Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people., With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines., fans will appreciate the book's multigenerational narrative and compelling look at a society in which men held the power but women gave each other strength., 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. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. This is one writer's particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel., Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. Tan's creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines., Fans of Tan's previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book., is a gifted storyteller. The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else., combines vivid historical details and epic sweep across several decades and two continents with intimate portraits of flawed but engaging women whose resourcefulness and courage are sometimes astounding., In her new novel, Tan ditches her magic realist fugues and enters a brutal landscape of Shanghai courtesans, exploring it with new depths of tenderness and pain., Fans who've waited eight years for a new novel by Tan ( The Joy Luck Club ) can look forward to a lengthy, decades-long soak in Violet's sentimental and erotic education., 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.

With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love. 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. 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.

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.

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