The Same Moon
The Same Moon
Junying Kirk (author)
Product Description
Pearl Zhang was born in Sichuan Province in China, and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. She was raised in a typically Chinese manner, went to school, got a job, got married, and her whole life path was mapped out, or so it seemed.
Then she seized the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom - and stayed. How did she adjust to the Western way of life, and what did she have to do to overcome the barriers? Would she find happiness and fulfillment with her English suitor in Scotland, or would her heartache continue? She was in a new world, both foreign and exciting - under the Same Moon.
This book, the first of Junying Kirk's "Journey to the West" Trilogy, will take you on a journey full of surprises and discoveries, from the East to the West, from the Middle Kingdom to the United Kingdom.
Product Details
Ebook
File Size: 611 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004M5HHY6
Available at Amazon.com, Amazon.uk and Smashwords.
Reviews
By Marni Mann, author of MEMOIRS AREN'T FAIRYTALES
The Same Moon by Junying Kirk is an account of Pearl's journey from China to Britain. Not only do we see the hardship and feel Pearl's pain, but Kirk educates the reader on culture, history, and tradition. These lessons don't pause the plot, they add to the richness and depth as the reader understands how these 'times' affect the emotions and tribulations of the characters. The characters, clearly painted and unique, are so visually present in the readers mind, they will stay with you long after you're done reading. Kirk's ability to write with such optimism, detail, and hope, shines a bright light on the story and leaves the reader wanting more of Pearl and her future. I learned about tradition, I read about pain and happiness, and throughout the entire read, I was thoroughly entertained.
By Ken Wayne, author of Clip and An American Branch
The Same Moon was a delight to read. At times I felt it was a little over reliant on minutiae, but such detail did help make the the life of Pearl Zhang come alive. While reading, I was able to inhabit the body of the protagonist and see the world through her eyes. I was able to enter the mind of a girl growing up in the final years of China under Mao and share the highs and lows she experienced maturing in that environment. It was intriguing to discover that even in a so-called State-dominated society, the loves and hates that develop between those interacting with you predominate in much the same way as they do in a supposedly freer society. Ms. Kirk made it possible for me to experience what life was like in world far removed from my own, but full of 90% of the same daily anxieties, hopes and ambitions that dominated my own experience of growing up. I loved the way Pearl would periodically display ethnocentric notions of psychological qualities she believed to be uniquely Chinese, but which turned out to be similar to some that I believed to be unique to the local community in the U.S. in which I was raised. Pearl may have grown up in China during the seventies and eighties, while I grew up in a rural community in the western U.S. during the fifties and sixties; even so, we experienced 90% or more of the same hopes, dreams, hassles, and setbacks. Regardless the differences in countries, political systems and even gender, I could relate with almost everything in this novel.
The only parts that put a definite gulf between us were the few times that the writer felt it necessary to have Pearl bask in the "elite" aspects of her educational background. I myself have been far from being an "elite" in anything. Even in this regard, though, I could understand the rationale for making this uniqueness plain. After all, at the time, Pearl would have been unable to study in England if she had not excelled in the Chinese educational system. Therefore, her being a member of an "educational elite" was such a prominent part of her life.
Most of the second part of the book focuses on her life living in Scotland and England. It was fascinating to read her experiences as she matured and assimilated, but, for me, the depiction of life growing up in China was the best part of the novel. It was the part that made it clear to me that we do live under the same moon. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume of this trilogy.
