Good historical fiction about a time we knew about but a situation I did not. Well written. Well researched. Enjoyed it. Thanks to Net galley and the publisher!

The Porcelain Moon is the first book I've read by Janie Chang but it will not be the last! I really enjoyed reading about Camille and Pauline and seeing how their lives intersected. Another thing I liked about this book is that it took place during World War 1 in France but it told about the Chinese who worked there and that was something I never read about before.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 21 February 2023

A little slow at times and more focused on the characters and their relationships than on the war. I really loved learning about the Chinese workers and their role in the war, though, and would love more about this!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of the porcelain moon by janie chang. this was a beautiful story from multiple view points set in france during the war and watching it play out even if we knew the eventuality of it.

I enjoy Janie Chang's novels, and this did not disappoint, although this was not my favourite of her works. It was a bit slow going, and I'm not sure I could relate to the main heroine of the story as I found her selfish and annoying, but I did like the subject matter and I learned a lot about the Chinese Labour Corps, which I had never known about. The characters and relationships could have been developed further I think. Pauline's relationship with Henri wasn't meaty enough for me. Some parts seemed rush, whereas others were fully detailed. Overall, I did enjoy but definitely not my favourite Janie Chang novel.

This was such a beautifully written book I didn't want to put it down. I learned a great deal reading this book and recommend paying attention to the author's note included at the end. The characters were also great and well developed. I need to read more books by Janie Chang.

Chang is a talented historical fiction author, as evidenced by this book. Pauline lives in Paris with her Uncle Louis and Cousin, Theo. Snubbed by the rest of the Deng family since she was considered illegitimate, Pauline counted on her closeness with Theo. When Pauline needs Theo to prevent her arranged marriage in Shanghai, Pauline leaves Paris for a small village which houses the Chinese Laborers who joined the effort in WWI, but were given the dirtiest jobs and treated badly. Camille’s story was as interesting as Pauline’s, as the two stories will merge. I highly recommend this book, and appreciate learning about the Chinese laborers in France during the war. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Library of Legends comes a tender and heart-wrenching novel set at the end of WWI about the lives of two women from very different backgrounds whose paths will intersect and lead them to risky repercussions. The Porcelain Moon is a story of forbidden love, found family, identity, belonging, and what one is willing to risk to attain their personal freedom.

This new historical fiction novel majorly sheds light onto a little-known aspect of the Great War: thousands of able-bodied Chinese men were recruited separately by the British and French governments to do support work and manual labour towards the end of WWI. They were known as the Chinese Labour Corps and they they did work such as loading goods, translating and interpreting, clearing battlefields and handling corpses in the trenches as well as other support services.

This serves as the setting for the stories of the two main characters of this novel. Pauline Deng is a young Chinese girl, the illegitimate niece of the owner of an antiques shop in Paris. She has spent most of her life living with her uncle and her cousin, Theo, and has helped them run the shop. In Paris she has found a sort of freedom and happiness that she wouldn’t have had in China. However, once Theo disappoints his father and becomes a translator and interpreter for the Chinese Labour Corps in Noyelles-sur-Mer instead of taking over the shop, Pauline fears for her future. As the war draws to a close, she is set to have an arranged marriage back in Shanghai. Refusing to accept her destiny and return to a life of misery, Pauline sets off to look for her cousin along with a family friend, Henri, hoping that Theo will be able to persuade her uncle to let her stay in Paris.

Camille is a young married French woman who comes from an aristocratic family and who is trapped in an abusive marriage; she is also Noyelles-sur-Mer postmistress. One day she meets Theo and as they discover their shared love for art, in secret (afraid of prejudices, racism, and her husband), they become each other’s safe haven in the tough times they live in. Pauline and Camille’s paths intertwine when Pauline rents Camille’s gardenhouse in search of her brother who is no longer in Noyelles-sur-Mer. After hearing some devastating news both of their plans are turned upside-down and with one risky decision, both of their lives will be bound forever.

