Night of Many Dreams
by Gail Tsukiyama
List Price: $12.95
Pages: 275
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312199406
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
When war threatens the comfortable life of Joan and Emma Lew, the daughters
of a Hong Kong businessman, they escape with their family to spend the
early 1940s in Macao. Upon their return home, Joan, the beautiful elder
sister, hopes for a traditional marriage and children, until her passion
for movies and romance gives her a promise of a different life. Emma,
inspired by the independence of her aunt Go, considers college in San
Francisco and the challenge of life in America. As the girls become women,
each follows a path different from what her family expects. But through
times of great happiness and sorrow, the sisters learn that their complicated
ties to each other--and to the other members of their close-knit family--are
a source of strength as they pursue their separate dreams.
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1. Joan is the “beautiful” sister, and Emma is the “smart” sister. Discuss the significance of
the scene in which Emma goes with Joan to collect their father’s money
throughout the city during wartime. How do these descriptions affect
each character’s sense of self?
2. Much of Night of Many Dreams takes place in Hong Kong. The city goes through several stages:
pre-war, war, reconstruction and post-war boom. What happens to the
landscape and businesses of Hong Kong in these different stages? How
does the changing landscape of Hong Kong affect the characters, especially
Auntie Go, Joan and Emma, throughout the book?
3. Macao is almost a magical refuge for Emma. It is also a very important place for both Auntie Go
and Joan. What does Macao represent for each character?
4. Joseph Wong is the first seemingly suitable match for Joan. Not only does Joan fall in love with
him, but so do Emma and Kum-Ling--each in her own way. What does the
promise of Joseph represent for Joan, for Emma, and for Kum-Ling?
5. Joan becomes passionate about cooking after she and Joseph break up. Kum-ling is angry about
her desire to cook. Why is this? And how does Joan show that cooking
is important to her?
6. How is marriage defined within the elite Hong Kong circles? What does the game of Mah-jongg
fulfill for Kum Ling and her friends?
7. How does Auntie Go perceive her own social position, both within the immediate family and in Hong
Kong social circles? How do Emma and Joan perceive Auntie Go?
8. Joan’s passionate and illicit affair with her director, Edward Chung, fires her acting in their movie,
“A Woman’s Life.” How does the character she plays help her understand
her own experiences?
9. Joan and Emma’s father is generally silent. What do we learn about his relationship with Auntie
Go at the scene of his death? What releases him from this world?
10. Emma goes through many changes when she moves to San Francisco. How does the boat ride affect Emma?
In her first taxi ride around town, how does she perceive the landscape
of the city itself? What and who most influence her in San Francisco?
What changes do her family see when she comes home?
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"Tsukiyama brings a fluid elegance to her complicated novels."—San Francisco Chronicle
"She writes with great sensory detail, allowing her reader to touch, taste and feel the world she creates."—Library Journal
"Tsukiyama’s writing style has a controlled fluidity, that hints at explosive passions lurking beneath the surface…. A sensory experience."—Los Angeles Japanese Daily
"Tsukiyama’s third novel offers delicately fashioned glimpses of the charmed lives of two Hong Kong-born sisters and the family matriarchs who inspire and perplex them."—The New York Times Book Review
