Lost in Translation

Lost in this Book!

I couldn't put the book down - as a New Yorker now living in Shanghai, I could not only relate to the character, I was inspired by her. It made me long for home and just think about the direction of my own life. I highly recommend this to anyone who longs to fit into a particular culture and feeling like they are not welcome or will ever belong....

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Truly 'excapist fiction' by Mones

Nicole Mones' Lost in Translation is sui generis. . . I've never read anything quite like it. Just a gorgeous novel that anyone would love. I was completely taken.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Definetely worth reading!

I totally fell in love with Alice Mannegan's character, as well as China. I love the fact that Nicole Mones put a lot of effort into getting the Chinese backdrop as close to reality as she possibly could, it made me want to go there someday and experience its intoxicating atmosphere. Alice's romance with Dr. Lin was just spectacular-- giving you enough, yet leaving you wanting more. This is a must read for anyone who believes that love is still out there no matter how many times you've already lost it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

MUST READ!!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!! You won't be able to put it down!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

SO..SO

This book was so..so as I said. It was interesting but weird. I never saw the movie and don't know if its the same. The book didn't hold enough for me..kinda like a sloppy romance novel. The ending was like: That's it? this is just my opinion though:)

Nicole Mones spoke at an Authors' Day regarding her life in China

Mones spoke at an authors Day and I thought she was such an interesting person that I felt sure her book would also be interesting. So I bought it! At first, I found it a little slow, but oh, if you stay with it, what a treat you have in store....particularly, if you enjoy reading about China. Mones has an extensive history of living and working in China and she tells the story so well of China today and yesterday. A country that has gone through so much turmoil and has had to rebuild itself to fit into the modern world.

Alice, her main character without a doubt is flawed and striving to find herself by being "Chinese". Alice's desires only Chinese men in her life. Her relationship with Professor Lin is not a smooth one, although he is a scientist, he is still living in the past. Alice also has a love/hate relationship with her father that she needs to come to grips with. You could go so far as to call this a "coming of age" story of a grown woman, but that would be to treat this book lightly. The topics are not light and this is not a "beach" book.

The ups and downs of the quest for the Peking Man reflect the old and new Chinese thinking. The discriptions of the desert in China mirror the desolation of Alice's soul, but also inform the reader of terrain and history.

Despite the various plot lines interwoven in the book I found this a totally good read and was sorry to see the book end.

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