Linda's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 27 Nov 2024 06:12:26 -0800 60 Linda's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Linda 4 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Linda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Paris 15786792 809 Edward Rutherfurd 0385535309 Linda 0 to-read 3.98 2013 Paris
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Linda
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)]]> 861326 1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.
And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
—Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry—he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...]]> 480 Julia Quinn Linda 5 3.98 2000 The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[It's in His Kiss (Bridgertons, #7)]]> 110393
MEET OUR HERO...

Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth's sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past... and the key to his future. The problem is—it's written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.

MEET OUR HEROINE...

All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there's something about her—something charming and vexing—that grabs him and won't quite let go...

MEET POOR MR. MOZART...

Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual—and annually discordant—Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other... and that there is nothing as simple—or as complicated—as a single, perfect kiss.]]> 384 Julia Quinn 006053124X Linda 4 3.94 2005 It's in His Kiss (Bridgertons, #7)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When He Was Wicked (Bridgertons, #6)]]> 110396 Everything was so much simpler... when he was wicked.

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.

After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer—the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.

But that was then... Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love... until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets...]]> 368 Julia Quinn 0060531231 Linda 5 3.96 2004 When He Was Wicked (Bridgertons, #6)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[To Sir Phillip, With Love (Bridgertons, #5)]]> 110386
Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking... and wondering... and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except... he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered. And he certainly should have mentioned that he had two young - and decidedly unruly - children, as much in need of a mother as Phillip is in need of a wife.

an alternate cover edition can be found here]]> 372 Julia Quinn 0380820854 Linda 4 3.65 2003 To Sir Phillip, With Love (Bridgertons, #5)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1)]]> 110391 Librarian note: See alternate cover editions here and here.

The Duke and I is a romance set in the Regency era.

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable� but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...]]> 384 Julia Quinn 0380800829 Linda 3 3.80 2000 The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1)
author: Julia Quinn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)]]> 16085481
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should—and should not—marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.]]> 403 Kevin Kwan 0385536976 Linda 0 3.91 2013 Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)
author: Kevin Kwan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2023/01/02
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores, #1)]]> 60324173
Determined to stay together, the sisters begin the new venture. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family. Meanwhile, the new situation exposes Viola's scars--both the visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.]]> 448 Julie Klassen 0764234269 Linda 0 to-read 4.12 2022 The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores, #1)
author: Julie Klassen
name: Linda
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On a Night of a Thousand Stars]]> 58340947 New York, 1998. Santiago Larrea, a wealthy Argentine diplomat, is holding court alongside his wife, Lila, and their daughter, Paloma, a college student and budding jewelry designer, at their annual summer polo match and soiree. All seems perfect in the Larreas’Ěýworld—until an unexpected party guest from Santiago's university days shakes his usually unflappable demeanor. The woman's cryptic comments spark Paloma’s curiosity about her father’s past, of which she knows little.
Ěý
When the family travels to Buenos Aires for Santiago's UN ambassadorial appointment, Paloma is determined to learn more about his life in the years leading up to the military dictatorship of 1976. With the help of a local university student, Franco Bonetti, an activist member of H.I.J.O.S.—a group whose members are the children of the desaparecidos, or the “disappeared,� men and women who were forcibly disappeared by the state during Argentina’s “Dirty War”—Paloma unleashes a chain of events that not only leads her to question her family and her identity, but also puts her life in danger.

InĚýcompelling fashion, On a Night of a Thousand Stars speaks to relationships, morality, and identity during a brutal period in Argentinian history, and the understanding—and redemption—people crave in the face of tragedy.]]> 352 Andrea Yaryura Clark 1538720299 Linda 0 to-read 3.89 2022 On a Night of a Thousand Stars
author: Andrea Yaryura Clark
name: Linda
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/05/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Peach Blossom Spring 58231775 A "beautifully rendered" novel aboutĚýwar, migration, and the power of telling our stories,ĚýPeach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese familyĚýon their search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).

"Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time."

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?]]> 400 Melissa Fu 0316286737 Linda 0 to-read 4.16 2022 Peach Blossom Spring
author: Melissa Fu
name: Linda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/05/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Thousand Splendid Suns 128029
With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.]]> 372 Khaled Hosseini 1594489505 Linda 5 4.44 2007 A Thousand Splendid Suns
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Linda
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/05/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #1)]]> 49221547
Three sisters. An inherited Nantucket restaurant. One year before they can sell.

Mandy, Emma and Jill are as close as three sisters who live hundreds of miles apart can be. They grew up together on Nantucket, but Mandy is the only one that stayed.

Jill lives a glamorous life in Manhattan as a co-owner of a successful executive search firm. Never married, she is in her mid-thirties and lives in a stunning, corner condo with breathtaking views of the city and Hudson river. Everyone thinks there's something going on with her partner, Nick, because as a workaholic, she spends more time with him than anyone else. But there's never been anything but friendship between them and Nick loves being a bachelor in NYC.

Emma lives in Arizona and is an elementary school teacher and aspiring photographer. She met her college professor husband, Peter, in grad school and they've been married for over fifteen years. In recent years, she's noticed that Peter has grown distant. But when he shares a surprising secret, she doesn't see it coming and her world is turned upside down.

Mandy followed her high school boyfriend, Cory to Boston College, and after graduation, they married and Cory joined a successful hedge fund in Boston, while Mandy stayed home and had two children, Blake and Brooke. They moved home to Nantucket when Cory opened a competing hedge fund. Now that the children are older, Mandy is eager to do more than coordinate local charity events. But Cory doesn't want her to work. He thinks it doesn't reflect well on him and appearances are everything to Cory. Though when Mandy finds a second cell phone in his gym bag, she begins to question what is really going on.

When their beloved grandmother, Ethel Ferguson passes peacefully in her sleep a week before her ninety-ninth birthday, she leaves them quite a surprise. In addition to her Nantucket home, they learn that she was the silent owner of Mimi's Place, one of Nantucket's most popular year-round restaurants.

There is of course, a catch--she left the restaurant equally to Mandy, Emma, and Jill--and also to Paul, the restaurant chef for the past fifteen years.

And before they can sell, all three girls must work at the restaurant for one year--or their shares of the restaurant will go to Paul.

The same Paul that broke one of their hearts many years ago.]]> 282 Pamela M. Kelley 0991243552 Linda 0 to-read 3.73 2020 The Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #1)
author: Pamela M. Kelley
name: Linda
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Securing Chesterton: A Regency Era Romance]]> 49116959 234 Amy Jean Adams Linda 0 to-read 4.10 Securing Chesterton: A Regency Era Romance
author: Amy Jean Adams
name: Linda
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rivalry: A Geisha's Tale (Japanese Studies Series)]]> 1547840 Rivalry is regarded as the masterpiece of Nagai Kafu, a Japanese novelist known for his brilliant renderings of Tokyo in the early years of modern Japan. Stephen Snyder offers the first English translation of the complete, uncensored text, which has long been celebrated as one of the most convincing and sensually rich portraits of the geisha profession.

Rivalry tells a sweeping story in which sexual politics compete with sisterly affection in a world ruled by material transaction. Komayo is a former geisha who, upon the death of her husband, must return to the "world of flower and willow" to escape poverty. A chance encounter with an old patron, Yoshioka, leads to a relationship in which both lovers hope to profit: Yoshioka believes Komayo can restore his lost innocence; Komayo plans to use Yoshioka's patronage to compete in the elaborate music and dance performances staged by her fellow geisha.

Yoshioka is eager to ransom Komayo, but as she considers his offer, Komayo falls in love with Segawa, a young actor who promises to turn the talented geisha into the finest dancer in the Shimbashi quarter. Though her feelings for Segawa are genuine, Komayo is eager to use her lover's position to become the lead performer among her peers. Her ambition even tempts her to take on a third patron known only as the "Sea Monster," a repellent but wealthy antiques dealer whose deep pockets promise to shoot Komayo to the height of celebrity.

