Peach Blossom Spring is a beautiful story of resilience, identity, and migration.
Synopsis
It follows three generations of a Chinese family from 1938 to the 2000s. The story begins with Meilin, a young woman, forced to flee her home with her son Renshu when Japanese armies invade their village. Throughout many years of moving from place to place, fiercely independent Meilin uses her skills to support her small family.
The narrative transitions to Renshu’s perspective as he grows up and finds his place in the world, all the while trying to forget his past. Renshu shields his daughter from his traumatic childhood, even though she desperately wants to learn her heritage.
Review of Peach Blossom Spring
About sixty percent of this story takes place in China, another location, and the rest in America. The sections that focused on their lives in China were written in stunning and heart-wrenching detail. The ones set in America were still exquisitely told but were slightly less captivating.
This book explores belonging, identity, survival, and generational trauma.
The author was inspired to write this story based on her personal quest of learning her heritage.
This gorgeously written historical fiction account captivated me from its very first page. Before reading this, I knew little about the Second Sino-Japanese War, or the War of Aggression, as it’s called in this work. The story focuses on how the war affected civilians, mainly Meilin and Renshu. And later, how Nationalists and Communists fought for control over China and Taiwan.
Meilin, Renshu, and Lily are characters that will stick with me for some time to come.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected Publication: 15 March 2022
Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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