Publisher: Little Brown and Company, March 15, 2022

Format: ebook

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

A “beautifully rendered” novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).

“Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.”

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

My Review:

Thank you Little Brown for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: Multi-generational family saga.
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Spanning generations, this book looks at one family’s experience with the invasion of China by the Japanese, WW2, the Civil War and rise of Communism, after the war, the eventual immigration to Taiwan and then the USA.
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The writing was absolutely beautiful amazing and had me completely engrossed. I loved the character of Meilin. She was forced to experience some truly traumatic events, but all she wanted was to take care of her son. She was selfless in that she put her sons needs and his survival before her needs.
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CW: violence, death, war, bombings, sexual assault, immigration, racism, sexism.