Though she finds herself at the pinnacle of a glittering career, Komayo nevertheless becomes the target of a bitter rivalry between her three lovers that leaves her both thrilled and exhausted, both brutalized and redeemed. Kafu's compelling tale takes readers from the intimate corners of the geisha house to the back rooms of assignation, from the dressing areas of the great kabuki theaters to the lonely country villa of a theater critic and connoisseur of Shimbashi women. His lush depictions of architecture and costumes and his incisive descriptions of urban life and individual motive provide a vivid backdrop for Komayo's struggle-one woman's absorbing quest to find fame, affection, and financial security in the refined but ruthless theater of Shimbashi.]]> 165 Kafū Nagai 0231141181 Linda 0 to-read 3.73 1917 Rivalry: A Geisha's Tale (Japanese Studies Series)
author: Kafū Nagai
name: Linda
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1917
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Autobiography of a Geisha 70048 216 Sayo Masuda 0231129513 Linda 0 to-read 3.98 1957 Autobiography of a Geisha
author: Sayo Masuda
name: Linda
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Goodbye, Vitamin 27746288 Goodbye, Vitamin is the wry, beautifully observed story of a woman at a crossroads, as Ruth and her friends attempt to shore up her father's career; she and her mother obsess over the ambiguous health benefits - in the absence of a cure - of dried jellyfish supplements and vitamin pills; and they all try to forge a new relationship with the brilliant, childlike, irascible man her father has become.]]> 208 Rachel Khong 1250109167 Linda 0 to-read 3.72 2017 Goodbye, Vitamin
author: Rachel Khong
name: Linda
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Plum Wine 562466
Why did Michi leave her memoirs to Barbara, who cannot read Japanese? Seeking a translator, Barbara turns to an enigmatic pottery artist named Seiji, who will offer her a companionship as tender as it is forbidden. But as the two lovers unravel the mysteries of Michi’s life, a story that draws them through the aftermath of World War II and the hidden world of the hibakusha, Hiroshima survivors, Barbara begins to suspect that Seiji may be hiding the truth about Michi’s past—and a heartbreaking secret of his own.]]> 352 Angela Davis-Gardner 0385340834 Linda 0 to-read 3.39 2006 Plum Wine
author: Angela Davis-Gardner
name: Linda
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Geisha's Journey: My Life As a Kyoto Apprentice]]> 1950310
It is also the story of a young Japanese photographer who grew up overseas, and who also was captivated by the traditional lives of these women who choose to dedicate themselves to their art. He began following and documenting the life of teenager Komomo as she studied and grew into her role.

Naoyuki Oginos photographs follow Komomos entire journey, from her first tentative visits after finding the geisha house on the internet through her commitment to the hard schedule of an apprentice, learning arts that go back centuries, all the way to the ceremony where she officially became a
geiko , as Kyotos geisha are known and beyond. From the cobbled streets where she walks in her elaborate dress to the inner sanctums of her dressing room, these pages offer a rare look at a unique, living art.

The photographs are accompanied by autobiographical text and captions by Komomo, as she shares her thoughts and emotions, and describes the day-to-day existence of a Kyoto apprentice. It is an illuminating view of seven years in the life of a very special young woman.]]> 144 Komomo 4770030673 Linda 0 to-read 4.10 2008 A Geisha's Journey: My Life As a Kyoto Apprentice
author: Komomo
name: Linda
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Printmaker's Daughter 11101788 494 Katherine Govier 0062000365 Linda 0 to-read 3.59 2011 The Printmaker's Daughter
author: Katherine Govier
name: Linda
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Diplomat's Daughter 32620359
When Emi and her mother are abruptly sent back to Japan, Christian enlists in the US Army, with his sights set on the Pacific front—and, he hopes, a reunion with Emi—unaware that her first love, Leo Hartmann, the son of wealthy of Austrian parents and now a Jewish refugee in Shanghai, may still have her heart.

Fearful of bombings in Tokyo, Emi’s parents send her to a remote resort town in the mountains, where many in the foreign community have fled. Cut off from her family, struggling with growing depression and hunger, Emi repeatedly risks her life to help keep her community safe—all while wondering if the two men she loves are still alive.

As Christian Lange struggles to adapt to life as a soldier, his unit pushes its way from the South Pacific to Okinawa, where one of the bloodiest battles of World War II awaits them. Meanwhile, in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, as Leo fights to survive the squalor of the Jewish ghetto, a surprise confrontation with a Nazi officer threatens his life. For each man, Emi Kato is never far from their minds.

Flung together by war, passion, and extraordinary acts of selflessness, the paths of these three remarkable young people will collide as the fighting on the Pacific front crescendos. With her “elegant and extremely gratifying� (USA Today) storytelling, Karin Tanabe paints a stunning portrait of a turning point in history.]]> 451 Karin Tanabe 1501110470 Linda 0 to-read 3.79 2017 The Diplomat's Daughter
author: Karin Tanabe
name: Linda
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cloud of Sparrows (Samurai Series)]]> 332535
Neither realizes that their future in Japan has already been foreseen. For a young nobleman, Lord Genji, has dreamt that his life will be saved by an outsider in the New Year. Widely reviled as a dilettante, Lord Genji has one weapon with which to inspire awe. In his family, one in every generation is said to have the gift of prophecy. And what Lord Genji sees has struck fear in many around him. As the Shogun’s secret police chief plots Genji’s death--and the utter destruction of his entire clan--the young and untried lord must prove that he is more than the handsome womanizer of legend, famed lover of Edo’s most celebrated geisha, Lady Heiko, and that his prophetic powers are no mere fairy tale.

Forced to escape from Edo and flee to his ancestral stronghold, the spectacular Cloud of Sparrows Castle, Genji joins his fate with Emily and Stark, unaware of the dark forces that drive them. Together with Genji’s uncle, Lord Shigeru, a legendary swordsman knee-deep in the blood of his own kin, and the enigmatic Lady Heiko, the unlikely band embarks on a harrowing journey through a landscape bristling with danger--to prepare for a final battle.

Here, on a snowscape stained with blood, horror will mix with wonder, secrets will unravel, and love will duel with vengeance--as East and West, flesh and spirit, past and future, collide in ways no one--least of all Genji--could have imagined.]]> 405 Takashi Matsuoka 0385338503 Linda 0 to-read 4.05 2002 Cloud of Sparrows (Samurai Series)
author: Takashi Matsuoka
name: Linda
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)]]> 26145762
The second book in this stunning duology, The Empress of Bright Moon follows Mei as she struggles for power within the Emperor's palace, risking her life to dethrone the murderous Empress and establish herself as the new female ruler of China.

After Mei's lover, Pheasant, is crowned Emperor, a power struggle erupts between Mei and Pheasant's wife, Empress Wang. Both women are desperate to secure their name and rank. But when Empress Wang takes their feud to a new level by murdering Mei's supporters, Mei realizes that she must defeat the bloodthirsty Empress—not only to save herself, but also to protect her country.]]> 368 Weina Dai Randel Linda 0 to-read 4.01 2016 The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)
author: Weina Dai Randel
name: Linda
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Other People's Love Affairs 38746162
In the ten luminous stories of D. Wystan Owen’s Other People’s Love Affairs, the people of Glass, a picturesque village on the rugged English coast,Ěýare haunted by longings and deeply held secrets, captive to pasts that remain as alive as the present. Each story takes us into the lives of characters reaching earnestly and often courageously for connection to the people they have loved.ĚýOwen observes their heartbreaks, their small triumphs, and their generous capacity for grace.

A young nurse, reeling from the disappearance of her mother, forges an unlikely friendship with a local vagrant who might know why her mother vanished. A young boy is by turns dazzled and disillusioned by a trip to the circus with a family friend. A widower revisits the cinema where, as a teenager, he and an older woman had secret trysts that both thrilled and baffled him. ĚýA woman is offered fragile, uneasy forgiveness for a cruel act from years ago. And in the title story, a shopkeeper’s vision of the womanĚýshe loved is upended by the startling revelation of a secret life. Surprising and powerful, these stories mark the debut of a remarkable new talent.

Lovers of a Kind --
At the Circus --
Virginia's Birthday --
A Romance --
What Is Meant to Remain --
A Bit of Fun --
Housekeeper --
The Patroness --
Other People's Love Affairs --
The Well Sister --]]> 224 D. Wystan Owen 1616207051 Linda 0 to-read 3.52 2018 Other People's Love Affairs
author: D. Wystan Owen
name: Linda
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Diary of Lady Murasaki 115776 'When I go out to sit on the veranda and gaze,
I sem to be always conjuring up visions of the past'

The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973 c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.

