Imperial China meets Edwardian England in this epic story of loves lost and gained, set during the aftermath of the Opium Wars.
Best friends Jiali and Wu Fang know that no man is a match for them. In their small harbour town of Fudi, they practise sword fighting, write couplets to one another, and strut around dressed as men. Jiali is a renowned poet and Wu Fang is going to be China's first female surgeon. But when Wu Fang returns from medical training in Japan, she is horrified to hear of Jiali's marriage to a man who cannot even match her couplets, and confused by her intense feelings of jealousy towards her friend's new husband, Yanbu.
Ocean man Charles has arrived in Fudi to start a new life. He eschews the company of his fellow foreigners, preferring to spend time with new colleague Yanbu, his wife, Jiali, and her friend, Wu Fang. Over the course of several months, he grows close to them all, in increasingly confusing ways, but what will happen when he is forced to choose between his country and his friends?
As tensions between the Manchu rulers and the people rise, and foreign battleships gather out to sea, loyalties will be tested in more ways than Jiali, Wu Fang, Yanbu, and Charles can possibly imagine.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'The Good Women of Fudi, by Lui Hong is a torrid romance that shows how love can transcend traditional gender expectations and national borders.' * Driftless Area Review * Praise for Wives of the East Wind:
'A fine combination of delicacy and steeliness ... the yin and yang of marriage, Weyna's barbed relationship with her widowed mother, loyalty misplaced and rediscovered - makes for a warm and understated novel.' * The Guardian * Praise for Wives of the East Wind:
'The simple style of the narrative is perfectly in keeping with the story - a tale of ordinary people who are not ordinary at all. There are moments of humour mixed with great hardship and the characters face their trials with dignity. This is a moving, non-judgemental novel set in China's recent past.' * Historical Novel Society * Praise for Wives of the East Wind:
'Epic novel ... think fictional Wild Swans.' * Woman and Home * Praise for Startling Moon:
'Fascinating and very sympathetically presented.' * The Independent * Praise for Startling Moon:
'Absolutely extraordinary.' * <em>BBC Radio 4</em> Open Book * Praise for Startling Moon:
'Fascinating and very sympathetically presented.' * The Independent * Praise for Startling Moon:
'Absolutely extraordinary.' * BBC Radio 4 <em>Open Book</em> *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 197 mm
Breite: 129 mm
Dicke: 25 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-915590-57-2 (9781915590572)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Liu Hong grew up in the North East of China, near the Chinese-North Korean border. She came to Britain in 1989. Since then she has worked here as a writer, teacher, and as a translator. Her writing career began with four novels published by Headline Review: Startling Moon (2002), The Magpie Bridge (2004), The Touch (2006), and Wives of the East Wind (2007). She is also the author of Nas Folhas do Cha, a children's book co-written with Flavia Lins e Silva, published by Zahar (2012). She took a break from writing to raise children, chickens, and chives; she returns now with The Good Women of Fudi. She lives in Wiltshire.
