About this item
"Spring Swallow was promised in marriage while still in her mother's belly. When the groom dies before a wedding can take place, seventeen-year-old Spring Swallow is ordered to become a ghost bride to appease his spirit. Under her in-laws' protection, she will be little more than a servant, unable to know real love or bear children. Refusing to accept her fate as a "bad-luck woman", Spring Swallow flees on her wedding day. In the city of Soochow, Spring Swallow joins a community of renowned embroiderers. The women work for Aunty Peony, whose exquisite stitching once earned her the Emperor's love. But when Aunty Peony agrees to replicate a famous painting -- a lucrative assignment that will take a year to complete -- betrayal and jealousy emerge within the group. Spring Swallow becomes entangled in each woman's story of heartbreak, even while she embarks on a dangerous affair with a young revolutionary. On a journey that leads from the remote hillsides around Soochow to cosmopolitan Peking, Spring Swallow draws on the secret techniques learned from Aunty Peony and her own indomitable strength, determined to forge a life that is truly her own"--Back cover. Read more...
About the Author
Profile Mingmei Yip grew up in Hong Kong, studied in Paris and now lives in New York City. Mingmei is a highly regarded novelist whose work has been translated into nine languages and published in eleven countries. Her most recent novel (her 7th) is The Witch's Market (Kensington Books) , which recently received a glowing review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review:"Yip's lush, evocative novel....combines legend, mythology and Gothic elements into a magical coming-of-age tale"Her 6th novel is Secret of a Thousand Beauties (Kensington Books) , the story of a young woman forced into a 'marriage' with a dead man. She escapes and finds a home with a former imperial embroiderer who teaches her this art. Her students are to remain celibate, a requirement that forces them to keep their romantic life secret. Reviews/praise for Mingmei's novels:"Fans of Yip's previous novels and Anchee Min's latest memoir, The Cooked Seed will enjoy this emotionally poignant novel."--Booklist "The narrative has a certain cheeky, boundless energy that propels the reader to a gratifying conclusion. " - Kirkus Reviews"The era provides an uncommon and intriguing backdrop of Yip's novel. The cadence of the first person narrative perfectly matches Yip's heroine's thoughts as she strives to find a safe life and love in a changing world."- RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars "A unique and enthralling style. . .flawless." - The Nine Fold Heaven, Baltimore Books Examiner"A guilty pleasure...This is a large box of chocolates..." Skeleton Women, RTBook, 4 starred review."Poignant and often heartbreaking story captivating mix of worldly and ethereal, mystery and drama." Skeleton Women, Bookclub.BarnesandNoble.com"Yip's lively novel manages to be at once modern and traditional...surprising and often funny...part epic, part modern fairy tale." Song of the Silk Road, Publisher's Weekly"A serious, engaging of faith, devotion, and the commingling of culture." Petals from the Sky, Booklist"From a prodigiously talented Chinese author comes a marvelous novel about a woman who becomes China's most successful courtesan. Yip's work echoes "Memoirs of a Geisha," but with a sharper, more suspenseful pace." Peach Blossom Pavilion, Powell's Books"Mingmei Yip has written an enchanting debut novel which tells the story of the last surviving Chinese courtesan....transporting us to another place and time where prostitutes were glamorous, elegant and cultured women that were well-versed in the arts..." Peach Blossom Pavilion, Asiance Magazine"Yip's atmospheric tale is elevated above fantastical escape through its cunning, empowered narrator, a woman who refuses to be "but a captive, whose limbs could be twisted to adopt the most obsequious posture in life as well as in bed," and instead fights to improve her fa
