s way of promoting her message is to show just why the age-group is not to be forgotten. She demonstrates how at heart everyone is the same, how love doesn’t change just because you’re older, and the result is a book that can be enjoyed by all.

The characters themselves are generally well developed. Ray has allotted a fair amount of page time to each of the families, allowing for the shortness of the book as a whole. The only issue is that Julie, the narrator, is too giving at times, even to her cheating ex-husband. She requires answers but lets people get away with not answering them (from the start of the book she wants to know why the families are feuding but doesn’t put her foot down when people brush her off).

There is also a problem in that flower orders are cancelled by the opposing party, which isn’t particularly realistic, as after the first time a business would have plans in place with the delivery services to ensure it didn’t happen again and to uphold security. Not everyone in the book is as docile as Julie – it would have happened.

But the couple of issues do not effect the book too much. Julie And Romeo successfully proves that romance in literature need not be limited to the young, and it does this whilst being utterly inclusive, funny, and just charming.

I received this book for review from Crown Publishers.

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Unfortunately for some it was more of a fool’s gold mountain.

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 307
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-1-4088-0112-3
First Published: 2009
Date Reviewed: 24th January 2013
Rating: 5/5

When Pearl and May’s father loses the family’s wealth and is threatened by a gang, the girls must marry the sons of another client and leave Shanghai for Los Angeles. The Japanese have started bombing China, but the sisters hope to trick the gang and somehow stay put, keeping their lives as models intact. But that cannot happen and instead they find themselves in dire circumstances before beginning the journey to a country that does not welcome Chinese people, seeking the protection of their new husbands and the family that claims to be making lots of money on the gold mountain.

Shanghai Girls is an excellent novel that looks at how the Japanese invasion of China, and then Communist China, affected those people who had left for America. With a well-developed cast of characters and a detailed backdrop, the story has an atmosphere that few readers, if any, could pass up.

Suffice to say that the story by itself is fantastic – See is a master at writing characters, story, and prose to hook the reader – but the brilliance of the book is the detailing and handling of the conflicts. Set over a couples of decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the late 1950s, See places the sisters in situations that allow her to fully explain the events of the times.

This does mean that the story is often gruesome. As in previous books See never shies away from in-depth examination of bound feet, for example, but whereas Snow Flower And The Secret Fan and Peony In Love were set in an earlier period and focused on different types of women, the modernity and setting in Shanghai Girls means that there is a look at how violence towards women escalates during war, and how intrusive and immoral people could be to those they saw as below them. However as much as the violence is explicit, See manages to balance her writing, staying on the line between unnecessary content and lessons.

One of the major aspects of the story is the way the Chinese who immigrated to America reacted to events at home, and how they balanced their old lives with the new ones. One part of this, for example, is the way in which many people wanted to keep traditions, but were not in favour of Mao; this is focused on when See brings in the interrogation of the Chinese by the American government who wanted to rid their land of Communists (and, indeed, simply rid the country of Chinese, full stop). Not only had the Chinese been held, sometimes for months, on their arrival during the Japanese occupation (when America was seeking to deport any illegal immigrants) but the beginning of Communism in China stopped the slow progress of tolerance and began a new wave of discrimination and hate, all in the name of keeping America’s liberty and freedom. Of the initial interrogations, See devotes whole chapters, letting the reader live with May and Pearl throughout the months they tried to gain freedom to travel to Los Angeles, rather than giving readers the easy task of simply knowing it happened. See’s wish to inform her readers of the history may be obvious and hard to read at times, but it is never overbearing or preachy.

See’s characters, for the most part, were all born in China, and whilst May and Pearl begin as modern Shanghai women – intent on being western – Pearl especially starts to see her parents’ traditions as something to adopt herself. This means that for a long time See is restricted to viewing the historical events through their eyes and in the context of immigrants. So when American-born Chinese characters are introduced, See not only shows the arguments that can arise from a culture clash, but also the way young minds can be susceptible to outside influences. And whilst her focus is on communism, See’s handling of the subject enables her message to be timeless.

As to the characters themselves they are developed to the extent that the reader may feel that longing for a continuation after the final pages. (In this regard it’s wonderful that there is a sequel, even if Shanghai Girls‘s cliff-hanger ending is difficult to accept.) And of course there is a vast scope – young and modern, modern but somewhat set in tradition, and strict tradition. Not only are the characters interesting in themselves but also the grouping of them as one family allows for the exploration of family and religious values.

There is a lot of information on the film industry at the time. The sisters, immigrants, can see the way in which Hollywood looks for the exotic rather than the realistic – portraying China as something it never was – as well as the discrimination and stupidity of relegating Chinese people to the roles of extras whilst employing caucasians to play the prominent Chinese characters in the script. The differences between the sisters gives See the opportunity to look at these issues from the view of the person who didn’t care, and the person who saw the hate for Asians. It also gives her the chance to comment on the way in which Asians often look the same to Westerners, where one character with talent is interchangeable with another who lacks it and the director does not realise why he needs so many takes. This issue is looked at further when the American Chinese have to take to wearing clothes with text that says they are not Japanese.

A particularly interesting aspect of the story is the way the sisters feel about each other. The reader may think time and again that this time they will have a bond-breaking argument, but See shows how arguments are different in families as well as showing how allowances are made.

Shanghai Girls spans many years but never feels rushed. The periods See chooses to skip are understandable and lets you see how life trundles along despite hardship. Because of the events See wanted to include in her story, the gaps make sense – this had the potential to be incredibly long when it is just the right length as it is.

Shanghai Girls is a look at war, culture, and everything that is included. It looks at the affects of war on family and country and gives a timeless message of what can happen if people do not work together during those wars. Above all it is the story of a family thrown together by circumstance where the one true bond is between two sisters, and includes the added effect that lies and suspicion have on lives. The book is a triumph in every way and whilst it ends on a huge cliff-hanger it is the sort of book that makes you desperate to move straight on to the sequel.

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