Unpredictable Winds

Mei is told by the doctor that her husband, Da-Ming, has bad kidneys, and they would need to buy a new pair. Fortunately, Mei and her husband are rescued from the expensive hospital bills by Lee De-Chang. The couple makes an arrangement with Lee, the general manager of the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company, which involves Mei taking care of some work in the house. Eventually, Da-Ming goes to fight in a war, and Lee finds himself falling for Mei—even though he is engaged to Lily. Lily, who is from a wealthy family, has her own secret agenda. In Unpredictable Winds, Thomas T. Chin builds a deeply emotional, culture-rich, and surprisingly addictive narrative around love and war.

Like a highly entertaining boxing match, Unpredictable Winds holds many tensive moments and a rewarding knockout at the ending. Who gets to be with the person they love? This was the question on my mind as I followed the relatable, captivating struggles of the characters. Lee is put in a difficult position by his choice to follow his family’s wishes and marry from a wealthy home. I thought this was sad, especially because Lee was actually in love with a woman from a lower class. Also, Lee’s fiancée acts quite spoiled and rude—which points to the fact that money can’t buy good character.

Rich with historical and cultural information, Unpredictable Winds reveals the reality of the Chinese Civil War that lasted for four years and ended on October 1st, 1949. The intense action of the war scenes had my heart racing with excitement and anticipation. A particularly engaging scene depicts that Da-Ming hears bullets “flying near his ears” as he faced heavy enemy fire and fought to stay alive.

Unpredictable Winds will appeal to fans of historical books and war narratives. It is also a perfect fit for readers who love to immerse themselves in a culture-rich narrative; we see, not only the Chinese culture, but also catch a glimpse of the German and the Japanese cultures. Apart from the themes of romance and love, the book includes other engaging themes like war, friendship, wealth, loss, illness, jealousy, politics, deceit, and more.

Like the title suggests, Unpredictable Winds is not easy to predict. Though it didn’t end in the way I expected, I respected the writer’s creativity and his ability to build a story that made me feel deeply for its characters like they were actually real.

Unpredictable Winds is the sort of book you read, and you can’t sit still or rest until you tell others about it and recommend they get it ASAP!