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Product Details
Atria, July 2009
Hardcover, 368 pages
ISBN-10: 1416598898
ISBN-13: 9781416598893
Description
Mary and Ingrid are sisters who were born and brought up in China but now reside in the United States. Mary is the older of the two; seemingly a devoted wife, mother, and churchgoer. Yet she is tormented by adultery, a grudge toward her parents, and her despair at work. Her estranged sister Ingrid has never settled for anything; she prefers her bohemian friends' culture to her own, and is haunted by her college boyfriend's tragic death. When their widowed mother travels to the United States for the first time, they can't avoid a family get-together. Amid all it stirs up, it becomes clear that the uneasy relationship between the sisters has roots deeper than either had ever acknowledged—and extends to their parents and their homeland.
Stretching from mid-century China to the United States at the turn of the millennium, Beautiful as Yesterday explores issues of identity, of family and friendship, love and loss. Written in beautifully crafted prose, this is a penetrating exploration of what it means to belong, and the impact of history and memories on one's life.
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Browse Inside Beautiful as Yesterday"Fan Wu tell tales of modern Chinese women without mythologizing or romanticizing their lives. Her stories are foreign and familiar all at once, her writing beautiful and spirited."
-- Sandra Cisneros, bestselling author of House on Mango Street
"A delicate and brilliant novel on the arguments, triumphs, loves and differences of a Chinese family in America."
-- Xinran, author of China Witness and Good Women of China
"Fan Wu tells tales of modern Chinese women without mythologizing or romanticizing their lives. Her stories are foreign and familiar all at once, her writing beautiful and spirited."
-- Sandra Cisneros, bestselling author of House on Mango Street
Nerve.com, December 22, 2009
...cry from the twee Diablo Cody, though we could see where you would get that comparison from. • Fan Wu: The Chinese-American novelists second book, Beautiful as Yesterday , was one of the top 50 notable books of the year , according to ...
San Francisco Chronicle, September 2, 2009
...labor camps. It exposes torture and dehumanization, but is also a powerful rumination on hope, love and humanity. Fan Wu of San Jose, who was born on a state-run labor farm in China, is the author of the novel 'Beautiful as Yesterday,' ...
San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 2009
...to a family: You share history, draw borders, are sometimes proud of belonging and at other times conflicted. 'Beautiful as Yesterday,' by San Jose writer Fan Wu, explores the consequences of trapping one family between two nations. Placidly ...
Fan Wu's Books
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February FlowersSet in modern China, February Flowers tells the stories of two young women, their journeys to self-discovery, and their reconciliation with the past.Read More
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