Wendy Law-YoneReseñas

The ending worked, but so much of the book felt like a long, brutal series of horrible things happening to the lead character--the plot wasn't strong enough for me and I didn't think the characters felt real. Beautifully written, though.

Incorporating much of recent Myanmar history, the novel was a good one....right up to the final few pages. Did not much care for the dangling nature of the conclusion, but the storyline and technique were good/excellent.½

The ending worked, but so much of the book felt like a long, brutal series of horrible things happening to the lead character--the plot wasn't strong enough for me and I didn't think the characters felt real. Beautifully written, though.

So glad to reach the last page
Bysally tarboxTOP 500 REVIEWERon 18 March 2014
Format: Paperback
I thought this would be a gripping read given the subject matter: young girl from the 'Wild Lu' tribe of Burma is sold to cruel village headman and thence to living with a nice Western family before ending up enslaved in the brothels of Thailand.Then she meets the enigmatic Will...
Could have made for a thrilling read, but was a struggle to finish it. The heroine, Na Ga, didn't resonate with me at all - I felt I should care about her, but I just didn't. And Will seemed such a worthless, unemotional character (who was never explained - why did he want Na Ga to live with him?) that it seemed a good thing when their liaison came to an end.
Not a recommended read!

This is the first book I have read set in Burma. It provided a perspective on the dreadful experiences common to young woman from the poor rural villages. They were commonly sold as child servants and then progressed to prostitution for survival and in Na Ga's case losing all contact with family.½

About Burmese newspaper man Ed Law-Yone working in Burma under the military dictatorship, written by his daughter. Picked the book up since I was going to Myanmar/Burma, but it was way too slow capture my attention.

Sometimes the hardest books to read are the books that touch you most deeply. I find it hard to reach for them but, when I do, I am reminded that I should do so more often. This is the kind of experience that made me a reader to begin with.

The Road to Wanting was exactly that sort of book for me: more details here.

Another one off the Orange Prize Longlist. Na Ga tells her life story in a rambling manner, from her childhood as a member of the Wild Lu in Burma via an adoption by an American family, time working in a brothel, a relationship with a Westerner, to the town of Wanting on her way back to Burma. The dual meaning of "Wanting" is obviously intentional.

I found the narrative captivating at first, then put the book down for a long time and couldn't be bothered to finish it. When I did pick it up again I found it quite the page turner again. Not sure what happened in the middle really but it lost my interest somewhere. So in the end I'm not really sure what to make of it. I thought it was a good book but I'd hesitate to recommend it.

Depressing and lonely story of a Burmese woman who after a desolate and lonesome childhood finds herself in the US with a mad half brother and eventually ends up - after a suicide attempt - in a mental institution.