I received a free copy of Three Souls from TLC Book Tours for my honest opinion.
About the Book:
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (February 25, 2014)
About the Author:
My Opinion:
I was captivated from the very first sentence of Three Souls. I read it in almost one sitting – it was quite hard to put down. It opens with the protagonist Leiyin, watching her funeral. She knows she is dead but wonders why she hasn’t gone on to her afterlife. She sees her three souls dancing around almost leading her somewhere, but where? She soon finds out that she has done some serious wrong and she needs make amends before she can get to that afterlife but she doesn’t understand. Understanding she learns will come with reflection upon her life. So we are taken on the journey with her a Leiyin narrates her past – explaining her actions, often rationalizing them. Clarity comes in hindsight.
Leiyin was a teenager, a teenager with intelligence in a time that did not value women with brains. Nor did it value women that pushed back against tradition. Despite her thinking she had some level of control in her life she soon learned that she did not. But she also refused to accept that perhaps her father might have her best interests at heart.
She was a child of privilege in a time of upheaval. Like most teenagers she had no idea of the politics or coming changes. As she looks back on her life and discusses it with her souls – I know that sounds odd but it works – a bigger picture emerges and Leiyin has the advantage of that hindsight I mentioned above.
I loved the way the character developed even it there were time I really did not like Leiyin. She was a very spoiled little girl. Ms. Chang was able to weave the history and politics into the story without it seeming like a lesson. This is a book I’ll keep for a second read as I’m sure I’ll find things that I missed the first time through.
Rating:
4.5
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