Main description:

Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic of two women’s intertwined fates and their search for identity, that moves from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village.

Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China’s last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of lucrative foreign trade and anti-foreign sentiment, to the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign “Shanghailanders” living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II.

A deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters, The Valley of Amazement returns readers to the compelling territory of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.

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“The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else.”

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“Amy Tan is one of our blackest-belted scriveners, and this is her masterwork.”

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“It’s been a long eight years since Amy Tan’s last novel, but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT proves that good things--breathtaking things--come to those who wait. [...] It’s wonderful to be back in Amy’s magical and amazing world.”

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“Tan is a skilled storyteller. . . A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn.”

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“Tan’s beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot… Tan’s creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines.”

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“Tan’s prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendship between women.”

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“This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author’s ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget. As a plus, this reviewer sensed the harbinger of a sequel by the last page.”

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Fans of Tan’s previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book.