Hits like Flower Net, The Interior and Dragon Bones have proved Lisa See is a master at conveying Chinese women's experiences.
On Gold Mountain
Lisa See’s first book, On Gold Mountain, chronicles her Chinese American family’s adventures for over 100 years. Although her red hair make her an unusual guide through the remarkable history of each family member who came to America in search of a better life, her research is thorough and this isn’t just the tale of an ordinary family. Lisa See captures the ambitious spirit of her Chinese relatives on their search for freedom on “Gold Mountain.”
Lisa See’s next book builds on her research for Gold Mountain and creates a fictitious world of Chinese and United States relations. Flower Net is the story of American David Stark and Chinese Liu Hulan as they get deeper into an investigation that starts with the deaths of prominent young men.
Crossing countries, customs and family deceit, the police forces on both sides of the ocean are given a ride through corruption as the time ticks by.
The Interior
Step back into the story of detective Liu Hulan and attorney David Stark’s world of secrets, lies and murder. Continuing from where Flower Net left off, the couple are now pregnant and ready to embark on a new journey they never expected.
But instead of focusing on a new baby, their lives are turned upside down as they investigate the death of a young villager and how she connects with a large American toy company in the interior of China.
Family values are tested, nothing is what it seems and Lisa See seamlessly weaves complicated Chinese traditions into a simple dramatic tale.
Taking off a few years after The Interior ends, the third novel in the Liu Hulan and David Stark chronicle throws the two into more wild adventures. Although not as immediately gripping as the first two books, Dragon Bones seeps into your mind as you begin to fit the pieces together.
Taking place along the intriguing Yangzi River, artefacts are unearthed that connect to the death of a foreigner. When the two heroes are assigned to separate cases in the same small village, the crimes merge for a murderous puzzle of ancient history and modern society. Another beautiful narrative by Lisa See.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Taking on a completely different tone, this elegant and intimate novel follows the lives of women in turn of the century rural China. This was a time when daughters were worthless, women communicated through the secret language of Nu Shu, bound their daughters feet in hopes of marrying them off to a wealthy family, and their greatest goal was to give birth to a son.
Lisa See knits together the stories of daughters, mothers, grandmothers and mothers-in-laws as they struggle to survive in a society that deems them insignificant. A haunting tale of love, friendship and the strength of the female sex.
Peony in Love
Spanning a lifetime of love, Lisa See delicately takes readers on the journey of Peony, a lovesick young woman in 17th century China. She has fallen in love in a time when affection had no part in marriage, when women sat hidden behind screens and when young brides could only obey.
Set around the opera The Peony Pavilion, See, once again, fleshes out the lives of women that have often been left unheard. Peony grows from a naïve girl to a wise woman, learning the hard way at every lily-footed step. This is another exquisite novel about the age-old complexities of love and the need for “women to be heard.”
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