Dreams of Joy continues the story of sisters Pearl and May who first appeared in Shanghai Girls with this novel being more centered around the daughter they share, Joy. What I really enjoy about Lisa See’s books is all I learn about China and it’s history. Dreams of Joy is steeped in history and the story told completely sucked me into its grip.
Dreams of Joy takes us back to the end of Shanghai Girls and picks up from there. Nineteen-year-old Joy, having just lost who she thought was her father, has just learned some long buried secrets regarding her birth and she’s very angry with both her mother Pearl and her Aunt May. Everything she’s known and believed her whole life has been a lie. So, being young, confused, and headstrong she decides to take off to China to try and find her birth father and discover just who she really is. It turns out that her father, Z.G., is an artist in Shanghai and he used to paint pictures of both her mother and aunt when they posed as models for him.
Joy finally makes it to Shanghai and finds her birth father. Z.G. never even knew he had a daughter and despite having no idea how to be a father he doesn’t turn her away or anything like that. She stays with him and he takes her to parties, dinners, and art exhibits. Joy is fascinated by him and his life as he is an important man in Shanghai. At one point he takes her to the countryside to a commune where the people all work to make a better life in China. Joy is excited about helping to rebuild China. She’s even more excited when she meets Tao and falls in love. She agrees to marry him and stay at the commune and finds that this is the one move that she makes that changes her life in ways she can’t even begin to imagine.
In the meantime Pearl, worried about what may happen to Joy in this new China, decides to go after her and bring her back home. Pearl manages to make it back to her old family home and although she is surprised by all the people living there, she is still welcomed. Finally Pearl finds Z.G. and Joy but of course Joy is not going home. This prompts Pearl to stay in China to make sure that Joy will be all right. However as time goes on, communication seems to stop, and Pearl is very worried. She finally receives a letter from Joy that confirms her fears and she and Z.G. rush to try and rescue Joy. The conditions in the commune have gone from bad to worse – people are starving to death – and Joy and her baby are in trouble.
Dreams of Joy is a very intense novel especially when you get to the descriptions of life in the commune. What stuns me the most and always will is the treatment of girls. When Joy had a baby girl everyone was disappointed and upset with her. A baby girl was worth nothing to them. When Joy asked what to name the baby, Tao suggested stupid while his father suggested pig. I was horrified as was Joy. For the spoiled girl that Joy started out as, she certainly grew up by the end of the novel. She learned what was important and that was the love of family. Having her own baby made her realize just how strong her own mother’s love for her was and she learned to cherish that instead of pushing against it.
Despite some parts of this novel being hard to read I loved Dreams of Joy. It takes you to another time and place and shows you what life was like back in 1957 China. I loved Lisa See’s descriptions of all the different foods and I definitely appreciated the history of this novel. What I think is most important though is the love that shines through every page when Pearl fights to help her daughter who she loves more than life itself. As this a sequel to Shanghai Girls it is helpful to have read it. I think you can read Dreams of Joy on it’s own and know what’s going on but you will miss learning about Pearl and May, how they came to live in the United States, and just how Joy came about. Yet another beautifully written novel by Lisa See!
Source: Copy was provided by the publisher for review. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own. This review was first posted on Book Trib.
I really like Lisa See’s books. Despite having this book on my shelf for ages I still haven’t read it though. Really need to get to it.
What a beautiful cover! Adding that to my Pinterest board for favourite covers!
Wagging Tales
I’m so glad you liked it, Dar. I have it on my TBR shelf!
Wow, great minds think alike — I’m in the middle of reading this one right now, lol.
Glad to see that you loved it — I’m about a third of the way in…
I haven’t read either of these books, but I need to! It sounds like they are both wonderful and like something that I would enjoy. I really liked your comprehensive review today, Dar! Since I have both of these books, I should probably just go ahead with them soon!
I love Shanghai Girls, but yet haven’t gotten around to reading this one. I really need to make time for it. Great Review.
I love love loved this follow up. It was so emotionally charged and informative about China and its politics. I really loved it.
I think I am the only reader on the planet who didn’t like Shanghai Girls, so naturally… I avoided this one.
But…
I wanted to stop by and say “Hi!” anyway.
I loved this book and it was the best of the triology.
The history of China at the time is eye-opening and I do believe you don’t have to had read the first 2 books to appreciate this one.
Probably, this is one of my favourite books ever.
I’ve only read one of See’s books and it was fantastic. I look forward to this one and Shanghai Girls.
I have wanted to read a book by her for some time now but I have just never gotten around to it
I can’t believe I still haven’t read this book. I’m glad to see you enjoyed it. It sounds like it offers so much in terms of Chinese history and culture. Great review!
I still have to read Shanghai Girls. Good to know there is a follow-up book if I love it as much as I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
I can’t wait to see what the girls have been up to since I last left them!! I love this author!
I haven’t read either of these books but they sound so good, something that I need to read to relax. Thanks for the great review. I put them both on my special Books I Need To Read list. This list out weighs my TBR list. Give Sammy a doggy treat from me please.lol 😉
I’m glad you liked this one Dar! I sure did…Lisa See is one of my favorite authors. She has a beautiful way of giving you such a vivid picture of the time and place. I can’t remember if you read Snow Flower…that one is amazing!
I haven’t read anything by her yet but I would love to! I really want to read about another country’s history & why not start with an author by the same 1st name as me! It sounds like she writes you into her book which I love about authors.
I am a fan of Lisa See after reading Snowflower and I want to read Shanghai Girls. This sounds like a great sequel 🙂
As much as I love Lisa See’s novels, I was disappointed in Shanghai Girls and had no desire to read the sequel. You make it sound interesting, though!
I loved the first book, Shanghai Girls. Nice review on the sequel. I need to read this one and get the rest of the story.