In his illuminating introduction, Richard Bowing discusses what is known of Murasaki's life, and the religion, ceremonies, costumes, architecture and politics of her time, to explain the cultural background to her vivid evocation of court life. This edition also includes an explanation of Japanese names and dates, appendices and updated further reading.

Translated and introduced by RICHARD BOWRING]]> 90 Murasaki Shikibu Linda 0 to-read 3.86 1010 The Diary of Lady Murasaki
author: Murasaki Shikibu
name: Linda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Snow Fox 653392 438 Susan Fromberg Schaeffer 0393326527 Linda 0 to-read 3.55 2004 The Snow Fox
author: Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
name: Linda
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Snow Flower and the Secret Fan]]> 40873273
As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.]]> 288 Lisa See Linda 0 to-read 4.23 2005 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
author: Lisa See
name: Linda
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Empress 815786
In seventh–century China, during the great Tang dynasty, a young girl from the humble Wu clan entered the imperial gynaecium, which housed ten thousand concubines. Inside the Forbidden City, she witnessed seductions, plots, murders, and brazen acts of treason. Propelled by a shrewd intelligence, an extraordinary persistence, and a friendship with the imperial heir, she rose through the ranks to become the first Empress of China. On the one hand, she was a political mastermind who quelled insurrections, eased famine, and opened wide the routes of international trade. On the other, she was a passionate patron of the arts who brought Chinese civilization to unsurpassed heights of knowledge, beauty, and sophistication.

And yet, from the moment of her death to the present day, her name has been sullied, her story distorted, and her memoirs obliterated by men taking vengeance on a women who dared become Emperor. For the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu flings open the gates of her Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale–revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day.]]> 336 Shan Sa 0060817585 Linda 0 to-read 3.70 2003 Empress
author: Shan Sa
name: Linda
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Family Trust 38359019
For his son Fred, the inheritance Stanley has long alluded to would soothe the pain caused by years of professional disappointment. By now, the Harvard Business School graduate had expected to be a financial tech god � not a minor investor at a middling corporate firm, where he isn’t even allowed to fly business class.

Stanley’s daughter, Kate, is a middle manager with one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious tech companies. She manages the capricious demands of her world-famous boss and the needs of her two young children all while supporting her would-be entrepreneur husband (just until his startup gets off the ground, which will surely be soon). But lately, Kate has been sensing something amiss; just because you say you have it all, it doesn’t mean that you actually do.

Stanley’s second wife, Mary Zhu, twenty-eight years his junior, has devoted herself to making her husband comfortable in every way—rubbing his feet, cooking his favorite dishes, massaging his ego. But lately, her commitment has waned; caring for a dying old man is far more difficult than she expected.

Linda Liang, Stanley’s first wife, knows her ex better than anyone. She worked hard for decades to ensure their financial security, and is determined to see her children get their due. Single for nearly a decade, she might finally be ready for some romantic companionship. But where does a seventy-two year old Chinese woman in California go to find an appropriate boyfriend?

As Stanley’s death approaches, the Huangs are faced with unexpected challenges that upend them and eventually lead them to discover what they most value. A compelling tale of cultural expectations, career ambitions and our relationships with the people who know us best, Family Trust skewers the ambition and desires that drive Silicon Valley and draws a sharply loving portrait of modern American family life.]]> 387 Kathy Wang 0062855255 Linda 0 to-read 3.17 2018 Family Trust
author: Kathy Wang
name: Linda
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane]]> 25150798
Slowly, Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, begins to reject the customs that shaped her early life. When she has a baby out of wedlock she rejects the tradition that would compel her to give the child over to be killed, and instead leaves her, wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake tucked in its folds, near an orphanage in a nearby city.

As Li-yan comes into herself, leaving her village for an education, a business, and city life, her daughter, Haley, is raised in California by loving adoptive parents. Despite her privileged childhood, Haley wonders about her origins. Across the ocean Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. Over the course of years, each searches for meaning in the study of Pu’er, the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for centuries.]]> 384 Lisa See Linda 0 to-read 4.29 2017 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
author: Lisa See
name: Linda
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Miss Chopsticks 194714
The Li sisters don’t have much education, but one thing has been drummed into them: their mother is a failure because she hasn’t managed to produce a son, and they themselves only merit a number as a name. Women, their father tells them, are like chopsticks: utilitarian and easily broken. Men, on the other hand, are the strong rafters that hold up the roof of a house.

Yet when circumstances lead the sisters to seek work in distant Nanjing, the shocking new urban environment opens their eyes. While Three contributes to the success of a small restaurant, Five and Six learn new talents at a health spa and a bookshop/tearoom. And when the money they earn starts arriving back at the village, their father is forced to recognize that daughters are not so dispensable after all.

As the Li sisters discover Nanjing, so do we: its past, its customs and culture, and its future as a place where people can change their lives.]]> 257 Xinran 0701180420 Linda 0 to-read 3.74 2007 Miss Chopsticks
author: Xinran
name: Linda
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/11/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Free Food for Millionaires 709734
Free Food For Millionaires offers up a fresh exploration of the complex layers we inhabit both in society and within ourselves. Inspired by 19th century novels such as Vanity Fair and Middlemarch, Min Jin Lee examines maintaining one's identity within changing communities in what is her remarkably assured debut.]]> 576 Min Jin Lee 0446581089 Linda 4 3.57 2007 Free Food for Millionaires
author: Min Jin Lee
name: Linda
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/11/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Mango Bride 15808657 Two Women, Two Cultures, And The Fight To Find A New Life In America, Despite The Secrets Of The Past...

Banished by her wealthy Filipino family in Manila, Amparo Guerrero travels to Oakland, California, to forge a new life. Although her mother labels her life in exile a diminished one, Amparo believes her struggles are a small price to pay for freedom...

Like Amparo, Beverly Obejas—an impoverished Filipina waitress—forsakes Manila and comes to Oakland as a mail-order bride in search of a better life. Yet even in the land of plenty, Beverly fails to find the happiness and prosperity she envisioned.

As Amparo works to build the immigrant's dream, she becomes entangled in the chaos of Beverly's immigrant nightmare. Their unexpected collision forces them both to make terrible choices and confront a life-changing secret, but through it all they hold fast to family, in all its enduring and surprising transformations.]]> 371 Marivi Soliven Blanco 0451239849 Linda 0 to-read 3.88 2013 The Mango Bride
author: Marivi Soliven Blanco
name: Linda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family]]> 8864634 A Tiger in the Kitchen, which includes ten authentic recipes for Singaporean classics such as pineapple tarts and Teochew braised duck, is the autobiography of a Chinese-Singaporean ex-pat who learns to infuse her New York lifestyle with the rich lessons of the Singaporean kitchen, ultimately reconnecting with her family and herself.]]> 304 Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan 1401341284 Linda 0 to-read 3.52 2011 A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family
author: Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Dim Sum of All Things 139522 344 Kim Wong Keltner 0060560754 Linda 0 to-read 3.34 2004 The Dim Sum of All Things
author: Kim Wong Keltner
name: Linda
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians, #2)]]> 22674105 Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia's most eligible bachelor, discovers her birthfather.

On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiance willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.]]> 378 Kevin Kwan 0385539088 Linda 0 to-read 3.80 2015 China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians, #2)
author: Kevin Kwan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Secondhand World 230993
But unlike many Asian American daughters, Isa is neither meek nor a quiet victim of tradition. Despite her parents� success and sophistication—they’ve achieved the American dream—she repudiates their values, embarks on her own sexual education, and runs away with an albino boy, Hero. At the same time, Isa suspects that despite her mother’s strict adherence to Korean traditional values, she is involved with another man, and Isa determines to make the affair known. What begins as a child’s unthinking fury at her mother soon leads to more deadly consequences.

A daring, haunting, inspired debut.]]> 288 Katherine Min 0307263444 Linda 0 to-read 3.75 2006 Secondhand World
author: Katherine Min
name: Linda
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3)]]> 33571713 As Europe erupts, can one young spy protect his queen? Ken Follett takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason with his magnificent epic, A Column of Fire—the chronological latest in the Kingsbridge series, following The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and the prequel, The Evening and the Morning.

In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love.

Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country’s first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasion plans. Over a turbulent half century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Elizabeth clings to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents.

The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else—no matter what the cost.

