Read: August 13, 2012
Summary: The novel tells the story of Li-Xia, or “Beautiful One,” the daughter of a young concubine and an old farmer in rural China. To avoid the fate of becoming a concumbine, Li-Xia outwits her father’s orders to bind her feet and escapes a silk farm with an English sea captain. Li-Xia also fulfills her and her mother’s dreams of becoming a scholar. Li-Xia and the English sea captain give birth to a daughter, Su Sing, or “Little Star,” who continues the family’s journey taking her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.
The Concubine’s Daughter: A Novel
My Thoughts: The storyline and history presented in the novel was very interesting. Both stories, Li-Xia and Su Sing, were great to read and continuous within the same novel. Although set in China in the early part of the 20th century; the novel provided some interesting insight into Chinese traditions during this time period. I did feel that it was two books in one. It would have been better as two separate books in order to elaborate the stories as some parts were a bit rushed and condensed.
