Description
Book SynopsisAfter long afternoons spent with her great-aunt Yu-i, Pang-Mei, a first-generation Chinese-American, paints this unforgettable saga of a woman, born in Shanghai at the turn of the century to a well-to-do family, who continually defied the expectations of her class and culture.
''In China, a woman is nothing,'' began Yu-i over tea and dumplings. ''This is the first lesson I want to give so that you will understand.'' Growing up in the perilous years between the fall of the last Emperor and the Communist Revolution, Yu-i led a life marked by a series of rebellions that changed the course of her life, including the first and most lasting: her refusal to have her feet bound. And as Yu-i confides her innermost dreams and demons to her great-niece in this dual memoir, the deeply textured portrait of a woman''s life in China is blended with the very Western story of a young woman''s search for identity and belonging.
Trade Review'Exquisite...This is an enthralling tale of a woman who achieved independence despite great odds' * Publishers Weekly *
'Ms Chang [tells] her story with unassuming delicacy...A touching, bittersweet evocation of China' * The New York Times *
A rich, evocative memoir * People *
A gripping, candid dual memoir * South China Morning Post *
