Love and Other Moods

By Crystal Z. Lee

Book Overview

Love and Other Moods is a coming-of-age story set in contemporary China, about falling in love, learning to adult, discovering strength and finding one's place in the world.

Naomi Kita-Fan uproots her life from New York to China when her fianc 's company transfers him to Shanghai. After a disastrous turn of events, Naomi finds herself with no job, no boyfriend, and nowhere to live in a foreign country.

Amidst the backdrop of Shanghai welcoming millions of workers and visitors to the 2010 World Expo, we meet a tapestry of characters through Naomi: Joss Kong, a Shanghai socialite who leads an enviable life, but must harbor the secrets of her husband, Tay Kai Tang. Logan Hayden, a womanizing restaurateur looking for love in all the wrong places. Pan Jinsung and Ouyang Zhangjie, a silver-aged couple struggling with adapting to the ever-changing faces of their city. Dante Ouyang, who had just returned to China after spending years overseas, must choose between being filial and being in love. All their dreams and aspirations interweave within the sprawling web of Shanghai.

This multilayered novel explores a kaleidoscope of shifting relationships --- familial friction, amorous entanglements, volatile friendships --- in one of the most dynamic metropolises of the twenty-first century.

Review Quotes:

"This heartfelt, transporting story sparkles with a constellation of characters who call this city home while pursuing their China dream. As multifaceted as Shanghai itself, this novel follows overlapping narratives about the complexities of adulting, of parenting, of the urban quest for love and finding one's place in the world."

-- EMILY TING, film director of Go Back to China and Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

"Awash with cosmopolitan expats and jet-setting locals, Love and Other Moods shimmers like the diamonds adorning China's glitterati, while exposing haunting personal histories and intergenerational strife. With dazzling twirls around Shanghai's World Expo, glitzy fashion shows, art deco architecture, jazz clubs, gourmet restaurants, and disappearing food stalls, this novel compellingly pulls the reader into the pleasures and pains of becoming an adult in a city soaring to global status."

-- JENNY LIN, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Critical Studies at the University of Southern California and author of Above sea: Contemporary art, urban culture, and the fashioning of global Shanghai

"Love and Other Moods is about the various kinds of love we experience in life. Lee's poetic words jump off the page and right into your heart. We witness love stories between a woman and a city, sweeping down to those types of familial love like that from a single parent to an adoptive family. Crystal Z. Lee also thrusts you into the anatomy of the colorful, chaotic city and explores all the senses."

-- Reader's Favorites Book Reviews

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1913891011
• ISBN13: 9781913891015
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Balestier Press
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Love and Other Moods

Love and Other Moods is a wonderful debut for Crystal Z. Lee. I found the plot to be unique and quite refreshing to read something new and different. It was nice to travel to modern day Shanghai with Naomi Kita-Fan. I loved watching this young woman grow throughout the novel. She had to learn a lot about herself and the world around her. Her story was fun and entertaining. I can not imagine going to a different country and go on such an adventure. I enjoyed seeing this journey through her eyes. The details are so detailed, colorful and vivid that I really felt like I was right there. It flowed so well that held my attention from start to finish and kept me continuously captivated. I loved it. I will be giving Love and Other Moods four and a half stars. I would love to read more by Crystal Z. Lee in the near future. She has great talent as a story teller and I look forward to see where her imagination will take her readers next. I recommend this one for readers who enjoy reading Coming of Age novel and the New Adult genre, as well as, for those who love learning about other cultures, such as, the Chinese culture. It is most definitely worth a read and not to be missed. I thought it was a great read. I received Love and Other Moods from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.