-
What We Were Promised
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $29.65
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Place for Us
- A Novel
- By: Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia, their headstrong eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride.
-
-
Started on Audible, finished with a book in my hand
- By CO Mom on 09-17-18
-
The Samurai's Garden
- A Novel
- By: Gail Tsukiyama
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight.
-
-
A Novel Painted with a Master's Brush
- By Bay Area Califa on 06-25-18
By: Gail Tsukiyama
-
A River of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Hua
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holed up with other mothers-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory and fell in love with the married owner, Boss Yeung. Now she’s carrying his baby. To ensure that his child - his first son - has every advantage, Boss Yeung has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. As Scarlett awaits the baby’s arrival, she spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited pregnant teenager who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend.
-
-
Wonderful surprise!
- By Barbara Voss on 10-16-18
By: Vanessa Hua
-
Last Tang Standing
- By: Lauren Ho
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 33, Andrea Tang is living the dream: She has a successful career as a lawyer, a posh condo, and a clutch of fun-loving friends who are always in the know about Singapore's hottest clubs and restaurants. All she has to do is make partner at her law firm and she will have achieved everything she's worked for. And if she's about to become the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang clan - a disappointment her meddling Chinese Malaysian family won't let her forget - well, who needs a husband, anyway?
-
-
Last Tang Standing is Outrageously Funny!
- By ETHEL JOY MONTANO on 06-18-20
By: Lauren Ho
-
The Library of Legends
- A Novel
- By: Janie Chang
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
China, 1937: When Japanese bombs begin falling on the city of Nanking, 19-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of more than 100 students, faculty, and staff must walk 1,000 miles to the safety of China’s western provinces, a journey marred by hunger, cold, and the constant threat of aerial attack. And it is not just the student refugees who are at risk: Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure, a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends.
-
-
Wonderful and Umique!
- By D. Fields on 02-18-22
By: Janie Chang
-
Mila 18
- By: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: David deVries
- Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a time of crisis, a time of tragedy - and a time of transcendent courage and determination. Leon Uris’s blazing novel is set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of Warsaw boldly met Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists. Here, painted on a canvas as broad as its subject matter, is the compelling story of one of the most heroic struggles of modern times.
-
-
True Heroism
- By Shmuel M on 05-13-18
By: Leon Uris
-
A Place for Us
- A Novel
- By: Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia, their headstrong eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride.
-
-
Started on Audible, finished with a book in my hand
- By CO Mom on 09-17-18
-
The Samurai's Garden
- A Novel
- By: Gail Tsukiyama
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight.
-
-
A Novel Painted with a Master's Brush
- By Bay Area Califa on 06-25-18
By: Gail Tsukiyama
-
A River of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Hua
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holed up with other mothers-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory and fell in love with the married owner, Boss Yeung. Now she’s carrying his baby. To ensure that his child - his first son - has every advantage, Boss Yeung has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. As Scarlett awaits the baby’s arrival, she spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited pregnant teenager who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend.
-
-
Wonderful surprise!
- By Barbara Voss on 10-16-18
By: Vanessa Hua
-
Last Tang Standing
- By: Lauren Ho
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 33, Andrea Tang is living the dream: She has a successful career as a lawyer, a posh condo, and a clutch of fun-loving friends who are always in the know about Singapore's hottest clubs and restaurants. All she has to do is make partner at her law firm and she will have achieved everything she's worked for. And if she's about to become the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang clan - a disappointment her meddling Chinese Malaysian family won't let her forget - well, who needs a husband, anyway?
-
-
Last Tang Standing is Outrageously Funny!
- By ETHEL JOY MONTANO on 06-18-20
By: Lauren Ho
-
The Library of Legends
- A Novel
- By: Janie Chang
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
China, 1937: When Japanese bombs begin falling on the city of Nanking, 19-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of more than 100 students, faculty, and staff must walk 1,000 miles to the safety of China’s western provinces, a journey marred by hunger, cold, and the constant threat of aerial attack. And it is not just the student refugees who are at risk: Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure, a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends.
-
-
Wonderful and Umique!
- By D. Fields on 02-18-22
By: Janie Chang
-
Mila 18
- By: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: David deVries
- Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a time of crisis, a time of tragedy - and a time of transcendent courage and determination. Leon Uris’s blazing novel is set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of Warsaw boldly met Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists. Here, painted on a canvas as broad as its subject matter, is the compelling story of one of the most heroic struggles of modern times.