Exciting and ambitious, and set during one of the most turbulent and revolutionary times in history, A Column of Fire will delight longtime fans of the Kingsbridge series and serve as the perfect introduction for readers new to Ken Follett.]]> 916 Ken Follett 052595497X Linda 0 to-read 4.16 2017 A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3)
author: Ken Follett
name: Linda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Anything Is Possible (Amgash, #2)]]> 32080126 Olive Kitteridge in its richness, structure, and complexity, Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others.

Here are two sisters: One trades self-respect for a wealthy husband while the other finds in the pages of a book a kindred spirit who changes her life. The janitor at the local school has his faith tested in an encounter with an isolated man he has come to help; a grown daughter longs for mother love even as she comes to accept her mother’s happiness in a foreign country; and the adult Lucy Barton (the heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton, the author’s celebrated New York Times bestseller) returns to visit her siblings after seventeen years of absence.

Reverberating with the deep bonds of family, and the hope that comes with reconciliation, Anything Is Possible again underscores Elizabeth Strout’s place as one of America’s most respected and cherished authors.]]> 254 Elizabeth Strout 0812989406 Linda 0 to-read 3.74 2017 Anything Is Possible (Amgash, #2)
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: Linda
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Home Fire 33621427
Then Eamonn enters the sisters� lives. Son of a powerful political figure, he has his own birthright to live up to—or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? The means of Parvaiz’s salvation? Suddenly, two families� fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined, in this searing novel that asks: What sacrifices will we make in the name of love?

The suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences ]]> 276 Kamila Shamsie 0735217688 Linda 0 to-read 4.00 2017 Home Fire
author: Kamila Shamsie
name: Linda
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3)]]> 29864343 Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, is back with an uproarious new novel featuring a family driven by fortune, an ex-wife driven psychotic with jealousy, a battle royal fought through couture-gown sabotage, and the heir to one of Asia's greatest fortunes locked out of his inheritance.

When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim to their matriarch's massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on sixty-four prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas' childhood home turns into a hotbed of backbiting and intrigue. As Su Yi's relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell-bent on destroying Astrid's reputation and relationship. Meanwhile, Kitty Pong, married to China's second richest man, Jack Bing, still feels upstaged by her new stepdaughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing.

In this sweeping tale that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong's most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace that is caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan hilariously reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia's most privileged families and their rich people problems.]]> 398 Kevin Kwan 0385542232 Linda 0 to-read 3.91 2017 Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3)
author: Kevin Kwan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky]]> 31522415
In “Who Will Greet You at Home,� a National Magazine Award finalist for The New Yorker, A woman desperate for a child weaves one out of hair, with unsettling results. In “Wild,� a disastrous night out shifts a teenager and her Nigerian cousin onto uneasy common ground. In "The Future Looks Good," three generations of women are haunted by the ghosts of war, while in "Light," a father struggles to protect and empower the daughter he loves. And in the title story, in a world ravaged by flood and riven by class, experts have discovered how to "fix the equation of a person" - with rippling, unforeseen repercussions.

Evocative, playful, subversive, and incredibly human, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky heralds the arrival of a prodigious talent with a remarkable career ahead of her.]]> 232 Lesley Nneka Arimah 0735211027 Linda 0 to-read 4.10 2017 What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky
author: Lesley Nneka Arimah
name: Linda
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Identicals 32498122 From New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand, a summertime story about identical twins who couldn't be any less alike.

Nantucket is only two and a half hours away from Martha's Vineyard by ferry. But the two islands might as well be worlds apart for a set of identical twin sisters who have been at odds for years. When a family crisis forces them to band together � or at least appear to � the twins slowly come to realize that the special bond that they share is more important than the sibling rivalry that's driven them apart for the better part of their lives. A touching depiction of all the pleasures and annoyances of the sibling relationship, Elin Hilderbrand's next New York Times bestseller, THE IDENTICALS proves once and for all that just because twins look exactly the same doesn't mean they're anything alike.


]]> 421 Elin Hilderbrand 031655247X Linda 0 to-read 3.83 2017 The Identicals
author: Elin Hilderbrand
name: Linda
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Last Christmas in Paris 34150793
New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor has joined with Heather Webb to create this unforgettably romantic novel of the Great War.

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently�

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…]]> 368 Hazel Gaynor 0062562681 Linda 0 to-read 4.16 2017 Last Christmas in Paris
author: Hazel Gaynor
name: Linda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Manhattan Beach 34467031
‎Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that once belonged to men, now soldiers abroad. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. One evening at a nightclub, she meets Dexter Styles again, and begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life, the reasons he might have vanished.

With the atmosphere of a noir thriller, Egan’s first historical novel follows Anna and Styles into a world populated by gangsters, sailors, divers, bankers, and union men. Manhattan Beach is a deft, dazzling, propulsive exploration of a transformative moment in the lives and identities of women and men, of America and the world.]]> 438 Jennifer Egan 1476716730 Linda 0 to-read 3.55 2017 Manhattan Beach
author: Jennifer Egan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Palmeras en la nieve 13543548
En esa tierra eternamente verde, cálida y voluptuosa, los jóvenes hermanos descubren la ligereza de la vida social de la colonia en comparación con una España encorsetada y gris; comparten el duro trabajo necesario para conseguir el cacao perfecto de la finca Sampaka; aprenden las diferencias y similitudes culturales entre coloniales y autóctonos; y conocen el significado de la amistad, la pasión, el amor y el odio. Pero uno de ellos cruzará una línea prohibida e invisible y se enamorará perdidamente de una nativa. Su amor por ella, enmarcado en unas complejas circunstancias históricas, y el especial vínculo que se crea entre el colono y los oriundos de la isla transformarán la relación de los hermanos, cambiarán el curso de sus vidas y serán el origen de un secreto cuyas consecuencias alcanzarán el presente.

En el año 2003, Clarence, hija y sobrina de ese par de hermanos, llevada por la curiosidad del que desea conocer sus orígenes, se zambulle en el ruinoso pasado que habitaron Kilian y Jacobo y descubre los hilos polvorientos de ese secreto que finalmente será desentrañado.]]> 736 Luz Gabás 8499980236 Linda 5 to-read 4.16 2012 Palmeras en la nieve
author: Luz Gabás
name: Linda
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Teahouse Fire 47633 The Teahouse Fire is also a portrait of one of the most fascinating places and times in all of history—Japan as it opens its doors to the West. It was a period when wearing a different color kimono could make a political statement, when women stopped blackening their teeth to profess an allegiance to Western ideas, and when Japan’s most mysterious rite—the tea ceremony—became not just a sacramental meal, but a ritual battlefield.

We see it all through the eyes of Aurelia, an American orphan adopted by the Shin family, proprietors of a tea ceremony school, after their daughter, Yukako, finds her hiding on their grounds. Aurelia becomes Yukako’s closest companion, and they, the Shin family, and all of Japan face a time of great challenges and uncertainty. Told in an enchanting and unforgettable voice, The Teahouse Fire is a lively, provocative, and lushly detailed historical novel of epic scope and compulsive readability.]]> 391 Ellis Avery 1594489300 Linda 0 to-read 3.49 2000 The Teahouse Fire
author: Ellis Avery
name: Linda
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Six Wives of Henry VIII 10104 643 Alison Weir 0802136834 Linda 5 4.11 1992 The Six Wives of Henry VIII
author: Alison Weir
name: Linda
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/07/30
shelves:
review:

]]> Pachinko 29983711 Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan.

So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.]]> 490 Min Jin Lee 1455563935 Linda 5 4.25 2017 Pachinko
author: Min Jin Lee
name: Linda
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/29
date added: 2017/07/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Leavers 30753987
With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left with no one to care for him. He is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town upstate. They rename him Daniel Wilkinson in their efforts to make him over into their version of an “all-American boy.� But far away from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his new life with his mother’s disappearance and the memories of the family and community he left behind.

Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid and moving examination of borders and belonging. It’s the story of how one boy comes into his own when everything he’s loved has been taken away--and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of her past.

This powerful debut is the winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice.]]> 396 Lisa Ko 1616206888 Linda 0 to-read 3.85 2017 The Leavers
author: Lisa Ko
name: Linda
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Calligrapher's Daughter 6400109 A sweeping debut novel, inspired by the life of the author’s mother, about a young woman who dares to fight for a brighter future in occupied Korea

In early-twentieth-century Korea, Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother—but her stern father is determined to maintain tradition, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry Najin into an aristocratic family, her mother defies generations of obedient wives and instead sends her to serve in the king’s court as a companion to a young princess. But the king is soon assassinated, and the centuries-old dynastic culture comes to its end.

