Peach Blossom Spring

Hey, did you like Pachinko (more than me)? Are you keen on multigenerational Asian historical fiction? Like great writing? This one's for you, then.

Meilin is newly married in 1938, but with war headed their way her future is uncertain. With only her son Renshu, a beautiful hand painted scroll, and what little they can throw together, they're forced to flee an oncoming Japanese army. Renshu is raised on tales Meilin tells from the scroll, as together they make new lives for themselves over and over again as they're forced to flee again and again from places they try and start fresh in. As Meilin's story in Taiwan gives way to Renshu's story in America, and finally Renshu's daughter Lily trying to figure out who she is, we get to know this family's struggle, and how events of the past can shape a person in the future.

This one took me a bit to get into, but once I got into it (about when Meilin flees with Renshu the first time), it really sucked me in. The writing is exceptional, and really painted a picture of Meilin, her family, and what China looked like in her time. It's a multigenerational tale in the same way Pachinko is, but I thought this one was written a bit better and didn't overstay its welcome as much, so I enjoyed it more. I will say I think I was more invested in Meilin's story in the beginning, and Lily's story at the end, than I was with Renshu's story in the middle. Maybe his story would resonate with me more if I were more familiar with Chinese politics in America at the time, as it felt like I was missing context in the story for Renshu's paranoia. I really felt for Lily trying to figure out who she is, sandwiched between America and China and wanting to understand where she came from.

I really enjoyed this one though, despite my mild hangups with Renshu's point of view. Great writing and a sad story.

Most of my favorite books have taught me something significant. This is one of them. The stories Meilin tells Renshu throughout their travels and how they correlate to Renshu/Henry's life was written beautifully. I was scared that the ending would also be a tragedy like most of the stories told, but the author tied it in perfectly with Meilin's version of Peach Blossom Spring. It was easy to visualize the scenes in this book. I wish we had more of Meilin's older years with Lin-Na. I felt most connected to Meilin. I also was hoping that Julie would somehow be Lifen's daughter because Wenling and Lifen actually made it to Hong Kong, but it's supposed to be realistic historical fiction. This book is beautiful and I hope Melissa Fu writes more from the WWII era in China and Taiwan.

I've been struggling all day to come up with the right words to describe my thoughts about this book. I feel like I say books are ‘lovely' or ‘beautiful' or ‘touching' too often. This book is beautiful. It's also heartbreaking and inspiring rolled into one.

I've read generational stories before, but I don't think any quite like this, following three generations in so much detail with great fluidity. I loved all of the main characters. I felt like I was there with them even though this is a culture I'm only superficially acquainted with. I was going through their tragedies with them and was overjoyed by any good fortune. I also learned a lot about Chinese traditions as well as bits of history I plumb never questioned. It never occurred to me China was also a target of Japan during WWII. If I knew, it didn't register. I knew more about what came after but even then not in much detail. This book also illustrated life for a Chinese/Taiwanese immigrant in America in the 20th Century, eventually coming to a crossroads when it came time to raise children in a new place and the conflict between newfound freedom and heritage. 

A book spanning so many decades typically runs the risk of being too dragged out or having too much crammed in, but Peach Blossom Spring has fantastic pacing. It highlights important moments in the characters' lives while respectfully skipping past the less exciting years and moments or revisiting them in hindsight. There is no unnecessary information tossed around. I hope Melissa Fu has more novels planned for the future. Her writing is exquisite. 

This book is a novel, but it has an organic, truthful feel. I could believe it to be true. The amount of research Fu has done truly brings the story to life. The storytelling flows well, the flowing by, yet taking time to paint beautiful pictures along the way. Joy is woven in the pain and sadness. Beauty is found in destruction. Wounds can heal, even decades later. From this book, I take away this lesson.  Hearts are like soil. When left untended, uncared for, they are incapable of growing a life of beauty or the ability to give to others. When we take the time to address the pains and fears in our hearts, to look for the beauty around us, and let those who love us water our hearts, our lives produce a natural beauty that blesses everyone around us.

Unexpectedly powerful. Fu paints with broad and fine strokes; she's much better at fine, but the broad is necessary in an epic like this. Her eye for everyday detail makes scenes vivid and believable. Her sensitivity to emotion makes the story compelling, although, to be honest, her characters felt a little too pat at times. Just a tad too noble. But I'm ok with it.There's a lot of pain all throughout: the suffering of nonstop war, that of paranoia and suspicion, the loneliness of hiding inside oneself. Of being unable to connect. I kept flashing back to [b:Fukuyama 57980 Trust The Social Virtue and the Creation of Prosperity Francis Fukuyama https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409522132l/57980.SY75.jpg 56475] and his exploration of high- and low-trust societies; here we see the human cost of low trust and how it can—but does not have to—ripple across and down over time. Fu admits in an afterword that the story has parallels to hers and her family's: I felt that while reading, but it was never blatant or uncomfortable. Kudos to Fu for transforming life experience into a memorable story.For me the theme that kept hitting hardest was the heaviness of living with ourselves after hard choices. Most of the characters carried that burden, each in different ways. It hurt to read. I don't expect insights like these from so young a writer, and feel crushed that she's able to describe that so effectively. And right now, what I feel most strongly is the need to reread [b:Kundera 9717 The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1265401884l/9717.SY75.jpg 4489585].