Night of Many Dreams

By: Gail Tsukiyama

Narrated by: Anna Fields

As World War II threatens their comfortable life in Hong Kong, young Joan and Emma Lew escape with their family to spend the war years in Macao. When they return home, Emma has developed a deep interest in travel and new experiences, while Joan has turned to movies and thoughts of romance to escape the problems of ordinary life.

As the girls become women, each follows a path different from what her family expects. But through periods of great happiness and sorrow, the sisters learn that their close-knit family—their parents, their independent Aunt Go, and Foon, the family cook—is a source of strength as they pursue their separate dreams.

©1998 Gail Tsukiyama (P)1997 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The tale grows in richness as it proceeds, a paean to the sustaining pleasures of family.” ( Booklist)

“Narrator Anna Fields captures the essence of these characters and their emotional lives as they grow, mature, suffer, and celebrate over the course of 25 years. Her voice is ever true to the personalities and situations. A rewarding production; recommended for fiction collections.” ( Library Journal)

“With unexpected poignancy…Tsukiyama skillfully demonstrates how the strength of family bonds can provide spiritual sustenance.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Like listening to someone read their diary

I enjoyed the characters and the setting, but the story line was dull, kind of like reading someone's diary.
I enjoyed the narrator, and found it amusing that I had last listened to her read a novel that took place in the wild west...it took a bit of an adjustment to place her in China and California WWII times.