In the shadow of the dying monarchy, Najin begins a journey through increasing oppression that will forever change her world. As she desperately seeks to continue her education, will the unexpected love she finds along the way be enough to sustain her through the violence and subjugation her country continues to face? Spanning thirty years, The Calligrapher’s Daughter is a richly drawn novel in the tradition of Lisa See and Amy Tan about a country torn between ancient customs and modern possibilities, a family ultimately united by love, and a woman who never gives up her search for freedom.Ěý]]> 400 Eugenia Kim 0805089128 Linda 0 to-read 3.81 2009 The Calligrapher's Daughter
author: Eugenia Kim
name: Linda
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secrets of Jin-shei (Jin-Shei, #1)]]> 204279
They are bound together by a declaration of loyalty that transcends all other vows, even those with the gods, by their own secret language, passed from mother to daughter, by the knowledge that some of them will have to pay the ultimate sacrifice to enable others to fulfil their destiny.

The sisterhood we meet run from the Emperor's sister to the street-beggar, from the trainee warrior in the Emperor's Guard to the apprentice healer, from the artist to the traveller-girl, herself an illegitimate daughter of an emperor and seen as a threat to the throne. And as one of them becomes Dragon Empress, her determination to hold power against the sages of the temple, against the marauding forces from other kingdoms, drags the sisterhood into a dangerous world of court intrigue, plot and counterplot, and brings them into conflict with each other from which only the one who remains true to all the vows she made at the very beginning to the dying Princess Empress can rescue them.

An amazing and unusual book, based on some historical fact, full of drama, adventure and conflict like a Shakespearean history play, it's a novel about kinship and a society of women, of mysticism, jealousy, fate, destiny, all set in the wonderful, swirling background of medieval China.]]> 504 Alma Alexander 0060750588 Linda 0 to-read 3.88 2003 The Secrets of Jin-shei (Jin-Shei, #1)
author: Alma Alexander
name: Linda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Moon Pearl (Bluestreak) 375500 328 Ruthanne Lum McCunn 0807083496 Linda 0 to-read 3.83 2000 The Moon Pearl (Bluestreak)
author: Ruthanne Lum McCunn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Scent of Sake 4702464 366 Joyce Lebra 0061662372 Linda 0 to-read 3.31 2009 The Scent of Sake
author: Joyce Lebra
name: Linda
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Concubine's Daughter 6562339 Memoirs of a Geisha, a riveting saga of early twentieth-century China, where a mother and a daughter fight to realize their destinies in a world where women could still be bought and sold.

Lotus Feet. He would give his daughter the dainty feet of a courtesan. This would enhance her beauty and her price, making her future shine like a new coin. He smiled to himself, pouring fresh tea. And it would stop her from running away�

When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or “Beautiful One,� the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father’s orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother’s dreams of becoming a scholar � but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, “Little Star,� in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.]]> 471 Pai Kit Fai 0312355211 Linda 0 to-read 3.87 2009 The Concubine's Daughter
author: Pai Kit Fai
name: Linda
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Kafka on the Shore 4929 Kafka on the Shore, a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.]]> 467 Haruki Murakami 1400079276 Linda 0 to-read 4.14 2002 Kafka on the Shore
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Linda
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Japanese Lover 25152052
Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.]]> 322 Isabel Allende 1501116975 Linda 0 to-read 3.79 2015 The Japanese Lover
author: Isabel Allende
name: Linda
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel]]> 6519813 An electrifying epic, based on the incredible true story of a Chinese princess turned spy.

Peking, 1914. When the eight-year-old princess Eastern Jewel is caught spying on her father's liaison with a servant girl, she is banished from the palace, sent to live with a powerful family in Japan. Renamed Yoshiko Kawashima, she quickly falls in love with her adoptive country, where she earns a scandalous reputation, taking fencing lessons, smoking opium, and entertaining numerous lovers. Sent to Mongolia to become an obedient wife, Yoshiko mounts a daring escape and eventually finds her way back to Peking high society—this time with orders from the Japanese secret service.

Based on the true story of a rebellious woman who earned a controversial place in history, The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel is a vibrant reimagining of a thrilling life—a rich historical epic of palace intrigue, sexual manipulation, and international espionage.]]> 288 Maureen Lindley 1596917032 Linda 0 to-read 3.44 2008 The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel
author: Maureen Lindley
name: Linda
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Peach Blossom Pavilion 3241816
When Precious Orchid's father is falsely accused of a crime and found guilty, he is executed, leaving his family a legacy of dishonor. Her mother's only option is to enter a Buddhist nunnery, so she gives her daughter over to the care of her sister in Shanghai.
At first, life at Peach Blossom Pavilion feels like a dream. Surrounded by exotic flowers, murmuring fountains, colorful fishponds, and bamboo groves, Precious Orchid sees herself thriving. She is schooled in music, literature, painting, calligraphy, and to her innocent surprise, the art of pleasuring men. For the beautiful Pavilion hides its darker purpose as an elite house of prostitution. And even as she commands the devotion of China's most powerful men, Precious Orchid never gives up on her dream to escape the Pavilion, be reunited with her mother, avenge her father's death, and find true love. And as the richest, most celebrated Ming Ji or "prestigious courtesan" in all of China, she just might have her way even if it comes with a devastating price. . .

Sweeping in scope and stunning in its evocation of China, Peach Blossom Pavilion is a remarkable novel with an unforgettable heroine at the heart of its powerful story. . .

"Riveting. . .a rare peek into an exotic culture that is thrilling, captivating, and moving." --Shobhan Bantwal, author of The Dowry Bride
"In the sure voice of Precious Orchid, Mingmei Yip recounts thirteen tumultuous years of Chinese history: vicious politics, pristine piety and heartrending scandal, framed in the classical arts. She writes with a painter's fastidious eye and the irresistible energy of grand storytelling. The pages just turn themselves." --Neal Chandler, Director, Creative Writing Program of Cleveland State University.
"Peach Blossom Pavilion, story of the last geisha in China, is told with amazing insight as if the author had lived in the tumultuous China of a century ago. Through her beautiful, lucid prose, Mingmei brings modern Western readers into the mysterious world of the cultivated courtesan." --Hannelore Hahn, Founder and Executive Director, International Women's Writing Guild.
"Peach Blossom Pavilion is a vivid account of the forgotten past." --Chun Yu, author of Little Green: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution ]]> 421 Mingmei Yip 0758220146 Linda 0 to-read 3.66 2008 Peach Blossom Pavilion
author: Mingmei Yip
name: Linda
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empress Orchid (Empress Orchid, #1)]]> 139254
Orchid trains herself in the art of pleasuring a man, bribes her way into the royal bed, and seduces the monarch, drawing the attention of dangerous foes. Little does she know that China will collapse around her, and that she will be its last Empress.]]> 368 Anchee Min 0618562036 Linda 0 to-read 3.90 2003 Empress Orchid (Empress Orchid, #1)
author: Anchee Min
name: Linda
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sweet Mandarin 3431257 352 Helen Tse 0091913624 Linda 0 to-read 3.65 2007 Sweet Mandarin
author: Helen Tse
name: Linda
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> February Flowers 1814555
Seventeen-year-old Ming and twenty-four-year-old Yan have very little in common other than studying at the same college. Ming, idealistic and preoccupied, lives in her own world of books, music, and imagination. Yan, by contrast, is sexy but cynical, beautiful but wild, with no sense of home. When the two meet and become friends, Ming's world is forever changed. But their differences in upbringing and ideology ultimately drive them apart, leaving each to face her dark secret alone.

Insightful, sophisticated, and rich with complex characters, February Flowers captures a society torn between tradition and modernity, dogma and freedom. It is a meditation on friendship, family, love, loss, and redemption and how a background shapes a life.]]> 242 Fan Wu 1416549439 Linda 0 to-read 3.45 2007 February Flowers
author: Fan Wu
name: Linda
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Cup of Light 361591
As Lia evaluates each fragile pot, she must answer questions that will reverberate through dozens of lives: Where did these works of art come from? Are they truly authentic? Or are they impossibly beautiful forgeries--part of the perilous underworld of Chinese art? As Lia examines her treasure, a breathtaking mystery unravels around her. And with political intrigue intruding on her world of provenance and beauty, Lia is drawn into another, more personal drama--a love affair that could alter the course of her life.]]> 306 Nicole Mones 0385319452 Linda 0 to-read 3.74 2002 A Cup of Light
author: Nicole Mones
name: Linda
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Woman on the Other Shore 1401908 writer.

