Daughter of Heaven

DAUGHTER OF HEAVEN: A MEMOIR WITH EARTHLY RECIPES: Leslie Li: Arcade Pub.: Biography: 274 pages

Leslie Li, granddaughter of Li Zongren (Chinese military commander in the Sino-Japanese War and Vice President of China in 1947), relates experiences as a Chinese-American in suburban New York.

I really enjoyed the first half of the memoir, which featured Li's grandmother and the Chinese recipes she made for the family. However, the second half of the book focused on Li's adult life, her difficult relationship with her father, and her son. The jump from childhood to adulthood seemed disjointed to me and several chapters were difficult to follow (too many characters and a somewhat self indulgent, rambling tone). Fans of Amy Tan, Jumpha Lahiri, and Monica Ali would probably enjoy this book (at least the first half).

MBC