Again grounding her novel in family and the workings of fate, Tan (The Kitchen God's Wife) spins the tale of two sisters, two cultures, and several acts of betrayal. Kwan, who came to San Francisco from China when she was 18, remains culturally disjointed, a good-natured, superstitious peasant with a fierce belief that she has "yin eyes," which enable her to see ghosts. Kwan's younger half-sister Olivia (or Libby-ah, as Kwan calls her) is supremely annoyed by Kwan's habit of conversing with spirits and treats her with disdain. Despite herself, however, Libby is fascinated by the stories Kwan tells of her past lives, during one of which, in the late 1800s, she claims to have befriended an American missionary who was in love with an evil general. Kwan relates this story in installments that alternate with Libby's narration, which stresses her impatience with Kwan's clinging presence. But Kwan's devotion never cools: "She turns all my betrayals into love that needs to be betrayed," Libby muses. When circumstances take Kwan, Libby and Libby's estranged husband, Simon, back to Kwan's native village in China on a magazine assignment, the stories Kwan tells?of magic, violence, love and fate?begin to assume poignant?and dangerous?relevance. In Kwan, Tan has created a character with a strong, indelible voice, whose (often hilarious) pidgin English defines her whole personality. Needy, petulant, skeptical Libby is not as interesting; though she must act as Kwan's foil, demonstrating the dichotomy between imagination and reality, she is less credible and compelling, especially when she undergoes a near-spiritual conversion in the novel's denouement. Indeed, some readers may feel that the ending is less than satisfactory, but no one will deny the pleasure of Tan's seductive prose and the skill with which she unfolds the many-layered narrative.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Yippee! Just found out this book is on someone's wishlist, perfect SGG surprise! Have fun with the book :)

Heavenly Suprise Rabck !!
I got a wonderful parcel!

My sister, her husband and my little niece moved away from Budapest last weekend. All day I didn't let myself to think about it, I would have been so lonely, considering Tuesday was my day to bath my little niece. But as I was coming home, I couldn't stop my thoughts, and the loneliness found me. ... Arriving home I found a parcel in my postbox, which came from The Netherlands. I put it aside, I thought it as a ring book, which I am expecting. Some hours later I thought Bookcrossing is very kind to my heart thus I shouldn't let the sender be in anxiety about her/his sent book. Finally I opened the envelope.

I am astonished.
I got a wishlist book!! Oh My God! The Love came out of the parcel. Beautiful red, orange cats smile at me from a postcard. There is a CatBookmark. Another postcard which shows the town from where it came. A SweetChili yogi tea, which has got an exciting scent, tells me its power. A handmade BookString with a rock crystal, it comes to me to give courage in order to overcome the fears in my heart, this time the loneliness. It messages to me, I am not alone.

Thanks Xamantha, your lovely parcel with your thoughts came just in time to cheer me up! It touched me deeply.