Sayoko, a thirty-five-year-old homemaker with a three-year-old child, begins working for Aoi, a free-spirited, single career woman her own age who runs a travel agency-housekeeping business. Timid and unable to connect with other mothers in her neighborhood, Sayoko finds herself drawn to Aoi's
independent lifestyle and easygoing personality. The two hit it off from the start, beginning a friendship that is for Sayoko also a reaffirmation of what living is about.

Aoi, meanwhile, has not always been the self-confident person she appears to be. Severe classroom bullying in junior high had forced her to change schools, uprooting her and her family to the countryside; and at her new school, she was so afraid of again becoming the object of her classmates'
cruelties that she spent most of her time steering clear of those around her.

The present-day friendship between Sayoko and Aoi on the one hand, and Aoi's painful high school past on the other, form a gripping two-tier narrative that converges in the final chapter. The book touches on a broad range of issues of concern to women today, from marriage and childrearing to being
single and working for oneself. It is a universal story about both the fear and the joy of opening up to others.]]> 271 Mitsuyo Kakuta 4770030436 Linda 0 to-read 3.70 2004 Woman on the Other Shore
author: Mitsuyo Kakuta
name: Linda
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar]]> 95141 ]]> 229 Robert Alexander 0142003816 Linda 0 to-read 3.91 2003 The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
author: Robert Alexander
name: Linda
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Other Story 18404143
In the process of digging into his past, something else happened. Nicolas began writing a novel that was met with phenomenal success, skyrocketing him to literary fame whether he was ready for it or not - and convincing him that he had put his family's history firmly behind him. But now, years later, Nicolas must reexamine everything he thought he knew, as he learns that, however deeply buried, the secrets of the past always find a way out.

Page-turning, layered and beautifully written, Tatiana de Rosnay's The Other Story is a reflection on identity, the process of being a writer and the repercussions of generations-old decisions as they echo into the present and shape the future.]]> 307 Tatiana de Rosnay 1250045134 Linda 2 2.67 2013 The Other Story
author: Tatiana de Rosnay
name: Linda
average rating: 2.67
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Sarah's Key 556602
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's sixtieth anniversary, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist, is asked by her Paris-based American magazine to write an article about this black day in France's past. Julia has lived in Paris for nearly twenty-five years, married a Frenchman, and she is shocked both by her ignorance about the event and the silence that still surrounds it. In the course of her investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connects her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from the terrible days spent shut in at the Vel' d'Hiv' to the camps and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Writing about the fate of her country with a pitiless clarity, Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and denial surrounding this painful episode in French history.
(front flap)]]> 294 Tatiana de Rosnay 0312370830 Linda 5 4.18 2006 Sarah's Key
author: Tatiana de Rosnay
name: Linda
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Can You Forgive Her? (Palliser #1)]]> 374371 847 Anthony Trollope 0140430865 Linda 0 to-read 3.97 1865 Can You Forgive Her? (Palliser #1)
author: Anthony Trollope
name: Linda
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1865
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Enchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King’s Court]]> 23014680 336 Marci Jefferson 1250057094 Linda 0 to-read 3.79 2015 Enchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King’s Court
author: Marci Jefferson
name: Linda
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Pearl of China 6951073
In the small southern town of Chin-kiang, in the last days of the nineteenth century, two young girls bump heads and become thick as thieves. Willow is the only child of a destitute family, Pearl the headstrong daughter of zealous Christian missionaries. She will ultimately become the internationally renowned author Pearl S. Buck, but for now she is just a girl embarrassed by her blonde hair and enchanted by her new Chinese friend. The two embark on a friendship that will sustain both of them through one of the most tumultuous periods in Chinese history.

Moving out into the world together, the two enter the intellectual fray of the times, share love interests and survive early marriages gone bad. Their shared upbringing inspires Pearl's novels, which celebrate the life of the Chinese peasant and will eventually earn her both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. But when a civil war erupts between the Nationalists and Communists, Pearl is forced to flee the country just ahead of angry mobs. Willow, despite close ties to Mao’s inner circle, is punished for loyalty to her 'cultural imperialist' friend. And yet, through love and loss, heartbreak and joy, exile and imprisonment, the two women remain intimately entwined.

In this ambitious new novel, Anchee Min brings to life a courageous and passionate woman who is now hailed in China as a modern heroine. Like nothing before it, Pearl of China tells the story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers, from the perspective of the people she loved and of the land she called home.]]> 278 Anchee Min 1596916974 Linda 0 to-read 3.84 2009 Pearl of China
author: Anchee Min
name: Linda
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Kitchen Daughter 9205766
A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda�) insists on selling their parents� house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents� belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.]]> 272 Jael McHenry 1439191697 Linda 0 to-read 3.69 2011 The Kitchen Daughter
author: Jael McHenry
name: Linda
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Inheritance 423797 314 Lan Samantha Chang 0393327116 Linda 0 to-read 3.68 2004 Inheritance
author: Lan Samantha Chang
name: Linda
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Time in Between 10836813 The Time In Between is a word-of-mouth phenomenon that catapulted María Dueñas, a debut author, to the top of Spain's bestseller lists.

This sweeping novel, which combines the storytelling power of The Shadow of the Wind with the irresistible romance of Casablanca, moves at an unstoppable pace. Suddenly left abandoned and penniless in Morocco by her lover, Sira Quiroga forges a new identity. Against all odds she becomes the most sought-after couture designer for the socialite wives of German Nazi officers. But she is soon embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy as she passes information to the British Secret Service through a code stitched into the hems of her dresses.]]> 615 María Dueñas 1451616880 Linda 5 4.12 2009 The Time in Between
author: María Dueñas
name: Linda
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/10
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Elizabeth I 8534413
One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma-the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel- bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?

In this novel, her flame-haired, lookalike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth's rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice had been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one trying to protect her country, and throne, the other trying to regain power and position for her family and each vying to convince the reader of her own private vision of the truth about Elizabeth's character. Their gripping drama is acted out at the height of the flowering of the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dudley, Raleigh, Drake-all of them swirl through these pages as they swirled through the court and on the high seas.

This is a magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner that is George's finest and most compelling novel and one that is sure to please readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.]]> 671 Margaret George 0670022535 Linda 5 3.95 2011 Elizabeth I
author: Margaret George
name: Linda
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Moon in the Palace (Empress of Bright Moon, #1)]]> 25577005 There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. . . .

A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the Emperor’s attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the Emperor a gift he can never forget.

Mei’s intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the Emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.

The first volume of the Empress of Bright Moon duology paints a vibrant portrait of ancient China—where love, ambition, and loyalty can spell life or death—and the woman who came to rule it all.
]]> 395 Weina Dai Randel 1492613568 Linda 0 to-read 3.82 2016 The Moon in the Palace (Empress of Bright Moon, #1)
author: Weina Dai Randel
name: Linda
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Summer Queen (Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1)]]> 16125281
This stunning novel introduces an Eleanor that all other writers have missed. Based on the most up-to-date research, it is the first novel to show Eleanor beginning her married life at 13.

Overflowing with scandal, passion, triumph and tragedy, Eleanor's legendary story begins when her beloved father dies in the summer of 1137, and she is made to marry the young prince Louis of France. A week after the marriage she becomes a queen and her life will change beyond recognition . . .]]> 478 Elizabeth Chadwick 1847445454 Linda 0 to-read 4.07 2013 The Summer Queen (Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1)
author: Elizabeth Chadwick
name: Linda
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Healer of Carthage (The Carthage Chronicles, #1)]]> 18143978
A twenty-first-century doctor. A third-century plague. A love out of time.

First-year resident Dr. Lisbeth Hastings is too busy to take her father’s bizarre summons seriously. But when a tragic mistake puts her career in jeopardy, answering her father’s call seems her only hope of redeeming the devastating failure that her life has become.

While exploring the haunting cave at her father’s archaeological dig, Lisbeth falls through a hidden hole, awakening to find herself the object of a slave auction and the ruins of Roman Carthage inexplicably restored to a thriving metropolis. Is it possible that she’s traveled back in time, and, if so, how can she find her way back home?

