{"product_id":"the-promise-9781448217892","title":"The Promise","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA spellbinding and magical narrative, this is the story of modern China through the women who lived through it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the start of the twentieth century in China, the Hans were married in an elaborate ceremony before they were even born. They went on to have nine children and chose colours portrayed in some of their favourite poems as nicknames for them  Red, Cyan, Orange, Yellow, Green, Green Tangerine, Purple, Blue and Rainbow. Fate, and the sweep of twentieth-century history, would later divide them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eXinran begins with the magic and tragedy of one young couple''s wedding night in 1949, and goes on to tell personal experiences of loss, grief and hardship through China''s extraordinary century. In doing so she tells a bigger story  how traditional Chinese values have been slowly eroded by the tide of modernity and how their outlooks on love, and the choices they''ve made in life, have been all been affected by the great upheavals of Chinese history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA brilliant storyteller. -- Hilary Spurling\u003cbr\u003eThis book cracks the code of love, loneliness, and belonging in contemporary China. -- Xiaolu Guo, author of 'Once Upon a Time in the East'\u003cbr\u003eReporting on four generations of one Chinese family and their diverging paths, Xinran shows how the country’s social norms have changed through politics and the rise of modernity. * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eXinran Xue is a gifted storyteller and \u003ci\u003eThe Promise\u003c\/i\u003e reads like an unputdownable novel. William Spence’s translation from Chinese into English cannot be over-praised. * Washington Book Review *\u003cbr\u003e‘An absorbing, often startling, always persuasive exploration of contemporary China.’ -- Hilary Spurling on 'Buy Me The Sky' * The Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e[A] graceful work that restores a lost generation to history. * Kirkus Review *\u003cbr\u003eOne would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved. * The Economist on 'Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother' *\u003cbr\u003eGroundbreaking… This intimate record reads like an act of defiance, and the unvarnished prose allows each story to stand as testimony. * The New Yorker on 'The Good Women of China' *\u003cbr\u003e‘Right here we see the red lines that many Chinese still draw for themselves in public discourse, or even privately, the boundaries they dare not cross even today. No other style of storytelling could have exhibited them with more clarity or greater rawness.’ -- Oliver August on 'China Witness' * THE TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eExploring love and loss in modern China is a big job but it is in simplifying the overwhelming that Xinran excels. And in the introduction to this compelling and moving book, the author clarifies just how she has managed the task...In these carefully told vignettes, Xinran takes the reader through a century of tumult and change in China, her writing beautifully reflecting the intimate and honest voices of the women whose stories of love she tells. * The Weekend Australian *\u003cbr\u003e'Xinran writes with a fine balance of economy, compassion and wisdom, and manages to be at once proud, critical, forward-looking, nostalgic, sad, angry and hopeful.’ * The New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePromises and ‘talking love’: my inspirations for this book\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMap of China\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eKey Dates\u003c\/i\u003e  Introduction Note on the Text  \u003cb\u003ePart I. A Love Coloured by Wars and Political Movements\u003c\/b\u003e First sister, Red  \u003cb\u003ePart II. A Communist Family Tree\u003c\/b\u003e Second sister, Green  \u003cb\u003ePart III. A Bird’s Love during the Cultural Revolution\u003c\/b\u003e Green’s daughter, Crane  \u003cb\u003ePart IV. Diverse ‘Lovers’\u003c\/b\u003e The 3D Generation: Lili, Yoyo, Wuhen  Afterword: In and Out the Door of Life  \u003ci\u003eAuthor’s Heartfelt Thanks\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867113959767,"sku":"9781448217892","price":14.42,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781448217892.jpg?v=1722281751","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-promise-9781448217892","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}