Throughout the whole novel, Chang’s writing is beautiful and informative and carries the story at great pace, making The Porcelain Moon an easy read. Although some of the timelines and time jumps are difficult to grasp at first, the plot gradually smooths out. Chang’s storytelling through the two different perspectives is smart, detailed, and emotive. Her characters are so fleshed out that they feel so real. Both Pauline and Camille are easy to connect with, especially for other female readers who will certainly be able to empathise with some if not most of the same struggles these young women are faced with. Their perseverance and strength at a time where women had so little rights is quite admirable. Of course, since it’s set during World War I, the themes are heavy. So is the racism and abusive relationship Camille has with her husband so make sure to read the trigger warnings before reading.

As for the historical aspect of the book, Chang did a wonderful research job and it’s reflected perfectly in the pages, as well as in the author’s note which is definitely worth the read. Overall, The Porcelain Moon, tells a tender and beautiful story of found family and forbidden love while exploring the experience of Chinese laborers hired for non-combatant work in the WWI.

A compelling storyline with many echoes to the present, thought provoking characters, heartfelt love stories and a fascinating and lesser known chapter of Great War history make The Porcelain Moon the perfect book for both historical fiction fans and readers who may want to dip into the genre for the first time.

Two young women from different backgrounds make daring plans to take control of their destinies in WWI France. Pauline, a young woman from Shanghai, has lived with her uncle and cousin in Paris for several years. Theo, her cousin, is serving in the Chinese Labor Corps as a translator. When Pauline learns that her aunt (Theo's mother) is arranging a marriage for her in China, Pauline leaves Paris to find Theo at his camp in the French countryside, believing he's the only one who can talk his parents out of arranging a marriage for her. Meanwhile, a French woman named Camille is trapped in an abusive marriage to man named Jean-Paul. As she makes plans to escape from her husband, she meets Pauline, and their lives become intertwined.

I knew nothing about the 140,000 Chinese laborers in Europe during WWI until I read this book. Using this little-known part of history as the backdrop of this WWI novel made for a unique and interesting story. Chang uses the early chapters to explain each woman's backstory, allowing the reader to get to know the characters. Then, she deftly alternates between the two narratives to build the type of suspense that hooks the reader. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this books.

The Porcelain Moon is another novel exploring a completely erased period of history: that of the Chinese Labor Corps in France during WWI-- I had no idea that France and GB imported Chinese labor to assist with the war effort. While the subject was interesting, the writing was only ok, and I would have liked a deeper exploration of what it was like to be Chinese in that time and place: both the main Chinese characters, Theo and Pauline, are pretty thoroughly French, and we never get the perspective of what it was really like to work for the CLC; it's only glossed over in Theo's experiences.

4.5 stars

Janie Chang’s latest novel is a beautifully written story about a little-known piece of history: the hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers brought to Europe during the Great War. These contracted workers — part of the Chinese Labor Corps (CLC) — didn’t fight in the war directly, yet they were crucial in keeping the “machinery of war” running through their efforts in maintaining and rebuilding equipment such as tanks and weaponry, clearing out trenches, loading provisions onto boats to ship out to soldiers, etc. — even after the war, they played important roles in helping to clean up the battlefields and, in many instances, restore land that was taken during the war to its original use. Oftentimes, they were also tasked with doing soul-destroying work such as clearing out decomposing corpses of humans and animals. The commanding officers overseeing these workers were usually non-Chinese military personnel and misunderstandings were common due to lack of access to translators — many of the workers were either treated poorly or subject to harsh working conditions, especially the ones from the peasant class who were largely uneducated and illiterate, with little to no understanding of the local language and culture, so they couldn’t relay their grievances or fight for their rights. What’s worse is that, later on, the contributions of these workers were largely wiped from the history books, with very little information about their efforts available even now. Chang did a great job bringing this obscure history to light, with research that was both meticulous as well as intricate. The author’s note that detailed some of this research definitely should not be missed!

As far as the narrative goes, the story alternates between the two main female protagonists: Camille, a Frenchwoman from an aristocratic family fallen on hard times, who tries desperately to escape from an abusive marriage; and Pauline, the illegitimate daughter of a traditional Chinese family who is sent to France with her uncle and cousin to take care of the family’s antiques store — two women who live very different lives, yet whose paths end up intersecting in a tremendous way. I loved nearly all the characters in this story, but without a doubt, I resonated with Pauline the most. In a culture where losing face was worse than death and being unfilial was an unforgivable sin subject to grave condemnation, Pauline’s life had already been predetermined for her, and as a daughter (especially an illegitimate one), the only choice she had was to obey. But yet, those circumstances didn’t stop her from trying to rise above her fate, which in itself, was hugely admirable. Though my own family background is quite different from Pauline’s, the cultural obligations and conventions that she was bound by were more than familiar to me — which is why I couldn’t help rooting for her character more than Camille’s, even though overall, I was deeply invested in both women’s stories.