Cyprian Thascius believes God called him to rescue the mysterious woman from the slave trader’s cell. What he doesn’t understand is why saving the church of his newfound faith requires him to love a woman whose peculiar ways could get him killed. But who is he to question God?

As their different worlds collide, it sparks an intense attraction that unites Lisbeth and Cyprian in a battle against a deadly epidemic. Even as they confront persecution, uncover buried secrets, and ignite the beginnings of a medical revolution, Roman wrath threatens to separate them forever. Can they find their way to each other through all these obstacles? Or are the eighteen hundred years between them too far of a leap?]]> 416 Lynne Gentry 1476746338 Linda 0 to-read 4.01 2014 Healer of Carthage (The Carthage Chronicles, #1)
author: Lynne Gentry
name: Linda
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mist of Midnight (Daughters of Hampshire, #1)]]> 22609434
That pretender died within months of her appearance and was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over.
Against her best intentions, Rebecca falls in love with Whitfield, forcing her to question his motives—does he want her or Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, she may suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca.�

A captivating romance set against a backdrop of intrigue and danger, Mist of Midnight will leave you breathless.

~~~~
A discussion of potentially sensitive content may be found on the author’s webpage for this book for those who would like to preview it before reading.]]> 374 Sandra Byrd 1476717869 Linda 0 to-read 3.82 2015 Mist of Midnight (Daughters of Hampshire, #1)
author: Sandra Byrd
name: Linda
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Accidental Empress (Sisi, #1)]]> 22609307 The Traitor’s Wife, with the little-known and tumultuous love story of “Sisi� the Austro-Hungarian Empress and captivating wife of Emperor Franz Joseph.

The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.

Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,� Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom. Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead.

Thrust onto the throne of Europe’s most treacherous imperial court, Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world.

With Pataki’s rich period detail and cast of complex, bewitching characters, The Accidental Empress offers a captivating glimpse into one of history’s most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Hapsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved “Fairy Queen.”]]> 495 Allison Pataki 1476790221 Linda 4 3.86 2015 The Accidental Empress (Sisi, #1)
author: Allison Pataki
name: Linda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret Language of Stones (Daughters of La Lune #2)]]> 27274426 The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family.]]> 320 M.J. Rose 1476778116 Linda 0 to-read 3.79 2016 The Secret Language of Stones (Daughters of La Lune #2)
author: M.J. Rose
name: Linda
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Secret Life of Bees 37435 The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.]]> 302 Sue Monk Kidd 0142001740 Linda 4 4.10 2001 The Secret Life of Bees
author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: Linda
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> The Painter From Shanghai 1798248 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
Pan Yuliang was a girl with no dreams. Her parents were taken from her at a young age, then her uncle sold her into prostitution; it was enough for many years just to cope and survive. One day, fate places a kind gentleman
in her path, and she begins to discover the city outside the brothel
and the world beyond China's borders. As a larger canvas of life emerges, Pan realizes that she has something of value to say -- and a talent through which she can express herself. From Shanghai to Paris, Pan is challenged by the harsh realities in politics, art, and love, and must rely on her own strength to develop her talent. In so doing, she takes a relatively ordinary life and makes it extraordinary.


A work of fiction -- but based on the life and work of a real artist -- The Painter from Shanghai transports readers to early-20th-century China, a culture marked by oppression. Epstein has proven herself a shining talent in this first novel, tackling such weighty questions as: How does a talented artist blossom, even under repressive conditions? What is art, and what is love? What makes a life well lived? The answers form a mesmerizing portrait of one young woman's journey to find herself and to nourish her creative talents despite appreciable odds.
(Summer 2008 Selection)]]> 416 Jennifer Cody Epstein 0393065286 Linda 0 to-read 3.77 2008 The Painter From Shanghai
author: Jennifer Cody Epstein
name: Linda
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Spanish Bride: A Novel of Catherine of Aragon]]> 319050 300 Laurien Gardner 0515140279 Linda 3 3.57 2005 The Spanish Bride: A Novel of Catherine of Aragon
author: Laurien Gardner
name: Linda
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England]]> 12109227
But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. Queen Elizabeth was a member of the House of York. Henry himself was from the House of Lancaster, so between them they united the warring parties that had fought the bloody century-long War of the Roses. Now their older son, Arthur, was about to marry a Spanish princess. On a cold November day sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon arrived in London for a wedding that would mark a triumphal moment in Henry's reign.

In this remarkable book, Thomas Penn re-creates the story of the tragic, magnetic Henry VII--a controlling, paranoid, avaricious monarch who was entering the most perilous years of his long reign.

Rich with drama and insight, Winter King is an astonishing story of pageantry, treachery, intrigue and incident--and the fraught, dangerous birth of Tudor England.]]> 448 Thomas Penn 1439191565 Linda 3 3.83 2011 Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England
author: Thomas Penn
name: Linda
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Katharine of Aragon: The Wives of Henry VIII (Tudor Saga, #2-4)]]> 159849
Legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy begins her tales of Henry VIII’s queens with the story of his first wife, the Spanish princess Katharine of Aragon.

As a teenager, Katharine leaves her beloved Spain, land of olive groves and soaring cathedrals, for the drab, rainy island of England. There she is married to the king’s eldest son, Arthur, a sickly boy who dies six months after the wedding. Katharine is left a widow who was never truly a wife, lonely in a strange land, with a very bleak future. Her only hope of escape is to marry the king’s second son, Prince Henry, now heir to the throne. Tall, athletic, handsome, a lover of poetry and music, Henry is all that Katharine could want in a husband. But their first son dies and, after many more pregnancies, only one child survives, a daughter. Disappointed by his lack of an heir, Henry’s eye wanders, and he becomes enamored of another woman—a country nobleman’s daughter named Anne Boleyn. When Henry begins searching for ways to put aside his loyal first wife, Katharine must fight to remain Queen of England and to keep the husband she once loved so dearly.]]> 672 Jean Plaidy 0609810251 Linda 0 4.05 1962 Katharine of Aragon: The Wives of Henry VIII (Tudor Saga, #2-4)
author: Jean Plaidy
name: Linda
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Secrets of a Charmed Life 22544024 The author of A Bridge Across the Ocean and The Last Year of the War journeys from the present day to World War II England, as two sisters are separated by the chaos of wartime...

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed...]]> 386 Susan Meissner Linda 0 to-read 4.21 2015 Secrets of a Charmed Life
author: Susan Meissner
name: Linda
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/12/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When Empires Fall (Vasser Legacy, #1)]]> 15784462
When the truth is exposed through the letters of a dead woman, all hell breaks loose. The family tries to cope with the allegation that what they thought was a decades old suicide was actually the cold-blooded murder of one of their own.

Things only get worse when they realize the killer is still among them.

Enter the newest generation of Vasser heirs: three siblings now running the Vasser Hotel in New York City, each with their own agenda. Principled and serious Grant; charming playboy Linc; and ruthlessly secretive Madison. They soon discover that swimming in the undercurrents of their own family's dark past could prove to be disastrous.

Family may be the ties that bind, but When Empires Fall, they are the ties that kill.

AVAILABLE NOW! The explosive sequel to When Empires Fall, Rise of the Notorious.]]> 384 Katie Jennings 0615673538 Linda 0 to-read 3.83 2012 When Empires Fall (Vasser Legacy, #1)
author: Katie Jennings
name: Linda
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/12/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 456908 A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and true one. It cuts right to the heart of life ... If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you will deny yourself a rich experience ... It is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolans lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919 ... Their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings that are the lot of a great city's poor. Primarily this is Francie's book. She is a superb feat of characterization, an imaginative, alert, resourceful child. And Francie's growing up and beginnings of wisdom are the substance of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.]]> 489 Betty Smith Linda 0 to-read 4.30 1943 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
author: Betty Smith
name: Linda
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1943
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/12/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Taming of the Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #11)]]> 25106953
Because she cannot refuse...

Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives � King Henry VIII � commands her to marry him.

Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn's trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as regent.

But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and a published author, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry's dangerous gaze turns on her.The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy - the punishment is death by fire and the king's name is on the warrant...

