All the Flowers in Shanghai

By Duncan Jepson
(William Morrow Paperbacks, Paperback, 9780062081605, 320pp.)

Publication Date: December 2011

Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Paperback

Categories: General

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the January 2012 Indie Next List

“Devotion to the first child is a thousand-year-old tradition in China. As the second child, Xiao Feng received less love and attention than her older sister. When her sister dies just prior to being married to a man who repulsed her, Feng becomes the substitute, with duty taking precedence over personal desires. Her duty now means bearing a male heir and being forced to endure painful nightly visits from her unloved husband. Feng, once an innocent, tender, dreaming young girl, is turned into a hard and cruel young woman who makes heart-rending choices that will haunt and scar her forever. A story both poignant and powerful.”

-- Karen Briggs, Great Northern Books and Hobbies, Oscoda, MI

Description

“Duncan Jepson magically inhabits the life of a young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai….I thoroughly enjoyed this book.”
—Janice Y. K. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher

“Breathtaking….A great work that will move its readers.”
—Hong Ying, international bestselling author of Daughter of the River

Readers previously enchanted by Memoirs of a Geisha, Empress, and the novels of Lisa See will be captivated by Duncan Jepson’s marvelous debut, All the Flowers in Shanghai. Evocative, sweeping, yet intimate historical fiction, Jepson’s novel transports us to a China on the brink of revolution, and witnesses this colorful, tumultuous world through the eyes of a woman forced into a life not of her choosing and driven to seek a bitter revenge. This epic journey into the heart of Asia is sure to mesmerize fans of Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Conversation Starters from ReadingGroupChoices.com

What is Feng’s relationship like with her parents compared to her grandfather? What important lessons does her grandfather teach her?

Praise For All the Flowers in Shanghai…

“A beautifully poetic story. Duncan Jepson creates a poignant set of characters and follows the journey of one woman who attempts to stop the cycle of history in the only way she knows how, but with dire consequences.”
-Geling Yan, author of The Banquet Bug

“Strong on detail and emotional intensity.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“The life of this novel’s main character is splintered into thousands of pieces, each of them reflecting the changes of Chinese history, yet all of them coming out in Duncan Jepson’s poetic, passionate writing.”
-Qiu Xiaolong, author of the Inspector Chen mysteries

“An accomplished first novel. Duncan Jepson magically inhabits the life of a young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following Feng’s unlikely evolution from neglected second daughter to first wife of the rich and powerful Sang family and her unexpected epilogue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.”
-Janice Y. K. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher

“This story is breathtaking. Like a poem or a painting, it reveals the old Shanghai. It’s a great work that will move its readers.”
-Hong Ying, international bestselling author of Daughter of the River

“[A] riveting storyline.”
-Publishers Weekly

This book is on these lists:

Mirm's Wish List by mirm
2011 summer reading by lilhavana
Jan2012 by jessi_4
Hollypennington's Wish List by hollypennington
Mtanez's Wish List by mtanez
Souldiaspora's Wish List by Souldiaspora
Ereed's Wish List by ereed
DrCMS's Wish List by DrCMS
Debsims's Wish List by debsims
Fiction by BeccaKeaty

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