Valley of amazement
(Book)

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Author
Published
New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, 2014.
ISBN
0062107321, 9780062107329, 9780606357524, 0606357521
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LocationCall NumberStatus
Downers Grove Public Library - 2nd Floor - AdultFICTION TAN, A.Checked out

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Published
New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, 2014.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xiv, 589 pages ; 21 cm
Language
English
ISBN
0062107321, 9780062107329, 9780606357524, 0606357521

Notes

General Note
Includes reading group guide.
Description
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.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Tan, A. (2014). Valley of amazement (First Ecco paperback edition.). Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Tan, Amy. 2014. Valley of Amazement. Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Tan, Amy. Valley of Amazement Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, 2014.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Tan, Amy. Valley of Amazement First Ecco paperback edition., Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, 2014.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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