Review of The Abalone Ukulele
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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Abalone Ukulele" by R. L. Crossland.]
The Abalone Ukulele by R. L. Crossland is a historical fiction novel set in the early 20th century, revolving around the notable naval powers of the time — China, Japan, and the USA. The book is essentially divided into two parts, featuring different protagonists in each part, culminating in crossing storylines and political intrigue.
The story begins with Jung-hee Yi, a Korean officer, who falls into a trap set by the Japanese as they attempt to create a rift between China and Korea. This incident primarily propels the plot of the first half of the book, as Yi travels all the way from China to the Klondike, in search of gold and power to pay back his debts to his homeland. The second half of the book is completely devoted to naval political intrigue, as US Navy Quartermaster Hobson navigates through the various adventures and perils of living in Shanghai. The plot thickens towards the end as the paths of Yi, Hobson, and Naval Intelligence Officer Lt. Stuyvesant Draper converge. They concoct and carry out a daring plan to prevent the rising Japanese empire from accomplishing its ambitions of conquering China. There are several smaller subplots, and side storylines that crisscross and connect to this main idea.
From the get-go, this book managed to vividly capture the atmosphere of the late 19th and early 20th century, and even more uniquely, it did so from an Asian point of view. The power struggle and diplomatic intricacies between the eastern countries of Korea, China, and Japan at the height of their powers was the key focus of the first half, shown through the eyes of a proud Korean aristocrat officer.
The second half came as a jarring shock, as the perspective suddenly shifted to a US Naval officer known as Hobson. I was a bit disappointed that Yi’s rise from a fallen deserter to an influential authority figure was not depicted, as the plot fast-forwarded to the entry of the US Navy. However, the second half of the book was equally engrossing, especially when all the dots connected. I especially found the addition of definitions of various technical terms, words, and quirks belonging to the countries very helpful and informative. Quite a bit of the jargon went over my head when political agendas were discussed, but everything made sense as soon as the action began.
Another really great aspect of the book were the wonderful characters. Each one was utterly unique and realistic, with his/her own complex emotions and ambitions. I felt like the characters were making active decisions to drive the plot forward and seemed to have an actual say in their destinies.
As mentioned earlier, the only criticism I have is that I couldn’t get to read the pivotal moment when Yi reversed his fortune, and even though he was extremely instrumental in the actions and decisions taken in the latter half of the book, he seemed to be very much in the background most of the time. Also, even though I can't really expect much female representation in a book set in the late 19th century, especially around a naval theme, the author still managed to showcase how women can act as strategic players, albeit also from a background role.
I rate The Abalone Ukulele by R. L. Crossland 3 out of 4 stars, only because the book had plenty of grammatical and editing errors. Apart from that, it is an absolutely perfect mix of adventure and intrigue and also ends up shining a light on a little-known chunk of history. It is evident that it is written in an extremely well-researched manner with a lot of thought and experience.
This book will appeal to fans of historical fiction, especially those interested in early 20th-century Asian naval history. For the most part, the book contains violence and minimal explicit language. There are incidents of sex slavery, kidnappings, murder, and torture.
******
The Abalone Ukulele
View: on Bookshelves |
The Abalone Ukulele by R. L. Crossland is a historical fiction novel set in the early 20th century, revolving around the notable naval powers of the time — China, Japan, and the USA. The book is essentially divided into two parts, featuring different protagonists in each part, culminating in crossing storylines and political intrigue.
The story begins with Jung-hee Yi, a Korean officer, who falls into a trap set by the Japanese as they attempt to create a rift between China and Korea. This incident primarily propels the plot of the first half of the book, as Yi travels all the way from China to the Klondike, in search of gold and power to pay back his debts to his homeland. The second half of the book is completely devoted to naval political intrigue, as US Navy Quartermaster Hobson navigates through the various adventures and perils of living in Shanghai. The plot thickens towards the end as the paths of Yi, Hobson, and Naval Intelligence Officer Lt. Stuyvesant Draper converge. They concoct and carry out a daring plan to prevent the rising Japanese empire from accomplishing its ambitions of conquering China. There are several smaller subplots, and side storylines that crisscross and connect to this main idea.
From the get-go, this book managed to vividly capture the atmosphere of the late 19th and early 20th century, and even more uniquely, it did so from an Asian point of view. The power struggle and diplomatic intricacies between the eastern countries of Korea, China, and Japan at the height of their powers was the key focus of the first half, shown through the eyes of a proud Korean aristocrat officer.
The second half came as a jarring shock, as the perspective suddenly shifted to a US Naval officer known as Hobson. I was a bit disappointed that Yi’s rise from a fallen deserter to an influential authority figure was not depicted, as the plot fast-forwarded to the entry of the US Navy. However, the second half of the book was equally engrossing, especially when all the dots connected. I especially found the addition of definitions of various technical terms, words, and quirks belonging to the countries very helpful and informative. Quite a bit of the jargon went over my head when political agendas were discussed, but everything made sense as soon as the action began.
Another really great aspect of the book were the wonderful characters. Each one was utterly unique and realistic, with his/her own complex emotions and ambitions. I felt like the characters were making active decisions to drive the plot forward and seemed to have an actual say in their destinies.
As mentioned earlier, the only criticism I have is that I couldn’t get to read the pivotal moment when Yi reversed his fortune, and even though he was extremely instrumental in the actions and decisions taken in the latter half of the book, he seemed to be very much in the background most of the time. Also, even though I can't really expect much female representation in a book set in the late 19th century, especially around a naval theme, the author still managed to showcase how women can act as strategic players, albeit also from a background role.
I rate The Abalone Ukulele by R. L. Crossland 3 out of 4 stars, only because the book had plenty of grammatical and editing errors. Apart from that, it is an absolutely perfect mix of adventure and intrigue and also ends up shining a light on a little-known chunk of history. It is evident that it is written in an extremely well-researched manner with a lot of thought and experience.
This book will appeal to fans of historical fiction, especially those interested in early 20th-century Asian naval history. For the most part, the book contains violence and minimal explicit language. There are incidents of sex slavery, kidnappings, murder, and torture.
******
The Abalone Ukulele
View: on Bookshelves |
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