![]() ![]() As their stories diverge, the author devotes long sections to each protagonist, slowing the frenetic pace to focus more on character development, which yields a stronger second half. Fu spends the first half of the novel ping-ponging between mother and son, shuttling them through 20 years of tragic struggle. Meanwhile, Meilin reconnects with her brother-in-law, who tries to woo her into marriage. In 1960, Renshu leaves Taiwan and his mother behind for graduate school at Northwestern University, entering this new chapter as “Henry.” He builds a life in America, starting both a career and family. After the war, as Communism takes hold of China in the late 1940s, the mother and son escape to Taiwan, where Meilin works as a maid and Renshu focuses on his education. Initially traveling with relatives to avoid Japanese bombings, Meilin and Renshu get separated from the group. ![]() ![]() Spanning eight decades, Fu’s poignant debut opens in 1938, as recently widowed Meilin and her three-year-old son, Renshu, flee their home in the Hunan Province of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. ![]()
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