Once Our Lives: Life, Death and Love in the Middle Kingdom (60)

by Qin Sun Stubis

Glamour UK Best New Books of June 2023 Pick
2023 Gold Book Award Winner - Nonfiction Book Awards
2023 Readers' Favorite Book Award
2023 PenCraft Book Award for Literary Excellence  

Once Our Lives is the true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions, historic upheavals, and a man whose fate - cursed by an ancient superstition - dramatically altered their destinies. The book takes the reader on an exotic journey filled with luxurious banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings by pirates, and a desperate flight from death in the desert - seen through the eyes of a man for whom the truth would spell disaster and a lonely, beautiful girl with three identities.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

366 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2023

Reviews

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

TITLE: ONCE OUR LIVES: LIFE, DEATH, AND LOVE IN THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
AUTHOR: Qin Sun Stubis
PUB DATE: 06.01.2023 Pre Order Now

As a daughter of a Chinese Immigrant, my heart longs for these stories that have been lost through the generations, as the quest to become more Americanized and less very Asian, to acclimatize.

Qin Stubis writes a true account of her own experience, and through the lens of the multigenerational women in her family that have lived through the Chinese Communist Revolution and the hardships and challenges. The writing was immersive with incredible detail, and the research is evident. I found that the story propels quickly and reads very much like fiction and I keep checking that this was indeed nonfiction.

I enjoyed the narrative that was engaging, compelling, and moving. I am so proud to read this book and learn more about my heritage as an Asian American, and to see that hopefulness, resilience, hard work, and motivation as themes that resonated with me in this book.

Thank you Qin Sun Stubis for this book! A great accomplishment.

[A. Nero · Rating 5 out of 5]

How shall I begin to praise Once Our Lives? It is a true, unideal family story that speaks to the forces of destiny that inspire mythology. Mrs. Stubis’s stars are her parents, Yan & An Chu, whose richly recounted and very different young lives in Shanghai somehow bring them together when both join Chairman Mao’s ill-fated scheme to build up China’s western frontier. Her lovely characterization of her grandfather Ho De is certain also to awe and delight; and how powerful and sorrowful, too, are the characters of her grandmothers Jin Lai & Ya Zhen! One can imagine the author on the verge of tears both as she calls up her own memories of the deliberate mob rule of the Cultural Revolution and as she relates many beautiful instances of her parents’ charitable spirits.

Not wishing to divulge much, I will not quote the work extensively, but I will say that this earthy story is told with poetry, as when the author describes China’s Western desert or the beginnings of her parents’ mutual love or a simple stucco wall, and with wit, as when she speaks bitingly of the Communists’ agendas and programs or just describes “the scarlet red face of a rooster.” The author’s esteem and affection for English classics, too, is evident in so much of her prose.

[Elliot Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This extraordinary book is both an historical account of China in the mid-20th century and a loving memoir about several generations of the author's family who endured unimaginable hardships there. Author Qin Sun Stubis deftly weaves in crucial historical details without bogging down the easy-to-read flow of the book, not an easy feat. Once Our Lives kept me turning the pages as I silently cheered for the author’s family to not only survive their brutal living conditions but thrive.

This book should be read by anyone who wants a deeper understanding about how repressive regimes can have a devastating impact on their citizens. It will give readers a better appreciation of how fortunate they are to live in a democratic society.

I predict that readers who enjoy Pearl S. Buck’s novels about China, including The Good Earth, will love Once Our Lives.

[Constance Kovar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Our Lives is an extraordinary and awe-inspiring story written with such powerful and vivid imagery that the reader becomes completely immersed in the tales of love, loss, hardship, resilience, and hope. The accounts of her family’s incredible journey evoke a range of emotions, and as the characters and events unfold, there is no denying that Qin’s writing is truly captivating and brilliant. Once Our Lives offers compelling insights into the life of four generations of families and elicits a unique perspective of Chinese history and culture. I received a free advance copy of the book and voluntarily submitted this review without compensation of any kind. I look forward to recommending this book to my family and friends and am eager to read Qin’s future works.

