Author: Lisa See
Year published: 2026
Category: Adult fiction (historical)
Pages: 384
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2026 Google Reading map): China and USA (CA)
Summary: In 1870, three Chinese women arrive in the small, dusty, and violent pueblo of Los Angeles. Dove, the bound-footed daughter of an imperial scholar, is entrancing and innocent. These characteristics should bring her great rewards, beginning with her arranged marriage to a much older merchant. Petal, the big-footed daughter of peasants, has grown up hungry and with dirt between her toes. In a moment of desperation, Petal’s father sells her to buy money for rice seed, and she is loaded onto a ship to the Gold Mountain—America—where she is once again sold. Moon is married to a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She is educated, speaks fluent English, and has been endowed with a face of great beauty, yet her failed footbinding as a child has left her with a limp that lessens her value in the eyes of many.
Each woman has her own desires. Dove wants to love and be loved, Petal desires freedom, and Moon seeks justice. Together they face a larger society that wishes them not one ounce of good will. Anti-Chinese sentiment is strong in Los Angeles, and this eventually leads to the Night of Horrors during which all three women are challenged in ways they could not have imagined. Brought together by hardship and heartbreak, they must use their bravery, endurance, and ability to “eat bitterness” to discover their voices, find freedom, and connect through solace and friendship. Together they are daughters of the sun and moon.
Review: A new Lisa See! I got so excited when I saw this book at my local indie book store. I adore her novels that I've read (links to my reviews): Island of Sea Women, Shanghai Girls, Dreams of Joy, China Dolls, Lady Tan's Circle of Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Lisa See is such a wonderful storyteller, even when (or perhaps especially when) the story is a tough one to read. The three main women all arrive in Los Angeles in different ways (trafficked, married, and as a to-be bride), but they all have controlled and confined lives. I was so pleased that they found one another and were able to support each other even though it is secret.
The descriptions of life for Chinese women in California are heart-wrenching. Men were not kind, nor understanding. When money and power are involved, women suffer. The descriptions of Los Angeles are fascinating (it was only a town of 5,000!), and sometimes I found myself focusing on the historical aspects to make the horrible treatment of women more bearable. There are many moments--all of Pearl's story--that are so very difficult to read.
This novel is just so good. My favorite part is how it shows the strength of women and the power of female friendships.
You all know I love an After Word, and the one for this novel is very good. So many of the characters were real people or composites of a couple of real people. The "main event" is true and, See explains all the connections. I love it when historical fiction isn't just based on real events, but when real people and events are told the way they happened, with a fantastic story wrapped around it.
Challenges for which this counts:
- 20 Books of Summer
- Immigration: China to the USA
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