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Peach Blossom Spring
- Narrated by: Eugenia Low
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
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Peach Blossom Spring
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Summary
With every misfortune, there is a blessing, and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.
It is 1938 in China, and the Japanese are advancing. A young mother, Meilin, is forced to flee her burning city with her four-year-old son, Renshu, and embark on an epic journey across China. For comfort, they turn to their most treasured possession - a beautifully illustrated hand scroll. Its ancient fables offer solace and wisdom as they travel through their ravaged country, seeking refuge.
Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. His daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, but he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down?
Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It's about the power of our past, the hope for a better future and the search for a place to call home.
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Critic reviews
"Melissa Fu portrays the time, the culture, the place and the struggles of this family so vividly, with nuance and colour and life.... A stunning achievement." (Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo)
"An immersive, expertly plotted and elegantly written novel...championing the vitality and ingenuity of the immigrant experience." (Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti)
"Glorious and tender, exquisitely written and beautifully nuanced. I finished it with tears in my eyes and will be recommending it to everyone I know." (Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times best-selling author of Ariadne)
What listeners say about Peach Blossom Spring
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amy Rice
- 13-02-23
Beautiful Story
I really enjoyed listening to this story. It spans generations and locations and I learned a lot about recent history (2nd WW and aftermath) in China that I had not come across. I would recommend to anyone who likes a gripping/perilous story line interspersed with amazing storytelling between characters. This book will stay with me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 15-04-24
Peach Blossom
The story is very well written and you are finding yourself within the story and wanting happiness for the characters and suffer with their losses.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emma Griffin
- 21-08-22
Beautiful but long
It has taken me almost 4 months to listen to this and take it all in, but it is certainly worth it. Beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MjW
- 17-08-22
Beautifully written and well narrated.
I loved this story, so well narrated, it gives an insight into the suffering and history of Chinese people from 1930s onwards. Family relationships and emotions unwind throughout the story which encompasses American society, in the 20th Century. Definitely worth listening to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Adrianne H Mead
- 14-06-22
Mesmerising
I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It was completely sublime 😍
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ClareR
- 13-02-23
A wonderful, moving story.
Peach Blossom Spring is the beautifully told story of three generations of a Chinese family as they experience love, war, migration and their driving need to belong.
Meilin leaves her home in order to protect her son Henry, and find somewhere safe for him to grow up. But without passports or papers to isn’t easy. She relies on her own abilities to survive along with the help she gets from others.
Henry goes to America to study at university and ends up staying on to work. He marries, gets a good job, and tries his best to be a good American. This is at a time of fear and suspicion of communists and everything either Chinese or Russian. Henry is terrified that he’ll draw the wrong kind of attention, and deprives his daughter of learning his language or traditions.
I felt so sorry for Meilin, left behind in Taiwan, so far from her son and unable to join him in America. I also felt for Henry, limited by his fear. But Henry’s daughter provides the bridge for Henry to return to his homeland.
I loved everything about this book - the settings, the history, the characters. And the fact that this is semi-autobiographical was just the icing on the cake.
A wonderful novel.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ejh1990
- 02-01-23
Lovely story, beautifully performed
Such a touching story with characters that are thoughtful and real. The descriptions along the way are really beautiful and the journey that the characters go on will stay with me for a long time.
The only “negative” is that it is a long listen, it forced me to slow down and really focus, but it is very slow paced. Not something that can be listened to for a bit of light hearted relief, however I would recommend finding the time to listen to it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Caroline
- 30-03-22
beautiful book. amazing debut
this is a beautifully written novel, well researched and with characters that you really want to know what happens. I couldnt put it down. amazing debut!!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-08-23
Fantastic
I really enjoyed this book I went through every emotion it spanned several decades and generations heart wrenching in places an enjoyable book beautiful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ms K Sara Kent
- 24-09-23
Peach Blossom Spring
A delightfully written story of a family’s hardship, love and perseverance through difficult times, war and displacement. Complex and deep relationships, with graphic examples demonstrating both the good and bad in human mankind.
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