[Ria]

I liked this book. I hate to review memoirs since it is someone's personal history. The whole book was a sweet tribute to the author's parents. Beautifully written the words were able to evoke descriptions of the conditions good and bad faced by the people, the attached photos of them filled in the gap to complete the full situation in the mind's eye.

I appreciated the timeline and character index at the beginning of the book which allowed for an easy section to use as reference. The beginning was a bit rough with the lack of information and some parts might have been embellished to add clarity and additional information but it starts the story off well so we can understand the history. The story begins in a 3rd person point of view and then towards the end switches to the author's point of view.

The book is almost a discussion of the hardships through out all classes during the Mao era of China. It forced me to look up quite a bit of history due to not having dates throughout the book so I could understand what was going on politically at different points. It spoke about how people worked to survive and managed by skimping and scraping by with skills and ingenuity. Yet also having to fear for themselves and never knowing what side they stood on with the law and if they'd be chosen next as a political prisoner or be turned on by neighbors since sides changes so quickly. Heartbreaking how their father was away for so long for being accused of being for and against the cultural revolution.
People will always cling to hope, even through out the toughest and unimaginable situations, as long as people have hope they will be able to continue on. Her mom, even with the tumultuous political environment that put them in an awful position she still was thankful to them for allowing her children an education. Even with the oppressive regime of Mao, somethings were so strongly etched in the culture such as need for a dowry. It was great to see that after the cultural revolution that individuality among people developed again but it also left a generation to come to terms with, unlearn what occurred and heal from the experiences of it.

I would have liked to learn a bit more of the author and her siblings after but it seemed to be about their lives with their parents rather than the girls alone. I'm very glad to read their story and that the author was able to pen her family's story rather than have it passed down only through oral tradition.

Thank you to BooksForwardPR for the gifted eBook.

[Sylvia Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little ploddy but very interesting account of living through the cultural revolution of China, rather reminiscent of Wild Swans which I read many decades ago. Writing style is very Chinese, literal and spare. Doesnt suit everyone but I could read through it. A tragic story on many levels but astonishing at same time, and i do like her father - he really came across as an amazing man

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the author’s family experiences in China.
I liked how she explored both sides of her family and her mother’s story revealed some surprises.
I did get a bit lost with the names but quickly became oriented.
The adversities during the Cultural Revolution are always hard to read and Stubis’ father paid beyond the nightmare.
Reading other people’s history is one thing I enjoy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Guernica Editions for the early copy.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one day as I couldn’t put it down. It is an amazing story of love and resilience. There were so many parts where I had tears in my eyes. It’s so important to know our family’s history and Qin does her family and us honor by sharing it.

