Paperback, black and white illustrations, 287 pages, W130mm x H200mm
A key section of this book was inspired by the discovery of a cache of
original love-letters written in China in the late 1920s by
two separate women to the same man.
Told with insight and
compassion, this absorbing novel moves between Hong Kong, Norfolk and
the Midlands, and shows how the consequences of an act of infidelity
have shaped the lives of three generations of women.
After a
phone call from her younger brother, Ann travels to Hong Kong in search
of the truth about their scandalous mother, Vivienne. Here, she
discovers a series of letters and journal entries which reveal a secret
about her beloved grandmother's early life that challenges her most
deeply felt convictions. Ann must also face up to her own part in an
event which took place just before her sixteenth birthday, and caused
the break-up of the family.
Hong Kong itself, with its
exotic mix of old and new in the bustling urban districts, and the quiet
charm of beautiful Lamma Island, plays a key part in Ann's reappraisal
of her own life and marriage, and the unexpected dilemma that confronts
her.