What do you think happens to Violet during the Communist Revolution?

[Eileen]

I loved this book, I am a big fan of Amy Tan's novels. Just wanted to start some discussion about what might happen after the end of the book.

[Angel]

I think Flora went back to Shanghai and took over the school where she was born and her father is buried. Violet would teach her to speak Chinese.

[Christin]

Honestly I don't care what happens to Violet EVER. I have never been so deeply disappointed in a book by an author I love and respect. This one was horrible.

[W]

More than likely she was run out of Shanghai long before that by the Japanese during WWII (or she was killed during that time).

[Winnie]

I smell a sequel...

[Chris]

Am I the only person who noticed that someone mentioned doing something 'after the war' near the end of the book. The war hadn't started yet! This book didn't live up to Amy Tan's previous works.

[W]

Chris wrote: "Am I the only person who noticed that someone mentioned doing something 'after the war' near the end of the book. The war hadn't started yet! This book didn't live up to Amy Tan's previous works."

Do you remember where you saw that in the book? I know they talk about WWI at points and there was a civil war in China in the late 1920's.

[Elizabeth Walton]

Chris wrote: "Am I the only person who noticed that someone mentioned doing something 'after the war' near the end of the book. The war hadn't started yet! This book didn't live up to Amy Tan's previous works."

They know the war is coming and travel will be dangerous. She knows that she will not see her daughter or mother until the war is over, she is thinking ahead to her hopes for the future, it implies that after the war they will be together, but does not actually say what happens.

[Kirk]

The Japanese overran the settlement in 1941 and interned all the Europeans and Americans in the Lunghua work camp, where many were abused and some killed. Violet and Legacy would have been separated for the 4 years of the internment, even if both survived the war.

This assumes they didn't manage to escape China between 1939m when the book ends, and 1941.

[Elizabeth Walton]

When the book ended they knew war was coming, everyone did. The start of the war in China was not a surprise to anyone.

[Maria]

Kirk wrote: "The Japanese overran the settlement in 1941 and interned all the Europeans and Americans in the Lunghua work camp, where many were abused and some killed. Violet and Legacy would have been separate..."
That were exactly my thoughts!