![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The second half of the book is the story of Renshu, now renamed Henry Dao, as he attends graduate school in Chicago in the 1960s and settles into life in the United States. The ensuing years see both Renshu and Taiwan grow impressively. They settle into a working-class existence in Taiwan, with Renshu remaining the center of Meilin’s life he is all that is left of her extended family, which was separated while fleeing the mainland. Through it all, Meilin shepherds Renshu physically and emotionally, making use of a family heirloom scroll with key scenes from Chinese folk tales to reassure Renshu and help him make sense of their experiences. Although it’s not quite a page-turner, there are several dramatic escapes, miscommunications, and separations. ![]() The first half of Peach Blossom Spring is an alternately harrowing and heartwarming depiction of refugee life. She and Renshu end up in Taiwan, where Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists have migrated with the hope of returning to mainland China after the Communists are defeated. Her life torn apart by war, she attempts to rebuild it in the next city but is forced to leave again. Her husband is missing in action and presumed dead. When Japan invades China in 1938, Meilin and her four-year-old son, Dao Renshu, flee their home in central China, along with her brother-in-law’s family. Peach Blossom Spring, Melissa Fu’s confident and accomplished debut, is the story of four generations of one family over 60 years. ![]()
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