“Everything always returns to the beginning,” and so begins “Dreams of Joy” by Lisa See, picking up the story where “Shanghai Girls” left off.
After finding out that her parents have been lying to her for the last nineteen years, Joy travels to the People’s Republic of China in 1957, when the communist regime is in power, to seek out her true father. While at first glance communism looks like a great thing for China, after time, Joy begins to see the truth of what communism really is.
Joy’s mom, Pearl, who she just found out is really her aunt, follows Joy to China to rescue her from whatever calamity will strike. Stuck in China, both Pearl and Joy fight their way through travel restrictions and famine to find each other.
See gives a beautiful description of the Chinese country side, as well as the hardworking people who lived there. She goes on to describe the famine that struck China in 1959 and gives a vivid look at how the communes were not only isolated from the rest of China, but how the people suffered from the leadership who instructed the people how to grow their crops when they had no knowledge of how agriculture worked, resulting in widespread famine.
See also gives an interesting account of how the people were lied to on a regular basis of how well the country was doing and how the masses were blamed when things did not go according to the governments plan.
This is an unforgettable book that not only tells the story of Pearl and Joy, but of a people that preserved through an unbelievable famine brought on by the “Great Leap Forward.”