I’ve been
a fan of Lisa See’s cultural and historical novels since reading her bestseller
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan several years ago. See’s books have good story
telling, compelling characters and fascinating depictions of ancient or
contemporary China. See’s latest work, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, has
all these qualities. The story begins in 1988 with Li-yan, a young woman of the
Akha Hill Tribe of China. Her family ekes out an existence growing and
processing tea in a remote village. Li-yan has an unhappy love affair that
results in the birth of a baby girl. Evading a tribal taboo of the time that
forbids the love child to live, Li-yan secretly leaves the baby at an orphanage.
The reader then follows the separate life journeys of Li-yan and her daughter.
Through education, Li-yan leaves the village and makes a successful life in
modern day China as an entrepreneur of the rare, highly prized tea called Pu’er.
Her daughter is adopted by an affluent American family who name her Haley and
provide a privileged life in Pasadena, California. Li-Yan agonizes over the
loss of her child. Haley struggles with feelings of gratitude for her adopted
parents and anger at her biological parents for abandoning her. Li-yan and
Haley’s search for each other is what makes the novel a page turner. My
favorite parts of the novel are when See deftly interweaves Akha traditions
into the storyline. My only criticisms of the book are that Li-yan’s journeys
to the “outside world” seem a bit far-fetched at times and See’s lengthy descriptions
of cultivating Pu’er tea is perhaps more information than the reader needs to
know. But if you enjoy well-written cultural and historical novels, I
enthusiastically recommend this book and all of See’s works.
Also, I was very interested to learn the “back story” for this book. On her Web site at LisaSee.com, the author provides wonderful videos about the Akha culture and her own experiences in China researching this book. And I was fascinated by a YouTube talk given by See in which she discusses her in-depth interviews with Chinese women adopted by American parents. Lisa See is passionate about her research into culture and history and that passion is present in all her well-crafted, highly readable novels.
Also, I was very interested to learn the “back story” for this book. On her Web site at LisaSee.com, the author provides wonderful videos about the Akha culture and her own experiences in China researching this book. And I was fascinated by a YouTube talk given by See in which she discusses her in-depth interviews with Chinese women adopted by American parents. Lisa See is passionate about her research into culture and history and that passion is present in all her well-crafted, highly readable novels.
