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The Valley of Amazement cover art

The Valley of Amazement

Written by: Amy Tan
Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Joyce Bean, Amy Tan
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author of The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan brings us her latest novel: a sweeping, evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity - from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village

Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the privileged daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery and forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Half-Chinese and half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West - until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion, though she still struggles to understand who she is.

Back in 1897 San Francisco, Violet's mother, Lucia, chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, when her infatuation with a Chinese painter compels her to leave her home for Shanghai. Shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions, she is unable to change him, despite her unending American ingenuity.

Fueled by betrayals, both women refuse to submit to fate and societal expectations, persisting in their quests to recover what was taken from them: respect; a secure future; and, most poignantly, love from their parents, lovers, and children. To reclaim their lives, they take separate journeys - to a backwater hamlet in China, the wealthy environs of the Hudson River Valley, and, ultimately, the unknown areas of their hearts, where they discover what remains after their many failings to love and be loved. Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement transports listeners from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty to the beginning of the Republic and recaptures the lost world of old Shanghai through the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreigners living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II. A deeply evocative narrative of the profound connections between mothers and daughters, imbued with Tan's characteristic insight and humor, The Valley of Amazement conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and obstinacy of love.

©2013 Amy Tan (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

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Great book, and loved the narration

I *almost* didn’t buy this book because another person who reviewed it said it was depressing and violent. Not so. It is a story of inter generational women living in China and America in the early 1900s, and it’s about courtesans. Does it contain violence against women? Yes. Is that the whole book? No. It’s a beautifully told story that revolves around mother-daughter relationships. I loved it. Very well narrated, as well.

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not amy tan's usual

I usually like Amy Tan, but could not get through this book. It is about a courtesan, but goes into a lot of graphic sexual detail, which I really did not appreciate. This just wasn't my kind of book, so I could not finish it as I felt 'sick' just listening to this.

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  • 2021-05-23

Holy f SO good

I came here from Netflix as I’m not a fiction reader. But the way she’s with her words. Holy f shi. Everyone should read it . Daymn lol

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must read!

I love historical multi generational stories. this one carries you though a three generations of women and their struggles.

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