[thewanderingjew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Our Lives, Life, Death and Love in the Middle Kingdom, Qin Sun Stubis, author
This true story is told in an easy-to-read style, almost as if the author is speaking directly to the reader. It is hard not to be moved by the roller-coaster life of the Gu family, as life in China moved from the Opium Wars to the Cultural Revolution. This memoir is a testament to the courage and independence of the author’s mother, because she somehow always managed to place her little family on steady, stable ground, in spite of the chaos around her.
The author is the second of four girls born to Yan and An Chu Gu. Although the story spans generations, because it is taken from Qin's memories and the recollections of her mother, it felt more like their story. Qin describes a life of grievous deprivation and hardship, yet her mother somehow found the strength to care for her growing family of four girls, and her extended family of parents, in-laws and siblings. She overcame poverty, superstition, corruption, and shame, even when her husband was unjustly incarcerated and her country was in turmoil.
China’s history was riddled with conflict. The leaders changed with the passage of time. Some of their policies created so much fear that people betrayed each other with false accusations, just to save themselves from being unfairly accused of crimes against the state. Friends and relatives willingly slandered each other to keep danger from their door or to advance in a society with rules that were changing constantly. Property was confiscated and the innocent were imprisoned for indeterminate lengths of time. Qin’s family suffered all of these indignities even though they were loyal to the government.
With little else but what nature offered, Yan and An Chu managed to thrive, if not materially, certainly with their accomplishments and devotion to each other. In Yan Gu’s home, without the creature comforts of her youth, cleanliness, love and knowledge were respected in spite of family discordance, and what sometimes seemed like an irrational loyalty to a government that was often schizophrenic, cruel and barbaric.
Qin’s mother, Yan, was born in 1932, at a time when children were still bought and sold like groceries. When she was seven years old, she was purchased by relatives. Her new family was well-to-do. She had a beautiful home and was simply expected to forget her past. Her new father, Ho De, was very kind to her, buying her special gifts that aroused jealousy in her mother, Jin Lai. Jin Lai was sometimes indifferent or abusive to Yan. Yan often longed for her old family, but she soon realized that they had dismissed her, as if she never existed. When circumstances proved to her that her new family truly loved her, she began to adjust to her new life. Ho De taught her to read and write. Most girls in China were uneducated, and the poor were not educated for very long, regardless of their sex. So, she was luckier than most.
Raised to be obedient, she became a genuinely, dutiful daughter to her new parents, and then to her brother, Chon Gao. When the Civil War between the Nationalists and the Communists threatened the family, to protect their fortune, she was sent with the family housekeeper to the family’s estate, along with the family’s riches. However, when pirates boarded their ship, all of it was stolen. Fortunately, they did reach the estate, and her stay there was idyllic. Soon, however, she was called back home to care for her mother who had been diagnosed with Tuberculosis.
While Yan was away, the political situation in China had deteriorated. False rumors about her father forced him to leave his position. Instead of fighting them, he moved his family away to a new home and became a simple shopkeeper. When the Communists nationalized all businesses, he lost his and was only allowed to work in the store for a small salary. All those who were once well-to-do, were forced to take on menial jobs. All those who once had the menial jobs, took over their lifestyle and now had the power.
Yan began to help her family by teaching illiterate people to read and write. She was persuaded to apply for acting school and was accepted. Although she loved it, she had to return home once again, when her mom’s illness worsened. She nursed her until she succumbed to the disease. Her father was distraught when his wife died, so Yan remained at home, never returning to school. Her father became obsessed with the idea that she would leave him, or perhaps would be in danger so he secretly followed her. When Yan found out, she became overwhelmed with his excessive attentiveness, and lack of trust. She decided to support Mao Zedong’s newly founded People’s Republic of China. She left her home and traveled to Zhang Ye, a kind of no-man’s land, to help to bring China’s undeveloped communities into the future. The living conditions were terrible, but the young people who went there bravely forged ahead in spite of the difficulties and lack of creature comforts. There, she met An Chu. He had also once been a wealthy child, but when the war between China and Japan broke out, his family’s business and fortune were destroyed. They were destitute from that day forward. When he was born, his mother was visited by a beggar. She believed that beggar had possessed An Chu. She believed his life would be one of suffering.
Yan and An Chu discovered they were very compatible, and they married and had a child. When political winds blew and changed direction, they were sent back home to Shanghai with little to show for their courageous effort to help China. With no assets, and with a newborn baby, Ping, they returned to live in the shantytown where An Chu’s extended family lived. Once again, they made the best of a bad situation, but the political winds blew An Chu into the fray. He was detained and tortured, accused of being against the Mao government, although he had volunteered to help. He was imprisoned. He was denounced by a sister, so that she herself could advance and not be tarnished by her relationship with him. Eventually, he was set free, wounded gravely by the experience.
Time passed and Yan restored him to health with her tenderness and devotion. Then the fickle winds of politics blew again and he was once more arrested. This time it was for the opposite charge of supporting the Mao government. Incredibly, he was accused of being both for and against Mao, and he was unfairly punished for both. This longer prison sentence took a great toll on him, mentally and physically. Still, Yan waited for his return and kept her little family safe and together. Time passed, life and death continued to occur.
Because of Yan’s unwavering determination, her family survived. With the help of Senator McCain, Qin was eventually able to study in America. There she achieved her goals scholastically. She married and remained there. She learned that the United States was not her enemy. Meanwhile, back in China, when Yan became ill, the story goes full circle, because her eldest daughter Ping, cared for her until her death. Then sadly, Ping also experienced the death of her father and grandmother in quick succession. Her grandmother, Ya Zhen had believed the curse of the beggar had come true. Her grandmother, Ya Zhen had believed the curse of the beggar had come true. On her deathbed, her Great Grandmother made a prediction about Qin? Will readers agree with them? This is truly a story of great courage that is necessary to overcome the worst kind of adversity. It is a memoir that should be read.

