A young Chinese woman plots revenge after being forced into a cruel arranged marriage in 1930s Shanghai as the entire country begins to become gripped in a growing call for revolution. - (Baker & Taylor)
Shanghai, 1930s. . Heroine Xiao Feng must take her dead sister's place in an arranged marriage to Xiong Fa, a son from the prosperous Sang family. - (Baker & Taylor)
A young Chinese woman plots revenge after being forced into a cruel arranged marriage in 1930s Shanghai as the entire country begins to become gripped in a growing call for revolution. Original. 75,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)
“Duncan Jepson magically inhabits the life of a young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai….I thoroughly enjoyed this book.”
—Janice Y. K. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher
“Breathtaking….A great work that will move its readers.”
—Hong Ying, international bestselling author of Daughter of the River
Readers previously enchanted by Memoirs of a Geisha, Empress, and the novels of Lisa See will be captivated by Duncan Jepson’s marvelous debut, All the Flowers in Shanghai. Evocative, sweeping, yet intimate historical fiction, Jepson’s novel transports us to a China on the brink of revolution, and witnesses this colorful, tumultuous world through the eyes of a woman forced into a life not of her choosing and driven to seek a bitter revenge. This epic journey into the heart of Asia is sure to mesmerize fans of Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
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HARPERCOLL)
For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires
For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir.
The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country.
Both a sweeping historical novel and an intimate portrait of one woman’s struggle against tradition, All the Flowers in Shanghai marks the debut of a sensitive and revelatory writer.
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HARPERCOLL)
Booklist Reviews
This novel chronicles the transformation of a woman in mid-twentieth-century China and her country's subsequent upheaval. At 17, Feng falls victim to custom: a second daughter who enjoys attending school and spending time with her grandfather, she is forced into becoming a replacement bride when her older sister dies just before marrying into a prominent Shanghai family. Untutored in the ways of the world, with her servant as her only source of comfort and advice, she must deal with a surly, powerful father-in-law and his backbiting first and second wives. Under pressure to provide a male heir, Feng gives away her newborn daughter, an act engendering guilt that reverberates throughout her life. Jepson, a Eurasian film director and producer, evokes time and place well as he describes the life of privilege that Feng comes to take for granted only to have her life veer dramatically and be overtaken by the Great Leap Forward. The success of this debut novel, however, is likely to rest on how well narrator Feng, with her shifts in personality, resonates with the reader. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
Growing up outside of Shanghai, 17-year-old Feng is content in her role as the younger sister in a middle-class family. She is blissfully ignorant of the social expectations placed on her older sister and instead spends her time outside with her grandfather and a seamstress's son in the lush family gardens. But her pleasant life ends when she is abruptly forced into an arranged marriage with the son of a wealthy family. Feng is unaware of the expected emotional and physical duties of a wife, and the pressure of providing a male heir creates such distress that Feng is unable to cope and makes potentially damning decisions. VERDICT Although Jepson's debut novel is set in 1930s Shanghai, the author spends little time detailing historical events and place descriptions. Instead, he focuses largely on Feng's personal turmoil as she ponders life-altering choices. He does a solid job of voicing a female character, but some may find Feng unlikable because of her lack of emotional growth and inability to find happiness. Still, this would be a good choice for readers who enjoy Lisa See's China-themed historical novels.—Madeline Solien, Deerfield P.L., IL
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Publishers Weekly Reviews
Jepson, a film producer and founding editor of Asia Literary Review, makes his fiction debut with a saga set in 1930s Shanghai. Heroine Xiao Feng must take her dead sister's place in an arranged marriage to Xiong Fa, a son from the prosperous Sang family. After marrying, the mistreated, desperately unhappy Feng clings to memories from the days she spent in the garden with her grandfather and Bi, the seamstress's son. Vowing not to bring a baby girl into the rigid, patriarchal world of the Sangs, Feng makes a life-altering decision after she bears her first child. When she realizes the power she wields in producing a male heir, she transforms herself into a wealthy, sophisticated, and ruthless First Wife. Unfortunately, the Japanese invasion of China weakens ancient social structures, and the world as the powerful Sang family has known it unravels. Despite the riveting story line, the novel suffers from awkward syntax, and its treatment of time (decades and wars are dismissed in single pages) hints at more familiarity with quickly moving screenplays than full-length fiction. (Jan.)
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