The Flower Boat Girl

A Novel Based on a True Story

By: Larry Feign

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Her father traded away her youth. Sea bandits stole her freedom. She has one way to get them back: Become the most powerful pirate in the world.

South China coast, 1801. Sold as a child to a floating brothel, twenty-six-year-old Yang has finally bought her freedom, only to be kidnapped by a brutal pirate gang and forced to marry their leader.

Dragged through stormy seas and lawless bandit havens, Yang must stay scrappy to survive. She embeds herself in the dark business of piracy, carving out her role against the resistance of powerful pirate leaders and Cheung Po Tsai, her husband's flamboyant male concubine.

As she is caught between bitter rivals fighting for mastery over the pirates—and for her heart—Yang faces a choice between two things she never dreamed might be hers: power or love.

Based on a true story that has never been fully told until now, The Flower Boat Girl is the tale of a woman who, against all odds, shaped history on her own terms.

©2021 Larry Feign (P)2022 Tantor

Narrator horrible

I was hoping this would be more historical than fiction. The narrator was so bad I returned it.

Epic story

I loved the way this male author seemed to capture a woman’s experience especially in the early 1800s. Great story of love, loss, conquest, and hope. Loved the main character. Won’t even try to spell her name. Bravo.

Nothing

Finished without ending. Dull. Good reading. Poor story line. Weak. Ok in depth. My wife liked it. But I thought it lacking.

I was so sad when it was over!

Honestly loved this book! It was so good and made me feel so much anger and also happiness, relates so well to a woman’s life.

The story overall was good. But wasn’t too happy with the narrator.

The narration with her try to change the voices from female to male pirate was not good at times cheesy and annoying.

Incredible narrative!

This narrator was able to catch and define various character voices like I’ve not heard before. The story was fascinating and historical references were interesting. Chinese names were a little hard to follow without a visual reference but the characters were well developed and authentic

Over written and so cliche

This is written just like a white man with yellow fever would write it. Larry Feign tried to write about childbirth and nursing….the end result is either comedic or tragic depending on your point of view.

This fits every single Asian trope. Let’s make a story about a super sexy pirate woman who knows everything about war, motherhood, negotiations and even accounting! Never-mind she was uneducated. Oh and although a sex slave, let’s gloss over that.

Interesting how during the years she had “ten thousand pricks” she never became pregnant nor carried any venereal diseases. I would have stopped listening to this book if it wasn’t our groups book club selection.

Two stars might be overly generous.

Narration was so bad I couldn't finish it

The bad writing aside, the constant sneery narration made this impossible to get through.

Fetishization of an Asian woman by a white man

I was excited to read this one. My son loves pirates and it seemed like a fun story. I should have paid attention to who the author was (or wasn't).

Below is a spoiler/not spoiler. Nothing that really gives anything away and that a reader couldn't see coming from a mile away (at least once they realize the author is a white man).

Man captures woman.
Man attempts to "seduce" woman when they both know she doesn't really have a choice.
Woman fights man and injures him.
Man rapes woman.
Man tells woman he likes her "spirit."
Woman is intrigued by man because he likes her "spirit" and didn't comment on her beauty. Nevermind the rape thing.
Man continues to rape woman, woman continues to be intrigued by man.

Vomit. Vomit. Vomit.
I looked up author, and was unsurprised to see it was a white man and suddenly the adolescent fetishization of an Asian woman and her sexuality made all the sense in the world.
Done.