Synopsis
In this historical novel set in the 1930s, Lord follows the House of Chang, a dynasty of scholars and landowners, from the end of the Manchu Empire, through two Sino-Japanese wars, and the Communist takeover. As China changes, the members of the House of Chang must question their previously traditional roles; as the society based on family and patriarchy crumbles, the Chinese wedded to their traditions must cope with the needs of the masses over those of the individual, the education of women, and the authority of the state over all. The plot centers on Spring Moon, a woman pampered by the Chang dynasty, and Lustrous Jade, her daughter, educated by Western missionaries and who wholeheartedly espouses Communism.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2004-04-01 |
| Size | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 5.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 12.8 oz |
Industry Reviews
"[O]ften it is impossible to know what political side to cheer for during these turbulent times with members of the [Chang] family on opposing sides or no side at all, but this is just what Lord intends. It is the survival of the clan that matters and through them the incredible endurance of the Chinese people."
Washington Post Book World - Kathryn Paterson
"The interest of Ms. Lord's novel lies precisely here, in her depiction of the clashes between Spring Moon and her daughter, old values and new, which constitute a principal motif of modern Chinese history."
New Republic - Joey Bonner
"Mrs. Lord is bent on celebrating the traditional Chinese past, particularly the importance of family ties and the grace of rituals that tied one generation to the next. She achieves this celebration quite beautifully at times, but in the process the past has trouble existing as a living present."
New York Times - Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
"Spring Moon, whose life Mrs. Lord will chronicle, is a precocious nine-year-old who complains about her painfully bound feet. Despite the growing firestorm of Chinese history, a deftly sketched but compelling backdrop against which Mrs. Lord plots Spring Moon's survival, the author's chief concern is with the Changs themselves, and how they feel, think and change through the years...."
New York Times Book Review - Charlotte Curtis (10/25/1981)
"This [is] one of the most remarkable novels ever to explain the East to the West....[For] most of its length, this beautifully written first novel manages to be both poignant and restrained."
Saturday Review - Ronald Nevans (10/19/1981)
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