Paper Wife - Laila Ibrahim - ★★★★.¼

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AUTHOR: Laila Ibrahim
GENRE: Historical Fiction.
PUBLICATION DATE: October 30, 2018
RATING: 4.25 stars.


The title was the first reason I was curious about this book. And now that I'm done with it, I don't regret this impulse read at all.

Paper Wife tells about young Mei Ling, a poor Chinese girl whose marriage is arranged by a quirk of fate to a widower settled in America. The story is set around the early 1920s, so the first half of the book unveils the troubles she has with the American immigration procedures and the tricks the Chinese used to circumvent the rules. The latter part narrates her struggles to settle in America with that stranger who is her husband. There is also an orphan girl she met on the ship who plays an important role in the story.

Paper Wife is a soothing book in spite of the troubles mentioned in it. If you're looking for a genuine historical fiction from a female point of view, pick up this book. There is nothing extraordinary about the writing, and that is what makes the book beautiful. It's a wonderful story, written in simple language so that the focus remains on the content rather than on narrative flamboyance. The title also has an interesting origin, which is detailed out in the book but I don't want to reveal in my review.

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