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My Favourite Wife
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Review
Acclaim for for Tony Parsons:
‘Funny, serious, tender and honest…Tony Parsons is writing about the genuine dilemmas of modern life’ Sunday Express
‘He takes as his specialist subject contemporary emotional issues which almost every other male writer has ignored’ Guardian
‘Memorable and poignant – nobody squeezes more genuine emotion from a scene than Tony Parsons’ Spectator
Guardian
`He takes as his specialist subject contemporary emotional issues which almost every other male writer has ignored'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found the contemporary China angle fascinating and as it was a long time since I had read his other books, the characters were fresh. In the light of recent news about infected baby milk and having watched the glitze of the Olympics, it was very interesting to get to the heart of the Chinese people. Life is cheap when there are so many lives in one place and with very little spiritual underpinning of society, the goal is always profit at the sacrifice of feelings.
The family is central again in his novel but the Chinese family relations make for an interesting contrast. His father and their relationship is juxtaposed with the Chinese mistress and her father. Having lived abroad, I really related to the pull of the elderly relatives back at home and the innocence of those newly arrived compared to those who have lived in such an environment for some time.
Not a book to make you feel comfortable, either with the Western influence on Chinese society or the inner workings of the heart.
The family is central again in his novel but the Chinese family relations make for an interesting contrast. His father and their relationship is juxtaposed with the Chinese mistress and her father. Having lived abroad, I really related to the pull of the elderly relatives back at home and the innocence of those newly arrived compared to those who have lived in such an environment for some time.
Not a book to make you feel comfortable, either with the Western influence on Chinese society or the inner workings of the heart.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I agree, it's not the most well-written book - I found myself often looking back on previous pages to see if I had missed a 'link' to explain the point the characters were now at, and at some points it was embarrassingly implausible (finding Jinjin at her father's). I do not generally enjoy Tony Parsons books, this was a last-minute grab from the library, but I was amazed by how moved I was by the love story. Yes, you never really understand why he falls for Jinjin and gambles everything but to me that's what felt very real about it - the awful heartbreak that can result from people acting on their feelings without reflection, and the obsessiveness of a new love when somebody is lonely and lost.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've always been a fan of Tony Parson's writing, and My Favourite Wife has been the only disappointment so far. Other reviews have covered several flaws, but here's my take on it:
The "feel" of Shanghai is great and though I've never been there before, having visited Hong Kong I got a real sense of authenticity about his writing. You can almost smell Shanghai through this book, but the problem is - as someone else mentioned in their review - it appears Parsons forgot about the human story.
Much of what happens is predictable and doesn't make sense. I found myself growing more and more irritated with the central character, because he's just not likeable, neither are almost any of the other characters in the book. It's a simple story that's really drawn out (far too much in my opinion), complete with the obligatory family death, the conflict of conscience in a (basically) unethical job, all neatly wrapped up in "doing the right thing" finale.
Overall I found this to be quite readable, however it's predictable, it's not at all funny, and it's actually quite depressing with a final act which doesn't really satisfy (and don't get me started on the flood section...I thought I'd just jumped into another book, it was so jarring and contrived).
The "feel" of Shanghai is great and though I've never been there before, having visited Hong Kong I got a real sense of authenticity about his writing. You can almost smell Shanghai through this book, but the problem is - as someone else mentioned in their review - it appears Parsons forgot about the human story.
Much of what happens is predictable and doesn't make sense. I found myself growing more and more irritated with the central character, because he's just not likeable, neither are almost any of the other characters in the book. It's a simple story that's really drawn out (far too much in my opinion), complete with the obligatory family death, the conflict of conscience in a (basically) unethical job, all neatly wrapped up in "doing the right thing" finale.
Overall I found this to be quite readable, however it's predictable, it's not at all funny, and it's actually quite depressing with a final act which doesn't really satisfy (and don't get me started on the flood section...I thought I'd just jumped into another book, it was so jarring and contrived).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Shanghai shuffler
The story is as follows: A couple with a young child move from London to Shanghai. The wife gets fed up and goes back to London with the daughter. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Vinyl Junkie
Tripe!
This book is sexist, racist drivel. I read it in one day to get it over with, and am now very glad to have Tony Parson's authorial voice out of my head. Read more
Published 15 months ago by glastocat
My Least Favourite Novel
This book is not just drivel, but sexist, racist drivel. According to Mr. Parsons the vast majority of young Chinese women are either whores or factory workers...sometimes both! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Fatback
Patronizing and boring
This book is a really badly written piece of work. It sterotypes all Chinese/Asian women into some sort of money crazed gold diggers. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2010 by Insatiable Hee
Great Chinese sopa opera
Having observed the couples who had muddled along in search of love and fulfilment in Shanghai, Mr Persons gave the vivid descriptions of the couples who married and set up the... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by superblues
Emotional volume turned up to 11!
The story has been told so many times for it to be a cliché - a successful man with a beautiful wife and adorable child, the envy of everyone, somehow manages to get... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2009 by stevieby
Modern "Suzie Wong" copy
Reading the synopsis, I thought this might be an interesting book to read.
However, the more I read, the more I was reminded of the film 'The world of Suzie Wong' - her name... Read more
However, the more I read, the more I was reminded of the film 'The world of Suzie Wong' - her name... Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2009 by Bookworm
Tender about the frailties of men,
I like Tony Parsons. He writes about the differences between men and women in a tender way, exposing the frailty and the strength of men. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2009 by Lady Fancifull
Starts well but peters out.....
Really enjoyed the first half - maybe three quarters, but then the plot goes haywire and becomes totally implausible - loads of coincidences of people bumping into each other in a... Read more
Published on 14 May 2009
OK read but depressing and not very well structured
This is a thoroughly depressing view of life for an ex-pat in China - I would love to visit China but, if this book is anything to go by, life for a westerner in Shanghai is... Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2009 by Janie U
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