[Nathan Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got an advanced copy of this book, and am not being compensated for this review. I simply wanted to share my thoughts on it.

“Once Our Lives” is a sprawling, richly textured family chronicle that, while occasionally unfocused and overstuffed with detail, is nevertheless extremely touching. It achieves this last feat by creating genuine empathy for its characters. At the start of the book, the author, Qin Sun Stubis, mentions how her father, An Chu, was raised in a Shanghai shanty town, and sought to educate himself by reading books in the park, where he met his first love. Unfortunately, his marriage proposal wound up getting rejected by the woman’s family, who saw him as beneath her. When I read that, my heart genuinely broke for him. Which is ironic, since getting rejected is probably the least horrible thing he suffers through in the book, what with famine, diabetes, and seven years behind bars awaiting him in the years to come. But, regardless, that moment was when I was officially locked in. Because, at the end of the day, all fiction, or in this case, creative non-fiction, is striving to do one thing; get readers to care. And I did. So I can forgive the fact that the narrative jumps around in time. I can ignore how frequently the writing switches from first to third person. And I can overlook how the POV lacks balance in terms of who gets the most focus, with us not returning to An Chu for almost 80 pages. This did initially bother me, since so much of the book is about the author’s mother, Yan, who we don’t actually meet until 32 pages in. And when I realized that Yan, not An Chu, was the lead, I did wonder why we couldn’t have started off with her. But, like I said, if you care about the characters, you can overlook flaws. And, as stated earlier, I did care about them.

Something else that kept me reading was the superb imagery and descriptions. In the first few chapters, when Stubis is describing the shanty town her father, An Chu, grew up in, I could smell the food, hear the voices, and feel the coal dust underfoot. That’s great writing right there. And I do genuinely think there’s a market for this kind of sprawling family chronicle, especially since this one traces the lives of women throughout 20th century China. It’s a topic that Amy Tan has successfully mind in her fiction, and that Jung Chang explored in her memoir, “Wild Swans.” If you like those works, you’ll probably love “once Our Lives.” And even if you don’t, you should still check this book out, if only to learn a family’s remarkable, touching, and in many ways tragic, true story.

[Lisa Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This multi-generational memoir is based on heart-wrenching dramatic events of two Chinese families over four generations. The book opens in the 1930s with a strange family myth about a boy who is born into a prosperous family but whose life is changed forever when he is entered by the unlucky spirit of a wandering beggar – dooming him, according to one chilling prophecy, to a fate he struggles against his whole life. At the same time, a girl from a remote seaside village is torn from her family and forced into a life of unhappy luxury in cosmopolitan Shanghai, surrounded by round-eyed devils, acts of startling kindness and cruelty.

When their paths surprisingly cross, the result is anything but a typical love story. Swept up with millions of others in the gigantic cultural tides, their story takes them from their privileged positions at the pinnacle of society downwards to persecuted political victims to a shantytown where life and death hang in the balance every day, and finally to a prison of the State. Their last hope of redemption lies in the promise of the only treasure not yet taken from them – four “worthless” girls who may escape the fates of their parents and take with them their hopes and dreams.
This story is based on the author’s personal experience and fifty years of Chinese history. The girls were born in a wooden shack to once-wealthy parents who had fallen through bitter circumstances to living in the squalor of a Shanghai shantytown; Qin learned early that words could elevate or destroy, or kill. Growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, she saw her defiantly honest father imprisoned and broken for using the wrong words. She also learned through a life of hardship about the life-changing and sustaining power of words. In bed each night, after scouring local parks for enough firewood to cook the family’s meager meals, Qin and her three young sisters listened to their mother, an aspiring actress in the early days of Asian cinema, tell them the true stories of her life.
Based on actual events and family history from Post-Imperial to Post-Revolutionary times, these stories represented a wealth of colorful but lost Chinese history. It is a gripping memoir that will leave you breathless. We read books to learn about ourselves and others’ lives. It is eye-opening to see what they and many like them went through to get out of China and live fulfilling lives.

