This novel has a great concept driving how the story unfolds--3 comrades who survived the end of WW2 in China and heard the Japanese emperor's surrender on the radio meet back in their former village from beyond the grave after the final man dies. Primarily in the voices of the three friends, the life story of a young Chinese woman is told by the three men who loved her.

TW for some seriously brutal sexual assault scenes and rampant misogyny even from her allies, and there's one weird chapter in the middle told from the POVs of two pet dogs. Weird and not my favorite choice on behalf of the author, but not bad enough to ruin the book for me. In general, I think it was an interesting and significant choice to use all these other (male) narrators to tell the life story of a strong, determined woman who survived so much in her life. Poignant that the reader never gets to hear Ah Yan's story in her own voice.

I gather this author is a bestselling novelist in contemporary China--I hope more of her books get translated into English. I would gladly read more from her.

This book tells the story of a young woman named Ah Yan, from the perspective of three different men in China who knew her during World War II. It’s told by their ghosts, almost in conversation with each other. The writing is, at times, really engaging, namely the later quarter of the book. The middle drags on a bit because we know much of the story from the start. The author withheld plot information from the reader to keep us interested, and this slowed the pace of the book; you jump to a different perspective just as you are about to reach the answer, essentially rebooting the story.

I also found the depiction of Ah Yan and the trials she went through too serving toward the men. She’s literally silenced for chapters of the text, and much of her agency is taken away. Her life felt like a catalyst for the men in the story, and as their property almost, as we don’t get her perspective at all. There’s also pedophilia suggested, sexual assault, rape, and other abuse toward Ah Yan, which turned my stomach. She was obviously a strong woman to survive what she did, but I felt the author used her as a device rather than a full character of her own. I didn’t feel connected to her because of this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

A fascinating and intriguing novel with cleverly woven strands, telling several stories with detail and careful elaboration of characters, scenarios and locations. Time-shifting, capturing change and the destruction of war,
strengths and weaknesses, and the power of tradition to influence lives, yet retaining a hopeful and compassionate mood.
Beautiful language revealing surprising events and outcomes, subtle hints and possibilities, yet has the power to keep one reading right to the end to discover the final denouement.
Excellent and highly recommended.

A captivating story of a Chinese woman told through the eyes of three men who enter her life at different times and leave their imprint on her life through their own mistakes, shortcomings and weaknesses.

The three protagonists make a promise to each other that they would meet at a certain spot on a fixed date after their deaths and this story is the story of their memories of life, despite being narrated by “ghosts” the storyline doesn’t seem contrived or amusing in the least.

The narration begins with the account of Liu Zhaohu, who grew up along Ah Yan, a young girl, on her tea plantation in a small village.
He later on enlists in the army against The Japanese invasion abandoning Ah Yan at a crucial time.

The second narrative is that of Pastor Billy, an American missionary living and working as a doctor in China.
His support and protection ensures that Stella, a name he decides for Ah Yan, lives and survives despite the odds against her.

The third is that of Ian Ferguson, a military instructor training soldiers in the war against the Japanese forces.
He meets Ah Yan through Pastor Billy and falls in love with her.

The story is about Ah Yan as she struggles and grapples with the challenges of life and has her trust broken again and again despite having loved unconditionally.

The transformation of Ah Yan over the years is beautifully depicted and so are the depth and range of the emotions of those who loved and lost her and in many ways themselves too.

Loved the flowery language and the vivid description of places.
Despite being a translation, I can say the charm of this book has not been lost in translation.

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.