From an author who has described all of Henry's queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power and education at the court of a medieval killer.]]> 450 Philippa Gregory 1476758794 Linda 0 to-read 3.86 2015 The Taming of the Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #11)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Linda
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/08/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Wives of Bath 810163 Ěý
Bath, England � the swanky town once home to ancient Roman spas and Jane Austen heroines � is the setting for Wendy Holden’s brilliant novel. Birthing class brings together two sets of expectant parents who couldn’t be more different. Huge and his spoiled wife Amanda plan to throw money at the problem of parenthood, making use of private hospitals and nurses, while environmentally friendly Jake and Alice have arranged a home delivery complete with birthing pool and whale music.
Ěý
But even after their babies are born, these seemingly disparate couples can’t escape each other. When Amanda decides she’s not cut out for motherhood and Huge must look elsewhere for a sympathetic ear, the couples are inextricably drawn together once again, resulting in hilarious social comedy, as only Wendy Holden can write it.Ěý

"Wendy Holden is [a] superstar." -- Evening Standard (London)]]> 292 Wendy Holden 0452285895 Linda 3 3.43 2005 The Wives of Bath
author: Wendy Holden
name: Linda
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The King's Curse (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #7)]]> 15849910
Regarded as yet another threat to the volatile King Henry VII’s claim to the throne, Margaret Pole, cousin to Elizabeth of York (known as the White Princess) and daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, is married off to a steady and kind Lancaster supporter—Sir Richard Pole. For his loyalty, Sir Richard is entrusted with the governorship of Wales, but Margaret’s contented daily life is changed forever with the arrival of Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. Margaret soon becomes a trusted advisor and friend to the honeymooning couple, hiding her own royal connections in service to the Tudors.

After the sudden death of Prince Arthur, Katherine leaves for London a widow, and fulfills her deathbed promise to her husband by marrying his brother, Henry VIII. Margaret’s world is turned upside down by the surprising summons to court, where she becomes the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. But this charmed life of the wealthiest and “holiest� woman in England lasts only until the rise of Anne Boleyn, and the dramatic deterioration of the Tudor court. Margaret has to choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical king, or to her beloved queen; to the religion she loves or the theology which serves the new masters. Caught between the old world and the new, Margaret Pole has to find her own way as she carries the knowledge of an old curse on all the Tudors.]]> 592 Philippa Gregory 0857207563 Linda 4 4.02 2014 The King's Curse (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #7)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Linda
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #1)]]> 9542439 502 Philippa Gregory 184737459X Linda 4 4.04 2011 The Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #1)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Linda
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/07/27
shelves:
review:

]]> War Brides 2535743 467 Helen Bryan 0141027126 Linda 0 to-read 3.54 2007 War Brides
author: Helen Bryan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Love Goddess' Cooking School]]> 7960890 326 Melissa Senate 1439107238 Linda 0 to-read 3.74 2010 The Love Goddess' Cooking School
author: Melissa Senate
name: Linda
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How to Start a Fire 22049076 From a bestselling writer, a story of unexpected friendship-three women thrown together in college who grow to adulthood united and divided by secrets, lies, and a single night that shaped all of them

When UC Santa Cruz roommates Anna and Kate find passed-out Georgiana Leoni on a lawn one night, they wheel her to their dorm in a shopping cart. Twenty years later, they gather around a campfire on the lawn of a New England mansion. What happens in between-the web of wild adventures, unspoken jealousies, and sudden tragedies that alter the course of their lives-is charted with sharp wit and aching sadness in this meticulously constructed novel.

Anna, the de facto leader, is fearless and restless-moving fast to stay one step ahead of her demons. Quirky, contemplative Kate is a natural sidekick but a terrible wingman ("If you go home with him, might I suggest breathing through your mouth"). And then there's George: the most desired woman in any room, and the one most likely to leave with the worst man.

Shot through with the crackling dialogue, irresistible characters, and propulsive narrative drive that make Lutz's books so beloved, How to Start a Fire pulls us deep into Anna, Kate, and George's complicated bond and pays homage to the abiding, irrational love we share with the family we choose.]]> 337 Lisa Lutz 0544411633 Linda 0 to-read 3.54 2015 How to Start a Fire
author: Lisa Lutz
name: Linda
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Moon Lady 12558 A magical night when secret wishes can come true

On a rainy afternoon, three sisters wish for the rain to stoop, wish they could play in the puddles, wish for something, anything, to do. So Ying-Ying, their grandmother, tells them a tale from long ago. On the night of the Moon Festival, when Ying-ying was a little girl, she encountered the Moon Lady, who grants the secret wishes of those who ask, and learned from her that the best wishes are those you can make come true yourself. This haunting tale, adapted from Amy Tan's best-seller The Joy Luck Club and enhanced by Gretchen Schields's rich, meticulously detailed art, is a book for all to treasure.]]> 32 Amy Tan 0689806167 Linda 0 to-read 3.95 1992 The Moon Lady
author: Amy Tan
name: Linda
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Hundred Secret Senses 690866 The Hundred Secret Senses is an exultant novel about China and America, love and loyalty, the identities we invent and the true selves we discover along the way. Olivia Laguni is half-Chinese, but typically American in her uneasiness with her patchwork family. And no one in Olivia's family is more embarrassing to her than her half-sister, Kwan Li. For Kwan speaks mangled English, is cheerfully deaf to Olivia's sarcasm, and sees the dead with her "yin eyes."

Even as Olivia details the particulars of her decades-long grudge against her sister (who, among other things, is a source of infuriatingly good advice), Kwan Li is telling her own story, one that sweeps us into the splendor, squalor, and violence of Manchu China. And out of the friction between her narrators, Amy Tan creates a work that illuminates both the present and the past sweetly, sadly, hilariously, with searing and vivid prose.]]> 406 Amy Tan 080411109X Linda 4 4.01 1995 The Hundred Secret Senses
author: Amy Tan
name: Linda
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Street of a Thousand Blossoms]]> 294084
"Just remember," Yoshio said quietly to his grandsons. "Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you're fighting for."
Ěý
It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers are growing up with their loving grandparents, who inspire them to dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows unusual skill at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of creating hard-carved masks for actors in the Noh theater.
Across town, a renowned sumo master, Sho Tanaka, lives with his wife and their two young daughters: the delicate, daydreaming Aki and her independent sister, Haru. Life seems full of promise as Kenji begins an informal apprenticeship with the most famous mask-maker in Japan and Hiroshi receives a coveted invitation to train with Tanaka. But then Pearl Harbor changes everything. As the ripples of war spread to both families' quiet neighborhoods, all of the generations must put their dreams on hold---and then find their way in a new Japan.
In an exquisitely moving story that spans almost thirty years, Gail Tsukiyama draws us irresistibly into the world of the brothers and the women who love them. It is a world of tradition and change, of heartbreaking loss and surprising hope, and of the impact of events beyond their control on ordinary, decent men and women. Above all, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a masterpiece about love and family from a glorious storyteller at the height of her powers.
]]> 422 Gail Tsukiyama 0312274823 Linda 4 3.97 2007 The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
author: Gail Tsukiyama
name: Linda
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Women of the Silk (Women of the Silk #1)]]> 51114
In "Women of the Silk" Gail Tsukiyama takes her readers back to rural China in 1926, where a group of women forge a sisterhood amidst the reeling machines that reverberate and clamor in a vast silk factory from dawn to dusk. Leading the first strike the village has ever seen, the young women use the strength of their ambition, dreams, and friendship to achieve the freedom they could never have hoped for on their own. Tsukiyama's graceful prose weaves the details of "the silk work" and Chinese village life into a story of courage and strength.]]> 278 Gail Tsukiyama 0312099436 Linda 0 to-read 3.96 1991 Women of the Silk (Women of the Silk #1)
author: Gail Tsukiyama
name: Linda
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Hundred Flowers 13513190 Ěý
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.� Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation.�

A year later, still missing his father desperately, Tao climbs to the top of the hundred-year-old kapok tree in front of their home, wanting to see the mountain peaks in the distance. But Tao slips and tumbles thirty feet to the courtyard below, badly breaking his leg.
Ěý
As Kai Ying struggles to hold her small family together in the face of this shattering reminder of her husband’s absence, other members of the household must face their own guilty secrets and strive to find peace in a world where the old sense of order is falling. Once again, Tsukiyama brings us a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.]]> 288 Gail Tsukiyama 0312274815 Linda 0 to-read 3.75 2012 A Hundred Flowers
author: Gail Tsukiyama
name: Linda
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>