[Maileen Hamto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family stories carry the triumphs and travails of people adapting to change and making the most out of challenging situations. Beleaguered by the winds of social upheaval during the advent of Communism in China, two people – and their families – were brought together by a shared craving to experience love and joyful thriving. Qin Sun Stubis’ “Once Our Lives: A Memoir” relays a multi-generational story of the struggle to find oneself while defining the parameters of freedom and dignity amid family and societal expectations. The author’s intimate familiarity with ancestral desires and longing is evident in the contours and contexts of the lives we encounter in the story.

As cultural lessons go, one of the most important lessons in “Once Our Lives: A Memoir” is the perpetuity of change and interconnectedness. A story that begins in the 1930s shares the heartbreaking realities of life in a shantytown in contrast with the opulence of rich families who unapologetically use their wealth. Stubis’ descriptive explication of the textures and intricacies of the lives of her elders allows the reader to develop compassion and understanding when the characters suffer tragedies and reversals of fortune.

Stubis proves her giftedness as a storyteller who can elicit cultural empathy and caring. Reading the book from my vantage point as a Filipino immigrant based in the U.S., the cultural beliefs in family curses, conjoined destinies, and karmic purpose are quite familiar and relatable. It was heartening to read about how Chinese women resisted and overcame the burdensome gender norms in China at the time when the worth of women was measured by their perceived purity. This is a book that requires a prequel and a sequel. Here’s putting out a wishful hope that Stubis may follow “Once Our Lives: A Memoir” with another family saga.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her brilliant, intoxicating, cinematic yet simultaneously intimate creative nonfiction masterpiece Qin Sun Stubis vividly and eloquently depicts both a widescreen and detailed vision of the harsh history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and such a poignant powerful emotionally devastating beautiful closeup into the impact of that revolution o.ln four generations of her family, particularly on her mother and father, their parents and grandparents that the reader feels she intimately knows them, especially her parents and her. The visual and narrative film scope becomes even more vibrant with mystical elements, as she intricately adds deeply engrained and darkly magical cultural myths and superstitions that create a timeless and complexly poignant aspect to the cinematic and intimate family and large scale cultural and historical narratives. The author is such a gorgeous combination of her mother and father. She fulfills particularly her mother’s dreams, as she is the one who tells her daughters about all of the family stories with her early actress talent and wants her daughters to have the life she couldn’t because of the government and the violence but especially because of how girls and women were not seen as valuable or special or capable because of centuries of cultural misogyny. She imbues her daughters, but especially the author, with her fierce determination that they will achieve her dreams. And her father, who suffered harshly for his words, boldness and honesty, called his four daughters his golden phoenixes who would achieve all of their dreams. And the author becomes the most golden of phoenixes in this brilliant narrative. It must be made into a movie or a tv series! Now this award winning story is a finalist in the International Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. Buy it today and convince all of your friends and family to buy it too!

[Halley S · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Once Our Lives” is the tantalizing true tale of four generations of women fighting against the rolling tides of Chinese history. The book opens with the story of a mysterious prophecy that follows An Chu, the author’s father, from the beginning of his tumultuous life to the end. A devoted father and strong-hearted man passionate about fighting for justice, An Chu was wrongfully imprisoned, leaving his wife and four young daughters to fend for themselves in a shantytown ridden with poverty. This is one of many heart-wrenching storylines that are masterfully woven together to create Sun Stubis’ rich tapestry of storytelling.

This book, in all of its raw honesty and opulent imagery, easily brings me to tears no matter how many times I read it. The wealth of amazing true stories and the poetic, heartfelt writing make “Once Our Lives” an instant classic for me. Unafraid to delve into complex topics such as sexism, extreme poverty, and incarceration, this book manages to be starkly honest while also showing the strength of human nature and the uplifting, unstoppable power of love. Qin Sun Stubis’ passionate retelling of her family’s perseverance through hardship is set against the backdrop of some of China’s most dramatic times, but explores universal human experiences that people of all backgrounds can relate to.

“Once Our Lives” is romantic, gut-wrenching, and hopeful all at once, taking you on a winding journey that often leaves you breathless and eager to know what’s next. The author’s magical-realism-inspired writing left me dazzled for days, feeling as though my view of the world had become more extraordinary overnight. I cannot recommend “Once Our Lives” enough!

