With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion.
Quite a beautiful book not my normal reading but I really quite enjoyed this beautiful book.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure – I’m a sucker for intergenerational Chinese family dramas and this one is an absolute doozy. The book covers some of the most tumultuous periods in modern Chinese history spanning from the invasion of Japan through to the mid-2000s and follows the story of Meilin, her son Renshuu/Henry and their extended family members.

Obviously this is a time of huge upheaval in China and there is lots of time to cover in the space of one book. This is done successfully however, by grounding the story very much with the characters and their experiences of what happens around them, and is handled sensitively although it makes for difficult reading at times because you will really care about these characters.

One of the things that really struck me about this book was the huge sense of loss that the characters experience both in a tangible and emotional sense. As a reader I suppose it can be quite frustrating to not find out what happens to particular characters, in some cases characters that you have got very attached to, but I liked how the author was brave enough to make these writing decisions and it made it more credible to what would have been experienced in real life. In some sense it reminded me how I felt about Kainene’s disappearance in Half of a Yellow Sun. You know something bad has happened but like the characters in the book, you never find out exactly what.

As mother there were things that resonated with me personally in this story that I perhaps would not have felt if I had read it before I had children. The sacrifices that Meilin makes for Renshuu and the decisions she makes to ensure his safety and prosperity really struck a chord with me. There is also a real sense of intergenerational trauma and how this continues to impact on future generations, even those removed both physically and emotionally from the events that impacted on their wider family members. Despite some of the complicated emotions in this book I really felt like this is a story of hope, love an family and the different ways in which this love can be manifested and interpreted.

The sense of cultural estrangement experienced by both Renshuu/Henry and his daughter Lily was another aspect of the novel that I found interest. I know that I can’t claim to have been through anything similar to the horrors that the family in this book experience, but from my own mixed Italian/Greek background there is certainly a sense of the older generations wishing to leave difficult things in the past. My grandparents never wanted to talk about anything to do with the war or to share stories about that time. My own father never wanted to teach us Italian and my grandmother never wanted to teach us Greek. After leaving Greece during the war as a refugee and experiencing significant loss in her family during the war her situation was probably too difficult to think about and recall and I think lots of people from that that generation would feel the same and I think that was captured very effectively in this novel. The mixed race identity of Renshuu/Henry’s daughter was also explored really sensitively and the sense of disconnect from one half of her identity and the frustration of feeling she doesn’t quite fit in or belong anywhere is one that is likely to be familiar to many mixed race people.

I also thought it was interesting how the author portrayed Renshuu/Henry’s paranoia around the political attentions of his fellow Chinese immigrants who tried to connect with him once he had moved to the US. As a reader I thought it was interesting that we never really find out for sure whether or not his paranoia is in fact justified, or is it a result of Henry’s particular trauma. As with other events in the novel there is a question mark over what the reality of the situation really was – did those who asked him seemingly innocuous questions have ulterior motives or were they trying to make innocent conversation?

Considering the sheer scope of the time periods covered in this novel, it would have been difficult for certain parts not need to feel a bit rushed sometimes and that would be my only VERY mild niggle. For example, some parts of Lily’s story maybe felt a little rushed sometimes compared to some of the other character points of view.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and one I found both educational and emotionally compelling. I felt genuinely sad when it ended, and I felt like I was going to miss these characters. I really enjoyed the importance of stories in the book, both the stories from Meilin’s scroll and the individual lives of the main characters and how these played out. The book links into wider issues around cultural heritage, how one connects to that heritage and how they connect to the loss of that heritage either through the loss of family and culture.

P.S. If I could ask the author one question - Did Renshuu’s pear trees grow?!

Peach Blossom Spring - Melissa Fu
In a nutshell - beautiful, moving, quite exquisite writing.

Melissa Fu takes an intricate journey through a complex period of 20th century history, of China, Taiwan and the USA - and weaves a deeply engrossing, beautifully expressed and exquisitely written story of love, loss, loneliness, courage, endurance - a whole panoply of human qualities which transports the reader.
I couldn't put it down.

The re-telling of fables and moral stories, the vivid descriptions, the careful character development all carried me through a history I suspect many in the Western world have not fully understood nor even known.
The challenges of culture change both within and beyond China, the determination and resolve to adapt and move forward, and the power of love to overcome distance are sensitively explored and expressed.

The language is a joy; images of landscapes, townscapes, artifacts and daily rituals bring the stories to life in a way that transports the reader into these contrasting, evolving worlds, whilst also showing the developing characters with their strengths, hopes, fears and flaws and ultimate determination.

Highly recommended, for me, a masterpiece, from the evocative title to the superbly crafted passage through time and world-changing events.

Sweeping across several generations of one family, I was concerned that I wouldn’t build up any relationship with the characters and want to know what happened to them all. However, the characters were all very engaging and I found myself quickly captivated by the beautifully written characters.
Having lived for a year in China, I have always been drawn to books set there. The book was set during a part of its history that I knew little about. It has given me a greater understanding of the troubles of the time and has left me keen to find out more.
A beautifully written book full of depth and interest.

Sorry this book just wasn’t for me. Nothing to do with the writer or the way it is writen it is purely because it’s not my usual genre, I wanted to try books which I normally wouldn’t read. Thank you to publisher and Netgalley.

Peach Blossom Spring is a remarkably written novel of a young mother, Meilin, who loses her husband to the war and how she later against all odds, protects and provides for her son Renshu. Their hardships and struggles are so well depicted and described with such raw honesty that at times brought tears to my eyes.

This novel gives the reader lots to ponder on, simple joys in life that we many times take for granted, family ties and bonds that cant be broken so easily severed and the love of a mother for her child that at times words are not sufficient to describe.

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This a beautifully powerful story I couldnt out it down and i loved every bit of it from the story to the characters to the setting

Oh wow. I have just reluctantly laid down my Kindle having finished this novel and already I’m regretting reading it so quickly. I want to slip back inside the wonderful world Melissa Fu has created and spend more time with Henry, Lily and Meilin.
I was a teenager when I read Jung Chang’s Wild Swans for the first time and ever since the history of modern China has fascinated and saddened me in equal measure. The turmoil the country faced for so many decades, long after Western Europe had been at war, when we in the west were buying microwave ovens and VCRs so many Chinese families were still split and so many citizens lived in fear of discovery, of what they may not even have known. What I didn’t know however was anything of the history of Taiwan and of the families who left the mainland for its sanctuary. Peach Blossom spring helped to fill in this gap in my knowledge and has inspired me to look for other books on the subject.
Fu’s writing is typically Chinese. Poetic, soft and gentle covering all the evils of the world in a silk veil that doesn’t completely hide what lies beneath but muffles it, covers it in something beautiful as Meilin did when telling Renshu and Liling the stories from the scroll.
There is an honesty in the writing that means your empathy for each character becomes strong and understanding. No one is a hero or a villain in this story, people are simply doing their best with what they have, what they know and what they can cope with.
There is so much in this novel to ponder over, familial bonds and responsibilities, emigration and loyalty to both home and adoptive countries but always with a great sense of acceptance and looking to the future.
I really look forward to Ms Fu’s next novel, at least I hope there is one to look forward to!

Beautifully written and brought me to tears. Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It's about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the search for a place to call home. Top marks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️