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.
Fuelled 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 humour, The Valley of Amazement conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and obstinacy of love.
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[When I was seven, I knew exactly who I was; a thoroughly American girl in race, manners, and speech, whose mother, Lulu Minturn, was the only white woman who owned a first-class Courtesan house in Shanghai]***
(Brilliance Audio, 5 November 2013, 24 hours 51 minutes, audiobook, #popsugarreadingchallenge 2019, a book written by an author from Asia, Africa or South America, bought from @audibleuk)
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I absolutely loved this audiobook. I've never really red any of Tan's work, just a few short stories and I've clearly been missing out. I was engrossed listening to this book and got completely absorbed by Violet and Luci's worlds. Both of their stories are heart-breaking. The thing that struck me the most is how closely mother and daughter's lives and betrayals echo each other. Violet's story takes up more time on the audiobook and I didn't even realise the narrative had switched to Lucia's for a few chapters. I loved finding out about Lucia's past. Violet's side of the story does not paint Lucia, her mother in a good light. I'm glad I got to find out what happened to her to turn her into the person she is in Violet's story. The Valley of Amazement is brilliant, engrossing historical fiction that tackles subjects as diverse as identity and love with great characters.