[Hikari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of An Chu and Yan during Mao’s cultural revolution in China. We are introduced to their backstories before their meeting in a frontier city that the government wants to develop. Their lives are incredibly hard and, through relying on each other, they do just about make it through. The hardships of An Chu and Yan are compounded by cultural views that boys are good, girls are bad: they have 4 girls. They make themselves a small wooden hut to live in at one point in a shanty town and scavenge food from bins or beg leftovers from market sellers. An Chu is not a yes man which puts him on the wrong side of the authorities - he is falsely imprisoned for being a “traitor” but amazingly is never broken and doesn’t confess. After Mao’s death, their story ends on a hopeful note except that the author (their second daughter) has already explained that this happiness won’t last: their father is falsely imprisoned again by the authorities for 7 years and this does break his spirit - he never recovers.

A sad tale about the human cost in terms of health, freedom, food, shelter, employment, etc. of Mao’s revolution and the pervasive fear that neighbourhood snitching can bring. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Philo Librist · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful, mysterious and passionately human story. This astonishing account of several generations of Chinese women living through hard times and under the bizarre cloud of an ancient superstition catches your attention and your heart from the first page. The tenderness, hope and ingenuity these women show in the face of war, political turmoil and oppression is inspiring -- and the adventurous stories of their lives left me breathless. I especially loved the exotic settings, the colorful descriptions of food, family and everyday life in China, and the courage of the main characters in overcoming whatever fate throws into their way - from tyrannical mothers-in-law to pirates and full-fledged revolutions. I wish the pictures inside the book had been printed on glossy paper but in some ways they feel more historical. I leave this review voluntarily after reading an advance copy. An exciting read!

[James Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling. A piercing, intimate and emotional journey of four generations as they endeavor to survive poverty, loss and alienation through the unfolding political and cultural terrain of modern China. A tale of seemingly insurmountable challenges - and the unalterable will to prevail. Qin Sun Stubis' vivid and evocative style of expression is moving, warm and captivating - I wanted more.

James Feldman, Ph.D.
Educator, Medical Professional

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary novel chronicling the captivating journey of a Chinese family spanning four generations. Delve into the deeply emotional narrative that unveils their unyielding spirit, unwavering resilience, and the indomitable strength in the face of numerous struggles and hardships. A compelling tale that will tug at your heartstrings and leave a lasting impact.
Many thanks to Library Thing and the publisher Guernica world editions for an opportunity to read this ARC.

[Marilyn Barefoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning !!! I learned so much and was riveted by every single page !! Please read this book. It will inspire you and educate you !!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[Ann]

I learned a lot about this time in history.

[Charissa Costa Bauhaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Our Lives is a stunning and deeply moving novel/memoir that opened up an entirely new world for me. As a white American woman, I had limited insight into China’s complex history or the profound impact it has had on its people. Qin Sun Stubis’s beautifully written story offers an intimate window into experiences many of us in the West have little knowledge or understanding of. From a haunting family curse that sets certain events into motion, to the sweeping societal changes brought on by the rise of communism, the book covers a remarkable breadth of emotional and historical ground. What makes it even more powerful is knowing that this is Qin’s real life: a personal account of survival, resilience, and hope. Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, Once Our Lives is an honest, beautifully told memoir that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

[Sonia Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions and historical upheavals.
The setting is during the communist Chinese revolution and takes one on a journey
filled with banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens , kidnapping by pirates.
A sweeping character driven historical memoir of generational resilience against tradition and superstitions.
With themes of survival, love and struggles with ancient and modern upheaval , this is a must read for those drawn to multi generational family
sagas.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so interesting and unique. I love that it is made up of family histories passed down generations about brave and independent women living in a cultural and historic period where women were bought and sold and undervalued across the board. While obviously very important contextually, I felt that the major events such as the wars almost blended into the background of the storyline, instead the stories of the women, impacted only indirectly by these world events, drove the timeline and the context. It was a really interesting writing choice and I really liked it!

I would definitely recommend this book, it is filled with really neat perspectives and some very intriguing storylines! Thanks to books forward pr and the author,for giving me the chance to read and review this book!