The Valley of Amazement

Amy Tan s The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic of two women s intertwined fates and their search for identity, that moves from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village.

Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China s last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of lucrative foreign trade and anti-foreign sentiment, to the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign Shanghailanders living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II.

A deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters, The Valley of Amazement returns readers to the compelling territory of Amy Tan s The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love."

 

Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese/half-American courtesan who deals in seduction and illusion in Shanghai, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her.

Jacket Description/Back:

New York Times bestseller The Valley of Amazement is an evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity--from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village

Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother and forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Spanning more than forty years and two continents, Amy Tan's newest novel maps the lives of three generations of women--and the mystery of an evocative painting known as "The Valley of Amazement." Moving from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty to the growth of anti-foreign sentiment and the inner workings of courtesan houses, The Valley of Amazement interweaves the story of Violet, a celebrated Shanghai courtesan on a quest for both love and identity, and her mother, Lucia, an American woman whose search for penance leads them to an unexpected reunion.

The Valley of Amazement is a deeply moving narrative of family secrets, legacies, and the profound connections between mothers and daughters, reminiscent of the compelling territory Tan so expertly mapped in The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, Tan conjures up a story of inherited trauma, desire, deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.

Marc Notes:
Includes reading group guide.;Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese/half-American courtesan who has honed her ability to become any man's fantasy since her start as a 'Virgin Courtesan' at the age of twelve, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her. Violet is the privileged daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery and forced to become a virgin courtesan. Half-Chinese and half-American, she grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West, until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion, though she still struggles to understand who she is. Back in 1897 San Francisco, Violet's mother, Lucia, chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, when her infatuation with a Chinese painter compels her to leave her home for Shanghai. Shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions, she is unable to change him, despite her unending American ingenuity. Fueled by betrayals, both women refuse to submit to fate and societal expectations, persisting in their quests to recover what was taken from them: respect;a secure future;and, most poignantly, love from their parents, lovers, and children. To reclaim their lives, they take separate journeys, to a backwater hamlet in China, the wealthy environs of the Hudson River Valley, and, ultimately, the unknown areas of their hearts, where they discover what remains after their many failings to love and be loved. Spanning more than forty years and two continents, this novel transports readers from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty to the beginning of the Republic and recaptures the lost world of old Shanghai through the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreigners living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II.

Review Quotes:

"Here are strong women struggling to survive all that life has thrown at them, created by a writer skilled at evoking the roil of emotions and made exploits they experience when they follow their hearts." -- New York Times Book Review

"[A] novel that grabs your soul." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author's ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget. As a plus, this reviewer sensed the harbinger of a sequel by the last page." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"Tan is a skilled storyteller. . . A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Tan's prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendship between women." -- Booklist (starred review)

"The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else." -- Newsday (Fall Preview)

"Amy Tan is one of our blackest-belted scriveners, and this is her masterwork." -- Mary Karr, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit

Fans of Tan's previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book. -- Real Simple

"[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is] akin to her earlier work, yet more sophisticated, and a fine reminder that Amy Tan is herself a master of illusion, and one of the best storytellers around." -- NPR

"It's been a long eight years since Amy Tan's last novel, but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT proves that good things--breathtaking things--come to those who wait. [...] It's wonderful to be back in Amy's magical and amazing world." -- Lisa See, author of international bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls

"Tan's beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot... Tan's creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines." -- Romantic Times

"[Tan] is a gifted storyteller... This is one writer's particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel." -- Financial Times

"[Tan's] fans will appreciate the book's multigenerational narrative and compelling look at a society in which men held the power but women gave each other strength." -- More magazine

"Fans will recognize signature Tan themes: mother-daughter relationships, clashes between cultures... threads of hmor and emotional insight make Violet's struggle to survive, and ultimately forgive, a journey worth sharing." -- People

"[Tan] still sweeps you up in the wildly changing fortunes of a whip-smart courtesan." -- Entertainment Weekly

"This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships... The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light." -- USA Today

