by Jean Kwok
SYNOPSIS
Jasmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China's one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she's forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it all: a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca's job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.
Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again...
REVIEW
The Leftover Woman follows the parallel stories of Jasmine and Rebecca. Unbeknownst to them, despite living completely different lives and coming from totally different cultural backgrounds, they have one very strong connection in Rebecca's adopted daughter FiFi. Jasmine is determined to face up to distressing events from her past and is willing to do anything she can to make contact with the daughter she thought she had lost. However, her journey isn't an easy one as she is heavily in debt to the gang who helped to smuggle her from China into the United States, and at the same time she is desperate to keep her whereabouts hidden from her abusive husband. Meanwhile, Rebecca is just trying to live a normal happy life, completely unaware of the bombshell which is about to rock their family to the core.
This was a fascinating insight into arranged marriages and the Chinese one child rule, and it was really interesting to see their different cultures and beliefs woven into the story. Seeing America through the eyes of someone who has just arrived from China and just how hard it is to assimilate into a different society.
This story didn’t have quite as much of a thriller element as I was expecting, there was definitely tension but it was more subtle and felt like more of a devastating family saga with themes of resentment, acceptance, jealousy, belonging, class, racism and entitlement. Either way it was beautifully written and a totally absorbing story about the power of motherhood.
Thanks to Random Things Tours - @RandomTTours, Jean Kwok - @JeanKwok and Viper Books - @ViperBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Publisher: Viper Books Genre: Mystery / Psychological Thriller
ISBN: 978-1805220107
Pages: 288pp
Comments