Bücher von Gail Tsukiyama

Gail Tsukiyama's A Hundred Flowers is powerful novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: "Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend." Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying's husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for "reeducation." A year later, still missing his father desperately, Tao climbs to the top of the hundred-year-old kapok tree in front of their home, wanting to see the mountain peaks in the distance. But Tao slips and tumbles thirty feet to the courtyard below, badly breaking his leg. As Kai Ying struggles to hold her small family together in the face of this shattering reminder of her husband's absence, other members of the household must face their own guilty secrets and strive to find peace in a world where the old sense of order is falling. Once again, Tsukiyama brings us a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.

Emma and Joan are the two daughters of the Lew family, coming of age during and after World War II. Joan hopes for a traditional family life, but begins a career as a Chinese film actress. Emma sets her sights on an artistic life in San Francisco, only to find solace back in Hong Kong.

Pei leaves the silk house for Hong Kong in the 1930s, arriving with a young orphan, Ji Shen, in her care. Her first job ends in disgrace, but soon Pei and Ji Shen find a new life, until their world is torn apart by the war and the Japanese occupation.

Set in California, this is the poignant story of Cate and her daughter Hana. Hana has Werner's Syndrome, a disease which speeds ageing to twice the normal rate, so although she is 38, Hana looks 80. The lives of the two are quiet and dignified, until Laura, Hana's former schoolfriend, shows up.