Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday - Valley of Amazement; Amy Tan


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pick is from an author I've enjoyed in the past. Sadly she hasn't had a new book in a long time, so I'm especially excited about this one:

November 2013 - Ecco

Moving between the dazzling world of courtesans in turn of the century Shanghai, a remote Chinese mountain village, and the rough-hewn streets of nineteenth-century San Francisco, Amy Tan's sweeping new novel maps the lives of three generations of women connected by blood and history - and the mystery of an evocative painting known as "The Valley of Amazement." Violet is one of the most celebrated courtesans in Shanghai, a beautiful and intelligent woman who has honed her ability to become any man's fantasy since her start as a "Virgin Courtesan" at the age of twelve. Half-Chinese and half-American, she moves effortlessly between the East and the West. But her talents belie her private struggle to understand who she really is and her search for a home in the world. Abandoned by her mother, Lucia, and uncertain of her father's identity, Violet's quest to truly love and be loved will set her on a path fraught with danger and complexity - and the loss of her own daughter. Lucia, a willful and wild American woman who was once herself the proprietress of Shanghai's most exclusive courtesan house, nurses her own secret wounds, which she first sustained when, as a teenager, she fell in love with a Chinese painter and followed him from San Francisco to Shanghai. Her search for penance and redemption will bring her to a startling reunion with Flora, Violet's daughter, and will shatter all that Violet believed she knew about her mother. Spanning fifty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement is a deeply moving narrative of family secrets, the legacy of trauma, and the profound connections between mothers and daughters, that returns listeners to the compelling territory Amy Tan so expertly mapped in The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, she conjures a story of the inheritance of love, its mysteries and senses, its illusions and truths.

17 comments:

  1. Funny! I just posted the same book for my WoW pick. It's been a few years since Tan has published anything, so I'm looking forward to this one.

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    1. Yes, I saw this one earlier on your blog, Tina....and I remembered how much I'd loved The Joy Luck Club.

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  2. I am looking forward to this one. I love Amy Tan's books!

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  3. Didn't know she had a new book in the works. Thanks for the heads up!

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  4. This sounds like the kind of stuff that Amy Tan does best. Can't wait.

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  5. I saw this one earlier on another blog, and thought: why haven't I read anything by this author lately? I loved The Joy Luck Club. So thanks....this one is going on my list.

    Here's MY WOW POST

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  6. Amy Tan is a favorite of mine too. I didn't know she had a new book being released. I'm experiencing new book overload too but this is a must-read for me.

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  7. Diane, I didn't realize Amy Tan had a new book coming out. Thank you for this presentation. I will be waiting for it as well!

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  8. Oh my, I'm beyond excited for this one. I love her books. She is such a talented writer. Thanks for posting this one Diane as I didn't realize she had a new one coming out.

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  9. Great choice Diane, I also did not know she had written a new book so thank you :)

    Denise
    An English Girl Rambles

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  10. Yes thanks for the heads up. I hadn't heard about this one either. She is one of my favorites also. Oh boy the to read list keeps getting longer and longer!!!

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  11. I was at a Library Journal event today where Amy Tan spoke about this book and I came away with a signed galley!!

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  12. Good to see Amy Tan out with a new book after so many years....

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  13. I cannot believe that I've never read a book by Tan. I have several of hers on the shelf but I've never made the time for them. Perhaps because when I was in high school I got my library card revoked for failing to return The Joy Luck Club in a timely manner. Ha! I never did finish that one either...

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  14. I've enjoyed Amy Tan's other books, and this one does sound good!

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  15. I love her writing, so yes, I want to read this one!

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