This was my first historical fiction novel of 2023 and I’m so glad I got to start off with a book I loved, especially with this particular genre being one of my absolute favorites. I had actually read Janie Chang’s previous novel The Library of Legends back when it came out and while I appreciated the obscure history depicted in that story as well, I felt it leaned too much into the fantasy and romance elements at the expense of the historical portion. This newest work, The Porcelain Moon, is in an entirely different vein in my opinion, as it focused more on the historical and cultural elements and balanced both in a way that flowed seamlessly.

Janie Chang has two backlist titles that I’m interested in but haven’t read yet — I’m hoping I will get a chance to read them some time soon. What has me most excited though, is hearing that she is co-authoring a new book with Kate Quinn (one of my favorite historical fiction authors), which is scheduled for publication later this year (in the Fall) — I can’t wait to read it!!

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.

I wasn’t going to read this title but based on its appearance on a number of lists I decided to try again. I found the historical element fascinating. I learned a lot, especially from the additional information at the book’s end. Story wise-well it was a bit too heavy on the romantic side which I didn’t find appealing snd a reason I wasn’t going to review the book. I ended skimming about 1/4 of the book. So if you like historical romance this is for you, if you are interested in history then you’ll find this interesting.

We had the pleasure of featuring this event at our live Spring Book Preview event held on January 10, 2023, where 1200 readers attended live and twice that many watched the video replay in the following week. I knew it would be hard to top The Violin Conspiracy, but Slocumb's sophomore novel is a worthy follow-up! The PDF from our live event is attached below.

A fascinating chapter of Great War history, with many echoes into the present. Chang's writing style is very easy to read, and I liked the way that the characters alternated so there were different perspectives of the same events. This is an excellent addition to the novels that unpack the details of life during the Great War - and any war. The end was not quite as expected but very welcome.

Pauline Deng, a young illegitimate Chinese woman, has acted as housekeeper and bookkeeper for her uncle's antique shop in Paris before World War I, finding an unexpected freedom and delight in life that she would not have had back at home in Shanghai. But as the war draws to a close, her uncle states that a marriage has been arranged for her back in China. Unwilling to return to a life of drudgery, Pauline intends to find her beloved cousin Theo, an interpreter for the Chinese Labour Corps serving under the British Army near the front lines, hoping he will help her persuade her uncle to let her stay.

Pauline and Theo's story entwines with that of Camille, a young married Frenchwoman of aristocratic lineage but now living a modest life in Noyelles, near the CLC camp. Trapped under the thumb of an abusive husband who works on the railway but also has a hand in the black market, Camille looks for her own escape as well.

This compelling historical novel reveals a little-known aspect to the Great War: how the Allies accepted workers from China as support behind the front lines. Chang's research brings these details to light, woven into the fictional lives of two women who, despite being of different ethnicities, equally long to escape unhappy matches and to enjoy more of the freedom they have only begun to taste. While some of the time jumps in the book felt awkwardly done at first, the plot gradually smoothed out as the two women's stories drew closer together. A memorable story.

Thank you, William Morrow/HarperCollins and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

The historical aspect of this novel is as important if not more important than the novel's basic plot of marriage and romance in the early 1900s during WWI.

Pauline Deng and her cousin Theo are Chinese who have spent many years living in France and both are reluctant to return to Shanghai for arranged marriages to people they have never met.

I was also fascinated by this little known, overlooked part of history, of over 140,000 Chinese laborers and peasants brought over to Europe to help the WWI war effort in non-combatant work, such as clearing battlefields, loading goods and ammunition on trucks and trains, keeping the railroads running, and soul-destroying jobs such as handling corpses in the trenches.

Pauline and Theo are a fascinating part of the plot, as they struggle to keep their freer life in France, in spite of the war. There is danger for both of them, and death, as they try to find their way during wartime France.

An excellent read