What readers think of Peach Blossom Spring, plus links to write your own review.

Peace Blossom Spring is a beautifully written story about family ties, the effects of world, civil war when it is impossible to know who can be trusted, a mother's strength and determination, the value of stories that resonate throughout a lifetime, resilience, memories, happiness in small things, and the immigrant experience in America.

So much of this saga feels personal. I had the good fortune to spend two years in Taiwan followed by three years in Hong Kong and had conversations with people who lived through much of what Renshu and Meilin experienced in Peach Blossom Spring. The fears of government retaliation against family if one says the wrong thing. The identity crisis of what it means to be Chinese, how foreign students visiting China were treated as foreign dogs, how the Taiwan people never truly rest while PRC continues the threat of reunification…a nightmare of more than 70 years.

I love the stories from the precious scroll that Meilin tells Renshu through their journey.

And this quote makes my heart sing:
"Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune. And so it goes, until the end of time."
I usually pass along books to share with others. But this one I will keep.

The story follows Meilin and her son, Renshu, for a span of almost seventy years, as they make the perilous journey from war-torn, mainland China in 1938 to temporary safety in Taiwan to living different lives on different continents. I was inspired by Meilin's resilience, her love for her son, and the deep bond between them, and I was heartbroken by the many losses and setbacks the two of them must suffer. Yet the suffering is never without hope (Renshu, renamed 'Henry', makes a middle-class life for himself in the US and fathers a daughter who symbolizes the melting pot in all its questioning glory).

The novel covers more emotional ground than any I've read in a long while, the characters are utterly relatable, and Fu's prose is never less than evocative and stunning. All thumbs.

I absolutely loved this book. It checked all the required boxes for historical fiction and painted a heartrending picture of life in mainland China before, during and after WW2. As should be the case with good historical fiction, I learned things I didn't know. Some parts of the story moved faster than others, but I didn't find that, or the narrative style, distracting. Characters were well-developed and realistic enough that I got irritated with them at times. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to book clubs.

The writing was exquisite, and the characters in this novel will resonate long after finishing. The book is based on the author's own family, and what she learned about her father and grandmother's lives. I loved that I got to learn about WWII in an entirely different continent other than Europe. It also touches on the cultural revolution and the rise of communism, and how this affects Henry's fear and actions in America. The beautiful bond between Renshu and his mother in the early days was lovingly characterized, and there is a point about 2/3 of the way in that my heart absolutely ached for what plays out for them. While I found parts of Lily's story interesting (she is based on the author), my heart was really in it for Meilin and her fate. This story spans across three generations and many decades, and I was engaged until the very last page (and now I want to plant peach trees!).

An epic depiction of three lives, which includes instances of war, immigrant experience, immigration, parent/child bonds, activism, and more. Based on the author's family, the gorgeous cover of this one is definitely just a prelude to what is inside.

I enjoyed all of "Peach Blossom Spring". The story held my interest throughout the book. The characters were well written and interesting. China and Taiwan were also well-described, and I considered both countries to be characters. I would have like to have read a little more about China and Taiwan and Meilin's last years. A great book; I hope Melissa Fu will write another novel.

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu is a story that spans several generations beginning with the second Sino-Japanese War. Fu not only looks at the historical events, she also examines the consequences and generational impact of the trauma associated with the war, aftermath, and political fallout. Sensitive subject matter is carefully handled.

The passion the author has for this story is evident in her research and attention to detail. This resilient story will stay with me. I highly recommend this debut novel. Fans of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko will savor this one!

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu is a treasure, and I am honored to have read an advance copy to review for BookBrowse. The novel traces not only the history of a family but the history of a country. The turmoil of one reflects the turmoil of the other. One understands in this novel that history is a very personal thing, that history evolves day by day, experience by experience, person by person. History is sights, sounds, food, and above all, stories. I know too little about the history of China,but reading Ms. Fu's novel inspires me to learn and understand more. The characters develop smoothly in spite of the rough road they travel. Tracking their lives as they suffer through war and flee mainland China, navigate uncertain new lives in Taiwan, and ultimately find roots in America shines a light on the insecurities of the immigrant experience and the resiliency of the human spirit. The novel explores the power of love and respect, of family loyalty, of responsibility and self- determination as well as the difficulty and beauty of biracial identity. It reflects the perils of political currents and the jeopardy of ordinary people caught in the cross currents. The bond between Meilin and her son Renshu anchors the first half of the novel. It is a powerful bond of sacrifice and courage. The second half of the novel focuses on the need to acknowledge the stories of one's past to ensure the links to the future. Some find the past too painful; others find not knowing the past too perplexing. In both cases, the power of stories is central. Ms. Fu writes in the opening short chapter: "To tell a story is to plant a seed and let it grow." Peach Blossom Spring does just that from the first page to the last.

There is moonlight shining before my bed,
I suspect that there is frost on the ground,
Raising my head, I gaze at the moonlight,
Lowering my head, I think of my home village.
Lin Bai (701-762)

Just like the voice in what is arguably the most famous poem in China, so too the widowed Dao Meilin and her son Renshu are separated from their home village by war. Poems and stories tell of the past, of the present, and of the future. They are strong links between us and those who came before us. Peach Blossom Spring tells us the story of a mother's struggles, hardships, sacrifices, and hopes for her only son as they run for their lives from Changsha to, eventually, Taiwan. It also tells the story of Dao Renshu's immigration from Taiwan to the United States, his complicated transformation from Dao Renshu to Henry Dao and the issues that challenge him. And it tells us the story of his struggles to understand who he is just as his daughter Lily later struggles to understand who she is and who she wants to be. Author Melissa Fu has set an ambitious task for herself and she mostly succeeds. Always in the background is the sweeping history of modern China, little of which is explored in much depth. Readers seeking to learn about this tumultuous time in Chinese history may be disappointed. But they won't be disappointed in the novel as a story. Fu is an excellent story teller and Peach Blossom Spring is an absorbing read.