Review of Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

*Daughters of Shandong* by Eve J. Chung (2024). Published by Berkley.

If you’re new here and found this blog through the mysterious powers of the Internet, welcome! My name is Ashley, and I’m a dedicated reader and movie watcher who thought to turn this website into a little digital archive of sorts.

I was watching and reading so much that I wanted to keep track of it all, so I began blogging as a way to keep these books as memories somewhat forever.

That said, I recently fell into a period of unemployment, and this blog was a solace for me. Not only was it a way to make a little bit of money when there was nothing else coming my way really, but I found, after getting my finances in order, that I enjoyed sitting down to write blog posts when I had nothing else to do in my day.

I’ve been dubbing this period as funemployment while I look for a job, but the job market isn’t looking too great right now. Regardless, I spend a lot of time in my local library, and because I am such a big fan of simple living, I enjoy the little moments where I can find a book for free here or there, while also supporting such a critical aspect of my community.

Anyways, one of my goals towards the end of 2024, before I even found out I was going to be unemployed, was to go and finish all of my advance copies of books that I have through NetGalley. I’m on top of my 2025 releases and have scheduled all of those posts to go live on the publication day, but I still have some 2024 books to get through.

I was writing my master’s thesis and went to Korea for two months in 2024, so I fell really behind on some of my advance copies. I am slowly getting through them and writing the reviews, but I did feel bad because these are authors I hoped to help get more attention when their books came out.

Daughters of Shandong was one of those books. I was actually really excited when I got this advance copy, but didn’t get around to it. Still kicking myself for that one.

Much love to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy, even though this review is really late! Let’s get into the review before I start rambling too much.

One family’s story of surviving China during the 1940s, and ultimately trying to escape it.

For those who might not go into this novel with a deeper understanding of Chinese history, I think it does a decent job in explaining the basics through the perspective of this one family. Afterward I do recommend reading up on 1940s China, during the Civil War, or even beforehand if you want to understand it even more than what’s on the page already.

Anyways, this novel begins in Shandong in 1948. The Civil War has begun in China, and they have just gotten out of World War II, leaving the situation precarious for so many in the country. In Shandong, the Ang family are wealthy landowners, the upper crust of society, but that puts them in the crosshairs of the Communist party later on.

This household doesn’t treat the main characters’ mother too well. They don’t like her because she has not had a boy, and instead gave them four girls. This leaves the family with a sour taste in their mouth towards the mother and all of the girls, and Hai, the eldest daughter, wants to protect her sisters.

Her younger sister, Di, is a rebel. We see this later on in the book, but she has quite the headstrong personality, and she’s willing to go against the grain if it means she’s acting in her own best interest.

As the conflict comes closer to Shandong, the Angs flee, leaving behind the girls and their mother. They’re seen as useless baggage and women, so they are left behind with only the order to take care of the property. Well, when the Communists come rolling into town, they are apprehended immediately.

The estate is seized and Hai is taken in for the court trial against the Angs. What she witnesses during that trial is horrifying, as well as how she is treated. A kind neighbor, knowing what happened to the women, helps them out, but eventually, because there is no food or money to go around, the surviving family makes the decision to leave.

They forge papers, getting by because there is no standardized system across the communist groups yet.Their journey will take them all across China, to Qingdao, where reprieve is short, then Hong Kong.

Eventually, they want to come to Taiwan through their connections they’ve made along the way, starting a new life on the island and leaving behind the conflict that is consuming China.

There’s a lot of suffering depicted in this novel, that’s for sure. This is an epic journey of survival in a dark period of Chinese history, but there’s also a lot of resilience. The synopsis I saw online says it was inspired by Chung’s own family’s story, which is not surprising, considering what I’ve read about the period.

Overall Thoughts

I did genuinely enjoy this novel a lot, even though I’ve been reading quite a few novels with similar stories. This one stands out to me because of how women-focused it is; the entire family that becomes the story’s protagonists are women.

The prose itself flows quite well, and I mentioned how accessible the storytelling and history is presented in this book. I think that’s such a good boon for it, especially considering how a lot of Westerners don’t know Chinese history and the media is pretty sinophobic in general.

I’m glad I read this book, even though it took a while! I think if you’re interested in the story or its background, then you’re going to enjoy the book. Go pick up a copy at your local library or indie bookstore for sure.

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