-
-
True Heroism
- By Shmuel M on 05-13-18
By: Leon Uris
-
The Lager Queen of Minnesota
- A Novel
- By: J. Ryan Stradal
- Narrated by: Judith Ivey
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.
-
-
Best audiobook ever
- By KayMac on 09-02-19
By: J. Ryan Stradal
-
The Forgotten Sister
- By: Nicola Cornick
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of the spellbinding historical novels of Philippa Gregory and Kate Morton comes a stunning story based on a real-life Tudor mystery, of a curse that echoes through the centuries and shapes two women’s destinies....1560: Amy Robsart is trapped in a loveless marriage to Robert Dudley, a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Surrounded by enemies and with nowhere left to turn, Amy hatches a desperate scheme to escape - one with devastating consequences that will echo through the centuries.
-
-
LOVE LOVE LOVE
- By Julie Ann on 11-16-20
By: Nicola Cornick
-
Swan Dive
- The Making of a Rogue Ballerina
- By: Georgina Pazcoguin
- Narrated by: Georgina Pazcoguin
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has been her livelihood, NYCB’s first Asian American female soloist Georgina Pazcoguin lays bare her unfiltered story of leaving small-town Pennsylvania for New York City and training amid the unique demands of being a hybrid professional athlete/artist, all before finishing high school. She pitches us into the fascinating, whirling shoes of dancers in one of the most revered ballet companies in the world with an unapologetic sense of humor about the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest mentality at NYCB.
-
-
Pure joy!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-31-21
-
The Bombay Prince
- By: Sujata Massey
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
India’s only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is compelled to bring justice to the family of a murdered female Parsi student just as Bombay’s streets erupt in riots to protest British colonial rule. Sujata Massey is back with this third installment to the Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning series set in 1920s Bombay.
-
-
Another world
- By Lee on 08-17-21
By: Sujata Massey
-
What's Left of Me Is Yours
- A Novel
- By: Stephanie Scott
- Narrated by: Janet Song, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Japan, a covert industry has grown up around the wakaresaseya (literally "breaker-upper"), a person hired by one spouse to seduce the other in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings. When Satō hires Kaitarō, a wakaresaseya agent, to have an affair with his wife, Rina, he assumes it will be an easy case.
-
-
Excellent book
- By William Michael Dunn on 07-06-20
By: Stephanie Scott
-
Sparks Like Stars
- A Novel
- By: Nadia Hashimi
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marno
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kabul, 1978: The daughter of a prominent family, Sitara Zamani lives a privileged life in Afghanistan’s thriving cosmopolitan capital. The 1970s are a time of remarkable promise under the leadership of people like Sardar Daoud, Afghanistan’s progressive president, and Sitara’s beloved father, his right-hand man. But the ten-year-old Sitara’s world is shattered when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and Sitara’s entire family. Only she survives.
-
-
Amazing
- By Lisa on 03-26-21
By: Nadia Hashimi
-
Westering Women
- A Novel
- By: Sandra Dallas
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's February, 1852, and all around Chicago, Maggie sees postings soliciting "eligible women" to travel to the gold mines of Goosetown. A young seamstress with a small daughter, she has nothing to lose. She joins 43 other women and two pious reverends on the dangerous 2,000-mile journey west. None are prepared for the hardships they face on the trek or for the strengths they didn't know they possessed. Maggie discovers she’s not the only one looking to leave dark secrets behind.
-
-
history adventure and a good dose of women empower
- By Stephanie on 09-16-20
By: Sandra Dallas
-
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
- By: Colleen Oakley
- Narrated by: Sara Sheckells
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island - a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay - is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing.
-
-
What the Frick
- By Ocean Breeze on 06-09-21
By: Colleen Oakley
-
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
- A Novel
- By: Alka Joshi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam, Deepa Samuel
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At 20, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema. Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried.
-
-
Re-tells the first book
- By Erica Howard on 06-27-21
By: Alka Joshi
-
The Cartographer's Secret
- By: Tea Cooper
- Narrated by: Casey Withoos
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A gripping historical mystery for fans of Kate Morton and Natasha Lester’s The Paris Seamstress, The Cartographer’s Secret follows a young woman’s quest to heal a family rift as she becomes entangled in one of Australia’s greatest historical puzzles.
-
-
What Happened to Evie?
