VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT

By the author of The Joy Luck Club, this novel reaffirms Amy Tan's reputation as a master storyteller in this, her New York Times bestseller. It is an evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity, from the lavish parlours of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village. The year is 1912 and Violet Minturn is the daughter of an American madam in the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother and forced to become a 'virgin courtesan'. Spanning more than 40 years and two continents, the novel maps the lives of three generations of women, and the mystery of an evocative painting known as 'The Valley of Amazement'. Moving from the collapse of China's last empirical dynasty to the growth of anti-foreign sentiment and the inner workings of courtesan houses, the novel interweaves the story of violet on a quest for both love and identity and her mother, Lucia, an American whose search for penance leads them to an unexpected reunion. A deeply moving narrative of family secrets, legacies and the relationship between mothers and daughters. 589pp, paperback, remainder mark.