The Valley of Amazement
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The Valley of Amazement
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Narrated by:
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Nancy Wu
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Joyce Bean
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Amy Tan
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By:
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Amy Tan
About this listen
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Valley of Amazement
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jessica
- 23-05-24
amazing
I really enjoyed this book the ups and many downs and similarities in the generations of women
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Kas
- 03-09-21
Just, wow... Easily my new favourite Amy Tan book
Previously 'The Hundred Secret Senses' was my favourite Amy Tan novel, but this is something special. I don't know how to describe it, just read it and allow yourself to be swept away.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Purpledenise
- 13-03-19
I miss this book
I loved every minute of this book. Great story beautifully told. I think I listened to it in about 4 or 5 sessions, only the need for sleep made me put it down. Its over 24hrs long and I wish there was more. Well done Ms Tan!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Riverside
- 18-08-21
Beautiful
This is a wonderfully beautiful and evocative story. I was gripped from the start. Complex characters that I felt I could really invest in.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HannahP
- 04-12-19
loved this book!
a great listen, easy to follow book that wont leave you bored. I really enjoyed this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Angie D B
- 29-07-21
Great
Loved it couldn't stop listening
Narrators brilliant a lot better than others I've listened to
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 13-12-22
Thoroughly enjoyed
Loved the story and thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Long but worth while. Recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SRem
- 08-10-23
24 hours is not long enough
This book is great for fans of Memoirs of a Geisha and is not suitable for those who are easily offended by sexual descriptions.
This is a wonderful story and I was kept interested throughout! I wouldn't normally go for a book so long, but even when it finished I wished it could have gone on longer. Thank you Amy Tan for another brilliant book that is well paced and very descriptive - I could see everything clearly in my minds eye. The narrators were also excellent 👌
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 28-05-23
Stunning!
Superbly written intricate tale which will transport you and your emotions to another time, and lives you cannot help engaging in. I couldn't stop listening, and will probably listen again. Beautifully read.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ms. Sheila A. Hyem Hunter
- 23-02-24
Disappointing - gave up after six chapters.
I've always loved Amy Tan books, but really could not summon up any interest whatsoever in the main or subsidiary characters in this book. It simply failed to "come alive" for me, and the petulant teenager of the first few chapters irritated me terribly - I found I simply did not care what befell her. It was a disappointment, especially as I find I am unable to return the book as I have done on rare occasions previously. I thought I was in for a treat, as Amy Tan books have always previously been for me. I suppose I also found it difficult to really believe in a brothel run by the heroine's American mother, though I am sure Amy Tan must be accurate in this.
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