- By Anonymous User on 11-25-21
By: Tea Cooper
-
Vince and Joy
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish, Leighton Pugh
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From adolescent snogging to apartment shares, relationships, career crises, and children, Vince and Joy is the unforgettable story of two lives lived separately but forever entwined. Back in the '80s, teenagers Vince and Joy met, fell desperately in love, parted, and never quite said goodbye. Now, nearly 20 years later, they’ve both begun to ask themselves if that long-ago romance was the enduring love they’ve been searching for....
-
-
Most frustrating and disappointing story
- By Kristyn Rose on 05-28-20
By: Lisa Jewell
-
Last Boat Out of Shanghai
- The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution
- By: Helen Zia
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic real-life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China's 1949 Communist revolution. Benny must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. Annuo, forced to flee with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the US in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America.
-
-
Incredibly enlightening!!
- By David L. Jones on 07-01-19
By: Helen Zia
Publisher's Summary
Named one of "60 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2018" by Huffington Post.
Set in modern Shanghai, a debut by a Chinese-American writer about a prodigal son whose unexpected return forces his newly wealthy family to confront painful secrets and unfulfilled promises.
After years of chasing the American dream, the Zhen family has moved back to China. Settling into a luxurious serviced apartment in Shanghai, Wei, Lina, and their daughter, Karen, join an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals who have returned to a radically transformed city.
One morning, in the eighth tower of Lanson Suites, Lina discovers that a treasured ivory bracelet has gone missing. This incident sets off a wave of unease that ripples throughout the Zhen household. Wei, a marketing strategist, bows under the guilt of not having engaged in nobler work. Meanwhile, Lina, lonely in her new life of leisure, assumes the modern moniker taitai - a housewife who does no housework at all. She is haunted by the circumstances surrounding her arranged marriage to Wei and her lingering feelings for his brother, Qiang. Sunny, the family's housekeeper, is a keen but silent observer of these tensions. An unmarried woman trying to carve a place for herself in society, she understands the power of well-kept secrets. When Qiang reappears in Shanghai after decades on the run with a local gang, the family must finally come to terms with the past and its indelible mark on their futures.
From a silk-producing village in rural China, up the corporate ladder in suburban America, and back again to the post-Maoist nouveaux riches of modern Shanghai, What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families, and ourselves.
Critic Reviews
"A quietly brilliant book, and a truly singular debut." (Arna Bontemps Hemenway, award-winning author of Elegy on Kinderklavier)
"The magnificence and splendor of modern Shanghai come to life in Lucy Tan's debut novel." (Palm Beach Post)
"Tan's talent as a storyteller clearly shines through her strong plot lines and characterization; readers will want to know more about each well-crafted player in the story.... A novel of class, culture, and expectations; readers who enjoyed works like Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians will likely find Tan's surprising and down-to-earth tale an entertaining read." (Library Journal)
More from the same
What listeners say about What We Were Promised
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nanette L. Stearns
- 09-20-18
A solid book about an unfamiliar topic
I didn't know much about contemporary Chinese culture, especially among upper class executives. I found that part fascinating. I enjoyed the perspective on the Chinese expo and the "rags to riches" aspect of the culture and economy. I might have liked more closure/resolution at the end but that's more a personal preference than a criticism of the work.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- tereneal
- 06-23-21
Wonderful
Such a consuming and beautiful story. Narrator was very good. Looking for another Tan book now
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ~A
- 07-17-19
interesting look in China
through the first person narrative of Sunny, we are able to see the choices one can make during the economic development of China in the 90s. we also get a glimpse into the two generations before her and in doing so we get a glimpse into the economic emergence of China through the lives of its people.
the book itself is quite light and enjoyable. it's an easy read except for when it challenges the readers understanding of having choice versus having no choice over one's life.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- MLB
- 04-17-19
Engaging story, well written and beautifully read
Funny how, in such an exotic locale, the situations described feel familiar. There are some aspects to the story which would unique to China but the feelings and actions of the characters were so genuine that they were relatable.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- thcripp
- 08-05-20
Not for me
To me this was only ok. It dragged on and on. Glad to be finished but definitely returning.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-21-19
slow book
Book moved too slowly. Almost 11 hours is a long time for too slow character development .
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- gisele
- 12-14-18
excellent, vivid tale of loves
vivid interesting story about types of love, choices, family. it reminds me of Thrity Umrigar’s excellent books. i hope Sunny gets a sequel!
1 person found this helpful