Others Were Emeralds

A Novel

De: Lang Leav

Narrado por: Shiromi Arserio

Others Were Emeralds has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

Words you can feel

The way the story was written, you can feel everything through the narration. The language is humbly spectacular in emotion. Voice Narration was also amazing in allowing you to step into the story. Thank you!

Spectacular writing, moving narration, a perfect coming-of-age novel

The prose and the character development both blew me away in this gem of a novel. This story made me gasp and cry, and made me feel so deeply. The narration was impeccable and brought even more emotion to the story. Ai and her journey to figure out who she is and where she fits are both so messy, and relatable, and moving. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

Deliberate and poignant

I wanted to read a story about Asian racism and this novel popped up, with its good reviews. I live in the middle of the US and am fortunate to have Asian friends, without witnessing direct prejudice— though my son’s girlfriend in California has experienced it. I felt a need to understand her situation.

I was astonished and saddened to discover similar prejudices take place in Australia, a country I believed better in regard to racism. This alone educated me.

Lang Leav’s story began with deliberate care, supported by a well paced narration by Shiromi Arserio.

I existed an arm’s length from intimacy, though the author wrote the story in first person, “I.” I felt distanced from the protagonist, as if even her thoughts to herself were censored. As if this story was a developing roll of film, not a heart-infused life.

I observed what was happening in her world and wondered why Ai, this teenaged girl, could not see or hear what was obvious in front of her, but rather, listened to bits of information dissected inside her brain.

Ai had zero trust. I wondered if this was a consequence of her insecurities as a normal teenage woman or whether it was due to her family’s singular Asian descent and especially their former Cambodian refugee status.

I became invested in her group’s artistic talents. I longed to see the positive and negative spaces in her projects, beyond verbal descriptions. I was very invested in all the group’s artistic productions, including the controversial exhibition.

The character I experienced most, fleshed out in 3-D, was Tin, followed by his sister to a lesser degree. I am unclear why this is so, but suspect this reveals AI’s mind all along.

I feel as if this is a very deliberate Telling, with manipulations directing readers in the author’s intended direction. I believe the narrative left me with a depth of experience that did expand my perspective.

To much detail

Some may like, but for me it is to teenager. The smallest thing was over detailed.