Dragonfly Eyes

April 15, 2022
A transnational family navigates life in early- to mid-20th-century China. This atmospheric work translated from the Chinese renders the trials and tribulations befalling the family of Du Meixi, scion of a Shanghainese silk empire, and his French wife, Oc�ane, whom he meets in Marseilles in 1925. Referencing antique glass beads called dragonfly eyes that become prized family heirlooms, the title doubles as a metaphor for the multiplicity of the characters' lived experiences. The omniscient narration is anchored in Oc�ane's character, alternating between her perspective and that of Ah Mei, her favorite and youngest grandchild, the only girl, and the one who most resembles her Nainai, or paternal grandmother. By turns sentimental and tragic, the plot juxtaposes quotidian details against factual historical background, including Japan's 1937 invasion of China, in illustrating the family's plight. In the 1950s, a famine affects people across China; the Du family experiences scarcity in part through fewer visits to the neighborhood patisserie, a dwindling supply of coffee beans, and having to dismiss most of their beloved, long-serving household staff. During the Cultural Revolution, Oc�ane, highly acculturated and fluent in Shanghainese but nevertheless perceived as foreign, is persecuted as a spy along with her capitalist spouse. Recurring commentary by Chinese characters on Oc�ane's blue eyes and her grandchildren's mixed-race appearances--while realistic in the original context--is not given much context and may benefit from discussion with younger readers. Readers experience decades of tumultuous history through multiple generations of one family. (historical note) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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May 15, 2022
Grades 5-7 In this family saga, Ah-Mei and her French grandmother, Nainai, have a special bond, bearing an uncanny physical resemblance to one another. Their blue-eyed beauty--unlike that of their Chinese family--causes heads to turn, family members to adore, and servants to pledge loyalty. Dragonfly Eyes spans place (Lyons to Shanghai) and time (from the 1920s to WWII to the Cultural Revolution), with the promise of compelling cross-cultural, intergenerational relationships. The story begins with a wealthy Chinese silk manufacturer marrying in France and bringing his new family back to Shanghai, where they live in peace and luxury until the Japanese invasion. Then, poverty rears its ugly head so that Ah-Mei and Nainai have to forgo daily comforts and pawn treasures to keep up a standard of living. What the book lacks in depth, it makes up for in drama, giving a glimpse of how the Cultural Revolution impacted daily life. Some readers might be inspired to learn more about colorism in Chinese culture. Most will overlook narrative gaps and patchy context to enjoy this fast-paced book to the end.

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Starred review from August 15, 2022
A French grandmother and her Shanghai-born granddaughter recount 50 years of family history in this profound saga by Hans Christian Andersen Medalist Cao. Ah Mei and her French paternal grandmother Nainai have always been close, especially because Ah Mei is the youngest grandchild, the only girl, and the one who resembles Nainai the most. Ever since Ah Mei’s birth, Nainai has regaled her with stories of her youth, as when she details her and Ah Mei’s grandfather’s tale of love at first sight in 1925 France (“It felt as if a curtain had been swept open and a dazzling shaft of sunlight had come flooding in through the window”) before they settled down in what would become their generational home in 1939 Shanghai. Despite the family’s financial struggles, Nainai finds peace in spending time with her beloved children and grandchildren, until she’s accused of espionage during China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Told via an omniscient third-person perspective that alternates between Nainai’s past and Ah Mei’s present day, Cao delicately portrays atrocities alongside peaceful, idyllic life with aesthetic prose and nostalgic imagery, providing a tender look into one transnational family’s ancestry. A brief author’s note lends historical context. Ages 9–12.