By Kathryn Harrison
Book fair book.
At the end of the 19th century, May, the novel's central character, begins life in a traditional Chinese family, has her feet bound and then is married unhappily to a silk merchant. Escaping to Shanghai, May starts life as a prostitute and eventually marries her second husband, a Jewish man. Settled into the home of her husband's family, May becomes close to her husband's niece, Alice, who has her own issues with life. The stories of these women go from China to Russia to London to Nice as they travel from childhood through adulthood.
This book covers a lot of ground. There is foot-binding and its effects, physical and mental, abortions, opium addictions, strangers on trains, misbehaving school girls, etc. It was interesting to see how May and Alice's lives progressed for better or for worse and taking directions I didn't see coming per se. But mostly it was a story about women with issues.
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