Peony in Love by Lisa See

Peony in Love by Lisa See

I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony's mother is against her daughter's attending the production: Unmarried girls should not be seen in public. But Peony's father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave-and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony's unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow-as Lisa See's haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place-even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one's soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See's new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

From the Hardcover edition.

Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Hidden Fan, Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones are among Lisa See's New York Times bestselling novels. She penned the libretto for the Los Angeles Opera's production of On Gold Mountain and acted as curator for the Autry Museum of Western Heritage's On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience exhibit, which was also shown at the Smithsonian Institute. She was voted National Woman of the Year in 2001 by the Association of Asian American Women. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781400064663
ISBN 10	140006466X
Title	Peony in Love
Author	Lisa See
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2007-06-26
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.