This is a beautifully written and sweeping historical epic that follows the intertwined lives of three extraordinary women – Biyu, Mingzu and Qiang – each shaped by vastly different circumstances, yet bound by love, loyalty and resilience.
The story begins in 1906 Shanghai, where eight-year-old Biyu, newly orphaned, is taken in as a servant to Mingzu, a privileged and cherished only child. Despite the rigid class divide, the girls form a deep sisterly bond. Mingzu, bright and curious, develops an early love for literature, while Biyu learns strength through silent endurance.
As Mingzu comes of age, she is married into the powerful but oppressive Tang clan. Her husband, Tei, is cruel and arrogant. When Mingzu gives birth to a daughter, Qiang, he is furious and quickly takes a second wife, Cai, who bears him a son. By 1941, with Biyu still loyally at her side, Mingzu manages the household while tensions rise with the looming threat of Japanese invasion.
When war finally breaks out, tragedy strikes: Cai and her son are killed, Tei vanishes, and the family is torn apart. Mingzu, thanks to her language skills, becomes a reluctant translator for the occupying Japanese forces; Biyu is forced into factory work. In the chaos, Qiang is separated from them but joins the resistance, emerging as a fierce, uncompromising fighter determined to never let a man control her destiny.
Set against the brutality of war, this is a story of survival, courage and the unbreakable spirit of women. Through sacrifice and perseverance, these three women remain tethered by love and a fierce hope that they will one day be reunited.
Reviewed by Sue Stanbridge
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emma Pei Yin is an Australian-Hong Kong Chinese writer and editor.
In 2023, BookPeople and Penguin Random House Australia nominated her as Bookseller of the Year. She is the author of When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical fiction novel set during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong that has been sold into multiple territories.
She lives and works on Ngunnawal Country with her partner and extremely barky dachshund, Lady. Emma is currently working on her next novel.
Emma is the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency specialising in fiction editing and proofreading for writers.
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