Daughters of Shandong

Informationen zum Autor Eve J. Chung is a Taiwanese American human rights lawyer focusing on gender equality and women’s rights. She lives in New York with her husband, two children, and two dogs. Klappentext A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story An Instant USA Today Bestseller, a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and a People Book of the Week! “Throw open the doors of your heart for the lionhearted girls of Chung’s gripping debut . . . they are heroines for the ages." —People Daughters are the Ang family’s curse. In 1948, civil war ravages the Chinese countryside, but in rural Shandong, the wealthy, landowning Angs are more concerned with their lack of an heir. Hai is the eldest of four girls and spends her days looking after her sisters. Headstrong Di, who is just a year younger, learns to hide in plain sight, and their mother—abused by the family for failing to birth a boy—finds her own small acts of rebellion in the kitchen. As the Communist army closes in on their town, the rest of the prosperous household flees, leaving behind the girls and their mother because they view them as useless mouths to feed. Without an Ang male to punish, the land-seizing cadres choose Hai, as the eldest child, to stand trial for her family’s crimes. She barely survives their brutality. Realizing the worst is yet to come, the women plan their escape. Starving and penniless but resourceful, they forge travel permits and embark on a thousand-mile journey to confront the family that abandoned them. From the countryside to the bustling city of Qingdao, and onward to British Hong Kong and eventually Taiwan, they witness the changing tide of a nation and the plight of multitudes caught in the wake of revolution. But with the loss of their home and the life they’ve known also comes new freedom—to take hold of their fate, to shake free of the bonds of their gender, and to claim their own story. Told in assured, evocative prose, with impeccably drawn characters, Daughters of Shandong is a hopeful, powerful story about the resilience of women in war; the enduring love between mothers, daughters, and sisters; and the sacrifices made to lift up future generations. Leseprobe 1 Heirless Nai Nai said whores weren't allowed in the house, so she kicked Mom out, slamming the wooden door shut with a clatter that startled the birds. We didn't know where my sister Di was, but Three and I sat beside Mom as she leaned against the courtyard wall of our shiheyuan, hands red and chapped from washing dishes. "Don't worry," she said to us. "She'll calm down when your father comes home." Nai Nai was a small, thin lady with ebony hair, birdlike hands, and dainty bound feet. Yet, even as she tottered in her small silk slippers, she had the presence of a warlord and a tongue like a whip. I was eleven, and old enough to know that no one could calm her after such a rage, not even her first and favorite son. It was fall, and dried leaves swirled in the chilly wind, skimming yellow grass that swayed gently. Luckily, the harvest was finished and most of the workers had gone home. Mom didn't want reports of this shameful spectacle to make the rounds-the peasants hated Nai Nai as much as they loved gossip, and this story would have spread like a wildfire. We lived in rural Zhucheng, a small town where my family reigned. For generations, our men had excelled in imperial exams, earning prestigious government positions and building an empire through renting land and running businesses. Our palatial shiheyuan, with its gleaming orange tiles and wooden latticed panels, was an ostentatious testament to our wealth. Magnificent stone lions framed the entrance of the courtyard, which wa...

Report

"Unforgettable . . . [a] story in the straightforward first-person style of a narrator who is not much given to cynicism or poetry but who can keep your attention with her wit, a knack for shrewd details and uncommon tenderness." The New York Times

Throw open the doors of your heart for the lionhearted girls of Chung s gripping debut . . . they are heroines for the ages." People

A heart-wrenching yet hopeful story of resilience and unbreakable family bonds. Woman's World

Eve J. Chung strikes historical-fiction gold, inspired by her own family s story. Christian Science Monitor

"Human rights attorney and debut author Eve J. Chung takes personal family history and spins it into pure gold in her haunting first novel. . . . Daughters of Shandong is a powerhouse debut from a major new talent!" Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

"An empowering and uplifting tale of the bonds between mother and daughter in the most challenging of times. I loved it." Dolen Perkins-Valdez, New York Times bestselling author of Happy Land

One of those rare works of fiction that entertains, educates, and inspires. Harrowing, heartbreaking, and brilliantly paced, Daughters of Shandong is impossible to put down. Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Spellbindingly transportive . . . one of those rare books that stays with readers long after the last pages and promises to illuminate all the corners of humanity." Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon, a Today Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick

"A story of never giving up on yourself, Chung s debut is a propulsive journey through Chinese history that shows not the women who walked so their daughters could run, but the women who fought so their daughters could fly." Karin Tanabe, author of The Sunset Crowd

This is a story of women who unite to take fate into their own hands and to claim their voices. You won't be able to forget this compelling tale of resilience and hope. Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftover Women and Girl in Translation

Readers will be moved by this humanizing account of a turbulent period in China s history. Publishers Weekly

Chung's debut combines historical insight with sympathetic characters and will be appreciated by readers seeking stories with strong female characters or twentieth-century history lessons. Booklist

Intimate, immersive, and utterly enthralling, Daughters of Shandong is a brilliant debut by an astonishingly gifted writer! Weina Dai Randel, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Last Rose of Shanghai

Product details

• Authors: Eve J Chung, Eve J. Chung
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 07.05.2024
• EAN: 9780593817407
• ISBN: 978-0-593-81740-7
• No. of pages: 386
• Dimensions: 150 mm x 227 mm x 27 mm
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature > Contemporary literature (from 1945)