Peach Blossom Spring

A Novel

By: Melissa Fu

Narrated by: Eugenia Low

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In this "beautifully rendered" novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, three generations of a Chinese family search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).

"Within 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, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, 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? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

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 haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

©2022 Melissa Fu (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“Magical, and powerful, Peach Blossom Spring brings to life the costs of wars and conflicts while illuminating the spirit of human survival. Inspired by her father’s real-life experiences and her determination to comprehend her family’s past, Melissa Fu has gifted us with a timely, moving, and universal novel.” (Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of The Mountains Sing)

"A beautifully rendered meditation on the trials and triumphs of a family torn apart by war, Peach Blossom Spring left me pondering how the stories we choose to pass down have the power not only to define us, but to buoy us - to help us persevere through the most challenging of times.” (Georgia Hunter, New York Times best-selling author of We Were the Lucky Ones)

“Peach Blossom Spring is a sweeping epic that transports the reader from war-torn China, where a mother consoles her son with ancient fables, through to modern-day America, where a little girl searches for her identity and the secrets of her father’s history. Melissa Fu effortlessly conjures a world rich in texture, taste and detail in this gentle, heartfelt, and moving story. It’s 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, author of Ariadne)

A Fabulous Book of Family hopes and dreams

The setting begins during the attack of Japan on China., back in a time that few Americans know about. The stuggkes of family separations, dreams being lost but hope never far away—the faith of a mother and son and the love they shared. Beautifully written and performed on Audible.

Multigenerational family story intimately portrayed

From a striking opening paragraph to the final coda, each character was beautifully brought to life and emotionally developed. I cared deeply from the second sentence when I was told that the wives names were irrelevant to the last peach carefully cut open, lovingly eaten. At turns angry, frustrated, head-slapping, eyes-rolling, cheering, smiling and crying. This is a rich landscaped history.

I’m hoping the scroll is real and I can find it one day.

Immigration story spanning generations

I found this book to be engaging and well told. My dad was a war orphan and then refugee to this country from behind the iron curtain in Eastern Europe. Parts were very relatable to my experience, while other aspects were unique to immigrants from Taiwan/China and then of course to this family specifically. Sometimes difficult, but overall an enjoyable listen! I would especially recommend for 1st gen us citizens- we will never fully comprehend the hardships our parents went through, that’s one reason they came here, because they didn’t want us to.

Started out strong but ended up just OK

The reader had some mouth noises (described by another reviewer as "wet" sounds) that took a bit to get used to. I personally never stop listening to a book based on whether or not I like a reader as I would hate to miss out on a wonderful story for just that reason, so I persevered and eventually got used to her.
The book itself started out really well. I was in love with Meilin and Renshu from the start. I most especially loved Meilin's scroll and the stories she told Renshu with the Scroll. But as the book progressed with Renshu moving to America, becoming Henry Dao, the story started to become weaker. When Lily was introduced, and her character progressed, I began to lose interest and just wished the book would hurry up and end. The ending could have been so much more. It was disappointing to me. I felt the author could have done so much more with tying Meilin's story of the peach blossom spring into the ending of the book.
Overall, I thought this book was OK. It had the potential to be a wonderful generational saga but fell short. Still, I am glad I listened.

Needs a better narrator

The story was okay but the narrator was British and mad no attempt at a Chinese accent when voicing the characters in the story. It seemed odd to have the characters speak in a British accent.

wonderful

This is an incredible story. I enjoyed every word. It felt like historical fiction.

Wonderful, heart wrenching story

Historical fiction is my jam and even though Peach Blossom Spring was a slow start for me, once I got through a few chapters it drew me in. This is a multi generational story of a Chinese family and a search for identity, belonging, and place. Journey through WW II between China and Japan, the Chinese Civil war that follows, communist take over and the exile to Taiwan. Although it is a work of fiction, the story and characters felt so real. There’s a portion in the later part of the book where one character discovers peace through knowing the stories of a generation even if they don’t know their own particular story. There is much suffering and grief wound in this story but also resilience, rebuilding, and the beauty of heritage. I love the Asian folktales and story of the scroll woven throughout this story. It ends so beautifully which is how I want all stories to be.
The narrator has a light accent but that just made listening to the story even better imo.

Difficult listening

I really wanted to love this book. After living and working in Asia for 22 years I have a great appreciation for China’s history and heritage. But this book was just painful.
The story is read, not performed in any way, and is reminiscent of how I read to my classroom of children with a little excitement, and few gruff voices for male characters. Ms Low is what I think of as a “wet reader”, with excessive lip-smacking, swallowing, lip-moistening, and just a general annoying wetness. Too close to microphone? Dentures? I don’t know what it is, but it is exceedingly distracting to the listener. Further, the reader’s Singaporean/British accent seems inauthentic for a book on China history. And there wasn’t much “lyrical” about the writing, it was more a recitation of events and dialogue. I found myself hungry for better descriptions of the landscapes and emotions of the story.
In short, I slogged through this listen, hoping to appreciate what it had to offer, but I would instead recommend Wild Swans for a three-generational story line, or Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for characters that come alive in their culture.

A must read for any child of immigrants

Listened to this story for my book club, and so glad it was chosen for this months reading. I would have never picked up a book like peach blossom spring on my own, but I loved the story!

There were moments that made me laugh, cry, and found myself comparing parts of the story to my life as a first generation American!

Some parts were slower than others and I thought gosh get on with it but overall the story was woven together so beautifully I would recommend.

It good

it is a mostly calm and mellow story that is just a good read for anyone.