The Valley of Amazement

By: Amy Tan

Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Joyce Bean, Amy Tan

Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author of The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan brings us her latest novel: a sweeping, evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity - from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village

Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the privileged daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery and forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Half-Chinese and half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West - until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion, though she still struggles to understand who she is.

Back in 1897 San Francisco, Violet's mother, Lucia, chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, when her infatuation with a Chinese painter compels her to leave her home for Shanghai. Shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions, she is unable to change him, despite her unending American ingenuity.

Fueled by betrayals, both women refuse to submit to fate and societal expectations, persisting in their quests to recover what was taken from them: respect; a secure future; and, most poignantly, love from their parents, lovers, and children. To reclaim their lives, they take separate journeys - to a backwater hamlet in China, the wealthy environs of the Hudson River Valley, and, ultimately, the unknown areas of their hearts, where they discover what remains after their many failings to love and be loved. Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement transports listeners from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty to the beginning of the Republic and recaptures the lost world of old Shanghai through the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreigners living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II. A deeply evocative narrative of the profound connections between mothers and daughters, imbued with Tan's characteristic insight and humor, The Valley of Amazement conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and obstinacy of love.

©2013 Amy Tan (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

loved it

Amy Tan has done it again. I loved it. A real tearjerker, a smile maker.

So heartfelt

Thank You Amy Tan for writing another wonderful book. I love the story. I love it so much because it brought so many emotions to my heart. It make me angry, sad, happy and lonely. thank you for taking me on such an emotional journey

Interesting History, good flowing read

Where does The Valley of Amazement rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was a well thought out story and brought in history throughout as well. Although at times it was a bit to much like Memoirs of a Geshia, it was still good. The ending although was a bit abrupt.

Made me late for work!

Any additional comments?

Made me late for work because I couldn't get out of the car until the chapter ended. Buyer beware! Beautiful story!

Good story!

Good story! Takes some time to get involved in the plot. Once you get hooked however, it is hard to stop. Strong women. Strong culture.

Great read!

Thoroughly enjoyed! Another timeless classic by Amy Tan. I loved the characters and felt right along with them. I'd read it again!

Sweeping Shanghai Historical Novel

Amy Tan's "The Valley of Amazement" is a sweeping historical novel of a young half-Chinese, half-American woman growing up in the International Settlement of Shanghai at the turn of the century. The in depth structure of looking at 1-3 persons' lives reminded me of "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, and the multi-generational historical events Tan captures reminded me of "Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee.

Tan classically delivers on her specialty of drama, humor, personal familial relationships between women, and overcoming trauma. One of my only critiques of "The Joy Luck Club" is that all the men in that book seem useless and either evil or irrelevant, but the male characters in "The Valley of Amazement" are interesting, engaging, and unique. This books does an excellent job of building the vibrant courtesan world of Shanghai with lush fullness, but still keeps us narratively and emotionally close to our core cast of characters.

My biggest issue with this book was the POV shifts, however, which prevent me from giving this a full 5 star rating. For the first two thirds of the novel, we are exclusively in Violet's POV, then suddenly we are thrown into Lu Lu's POV. This was so jarring that I had to put the book aside for a few days; this POV shift is right after a major emotional release for Violet, and her Mom is a much less sympathetic character, so I felt like I had almost had to start from square one with caring about these characters again. Then we switch to Violet's POV again for the last ~1/5th of the book, so dragging us through Lu Lu's upbringing doesn't really serve any purpose other than to describe the hot sex she had with Lu Xing before she realized he was such a spineless tool? I just felt a disconnect between Lu Lu's character as told from Violet's early perspective, Lu Lu's POV, and the older woman Lu Lu becomes at the very end of the novel. Violet's character is definitely the bread and butter of this book, followed by Lu Lu 1.0, Lu Lu 2.0, Flora, and lastly Lu Lu 3.0.

The ending also feels a bit rushed; after such a long book, it was as if she almost just wanted to get everything over with rather than fleshing out Flora's generational experience. I did, however, quite like the metaphorical framing of the final reflections Violet has on the last page; those last paragraphs were quite well done. I loved how Tan crafts found families and sisterhood groups throughout the book, though I think Pamala should have been mentioned more at the very end and the issues with Violet and Lu Lu wrapped up less perfectly at the end.

I recommend this to fans of historical fiction, Shanghai history, Shanghai culture, courtesan culture, good sex scenes (though also content warning of some rape and domestic abuse in the middle), sisterhood drama and overcoming trauma together, found families, Chinese-American stories, and fans of Amy Tan's body of work. This is the second novel by Tan I have read, and I look forward to reading more.

Layered, complex story good liste

Engaging, a page turner in terms of a story that keeps you hooked. Great, complex characters and good detail on life inside a high class brothel.

Fascinating cultural/historical insights

This book was both engrossing and painful to hear. The characters had so much pain in their lives and the listener feels that pain. This is not a fluffy entertaining book. The interwoven themes are thought provoking. The stories of several characters go back and forth in time but it’s not hard to follow. The only reason I give this book a four star rating instead of five is that it could have been more concise. Don’t listen to this with kids in the car.

The Valley

I love this story! So humanly described people’s circumstances. I wanted the book to continue.