Spring Moon: A Novel of China - Paperback

by Bette Bao Lord (Author)

New York Times Bestseller

"Murder, passion, betrayal, . . . and intrigue. . . and the conflict of generations." -- Boston Globe

"Spellbinding." -- Anne Rice

A novel of rare beauty and skill, Spring Moon delicately captures the rich fabric of traditional life in China and the cataclysm of her long Revolution.

In an ancient land of equal breathtaking beauty and cruelty, exists Spring Moon, a courageous woman who triumphs over her world's ultimate tragedy.

The story begins in the fifth year of the reign of the Emperor Kuang Hsu, 1892, in the courtyards of the House of Chang in Soochow, as the slave girl of the child Spring Moon achieves a terrible revenge against the clan. It ends in the 1970s when, though the moon gates and the fan gates of the court are gone, five generations of clansmen gather at the site of the family graves to perform the ceremonies that for thousands of years have linked China's past with her present and both with the future. Spring Moon stays with the reader from the first page and it is through her that China's eternal drama and values are revealed. Not since Dr. Zhivago has a work of fiction so movingly portrayed the human sprit in times of civil war and social change.

Back Jacket

At a time of mystery and cruelty ... in an ancient land of breathtaking beauty and exotic surprise ... a courageous woman triumphs over her world's ultimate tragedy.

Behind the garden walls of the House of Chang, pampered daughter Spring Moon is born into luxury and privilege. But the tempests of change sweep her into a new world -- one of hardship, turmoil, and heartbreak, one that threatens to destroy her husband, her family, and her darkest secret love. Through a tumultuous lifetime, Spring Moon must cling to her honor, to the memory of a time gone by, and to a destiny, foretold at her birth, that has yet to be fulfilled.