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This beautifully written book explores the power of language and how we define ourselves through our speech. The characters in the book move together and come apart based on their ability to communicate. Words, with their ability to comfort and console as well as to destroy and alienate, take center stage. It was interesting to consider how much of an individual's personality is determined by their ability to express themselves to others, as well as how much that expression can deviate from the person's inner, private life.

The setting truly captured me in this novel. I was carried away to Shanghai and riveted with the descriptions of the place. It's a lovely first novel sure to appeal to fans of multicultural fiction.

Received for review from Bookbrowse First Impressions Program.

This is a beautifully written novel exploring the intricacies and dependency humans have on language and how their limitations can project into daily choices. The characters are well developed and layered with subtlety, and the story proceeds at a comfortable pace. Xu's style is lyrical and full of imagery and symbolism.

Unable to return to life as he knew it, Li Jing, turns to the most welcoming option available to him after a freak accident robs him of his ability to speak Chinese. Rediscovering his life through the English language he knew as a child alienates him from his wife and child, and cripples his ability to function in his city and his formerly successful life.

Unable to express himself with the nuance and subtlety that is integral to the Chinese language, Li Jing is attracted to the unsubtle but comprehensible American doctor who has been brought over to treat his Aphasia. She is the antithesis of his wife Meiling, fire to ice. And as he is drawn to her nurturing warmth, he becomes more and more alien to his former life.

Li Jing must make a choice: to live in utter isolation while his frighteningly competent wife charges ahead; or escape to a situation where he can communicate his needs in English and leave his family, language, and culture.

Captivating novel about how the loss of a common language in a marriage affects the relationship. Li Jing, injured in an explosion, loses his ability to speak Chinese and withdraws from his wife. He reverts to his first language, English, which Meiling, his wife, does not understand. Meiling does not want to show how her husband's injury has affected her. Both restrain their emotions and remain inscrutable to one another. Dr. Neal, an American neurologist, establishes an emotional connect with Li Jing and helps him express himself in English. Tensions increase between these three characters and suspense ensues regarding how these tensions will be resolved. The book interested me throughout. I think coping with such a serious injury would be difficult in any culture.

This book begins with an interesting concept. I enjoyed the contrast between languages and characters. Although I enjoyed most of the book I found the ending abrupt and more tragic than the original accident.

For her first novel, it is well written, characters are mapped out and make sense, but for the most part, I think she could have done a little more with the style. It's readable, fine, but I was expecting a little more poetry. The story itself is very interesting, new and well thought out. Do read it, it is worth the time.

I was very much captivated by this story about communication and understanding or rather the loss of both. I really loved the characters and their struggles, their emotions and feelings were very well developed. However, the end of the book was rushed and left me somewhat dissatisfied.

As an English teacher and student of other languages, I was intrigued by first the title of the book then by the premise and the story itself. It is rich with description of Shanghai and the Asian culture, but the behavior of the doctor who was hired to help Li Jing recover his language skills was so despicable and reprehensible, not to mention unbelievable, that I found the entire book somewhat incredible. It certainly evoked strong emotion in me, so for that reason, perhaps it's a successful story. Two characters were noteworthy: Li Jing's father, a dear man of strong, loving character, and Pang Pang, the child who was battered by the behavior of the important adults in his life.