"Amy Tan's latest novel is an engrossing, multigenerational saga....grounded by Tan's ability to bring tragically flawed characters and exotic locales to vivid life." -- Parade

"Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. And it's fascinating. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people." -- Associated Press

"With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines." -- O, the Oprah Magazine

"Amy tan creates another stunning portrait of mothers and daughters." -- St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In her new novel, Tan ditches her magic realist fugues and enters a brutal landscape of Shanghai courtesans, exploring it with new depths of tenderness and pain." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"[Tan is] an accomplished storyteller... the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women...struggling to accept their fate and each other." -- New York Daily News

"A feast of a novel... Tan deftly draws the reader along as she explores the nature of identity, the joys and pitfalls of love, the ripple effects of the choices we make and the role of fate in our lives." -- Shelf Awareness

"THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is an engrossing read that effortlessly draws you in and captures both the sweet taste of acceptance and the bitter taste of disappointment and resentment with an almost painful accuracy... a compelling and emotional read." -- San Francisco Book Review

"She has created such an enticing portrait of Shanghai that she makes us nostalgic for a city we can never know." -- Boston Globe

"Amy Tan's new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page... Tan laces her story with colorful characters... a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT] combines vivid historical details and epic sweep across several decades and two continents with intimate portraits of flawed but engaging women whose resourcefulness and courage are sometimes astounding." -- Tampa Bay Times

"Vivid, compassionate, and expertly done... Tan has crafted characters so realistic they seem to breathe and a tense world that will keep readers on the edge of their seats for all 589 pages." -- Bustle

"Tan hasn't written a new novel in eight years but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT was worth the wait." -- Miami Herald

"Tan has created a vivid work of literature, full of deftly drawn and colorful characters, exploring the idea that in a world of grief and cruelty, where a woman's fate is not hers - or her mother's - to determine, what she can keep is her self." -- Seattle Times

"The deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters will return readers to the compelling territory of Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Tan's characteristic insight and humor conjures a story of "inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love." -- Northwest Asian Weekly

"Fans who've waited eight years for a new novel by Tan (The Joy Luck Club) can look forward to a lengthy, decades-long soak in Violet's sentimental and erotic education." -- Good Housekeeping (online)

"Those who have been waiting for Tan's novel, her first in eight years, will not be disappointed." -- International Examiner

Publisher Marketing:

New York Times bestseller The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity--from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village

Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of lucrative foreign trade and anti-foreign sentiment, to the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign "Shanghailanders" living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II.

A deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters, The Valley of Amazement returns readers to the compelling territory of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.

 

Review Citations:

• People Weekly 07/28/2014 pg. 45 (EAN 9780062107329, Paperback)
• New York Times Book Review 08/03/2014 pg. 28 (EAN 9780062107329, Paperback)
• Audio File 02/01/2014 pg. 37 (EAN 9781423322399, Compact Disc)
• Publishers Weekly 02/24/2014 (EAN 9781423322399, Compact Disc)
• Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2013 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Publishers Weekly 07/29/2013 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Entertainment Weekly 08/02/2013 pg. 69 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Library Journal 08/01/2013 pg. 90 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
• Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2013 pg. 15 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• People Weekly 09/23/2013 pg. 71 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Booklist 09/15/2013 pg. 40 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
• People Weekly 11/11/2013 pg. 53 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Entertainment Weekly 11/08/2013 pg. 71 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Shelf Awareness 11/08/2013 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Romantic Times 12/01/2013 pg. 35 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• New York Times Book Review 11/10/2013 pg. 10 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• New York Times Book Review 11/17/2013 pg. 28 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• New Yorker (The) 11/25/2013 pg. 127 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• NY Times Notable Bks of Year 12/08/2013 pg. 27 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)
• Wilson Fiction Catalog 04/11/2019 (EAN 9780062107312, Hardcover)

 

Contributor Bio:Tan, Amy

Amy Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life, Saving Fish from Drowning, and two children's books, The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat, which was adapted into a PBS television series. Tan was also a coproducer and coscreenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club. Her essays and stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and her work has been translated into thirty-five languages. She lives with her husband in San Francisco and New York.