“Peach Blossom Spring” by Melissa Fu starts in a haphazard, chaotic way that only tales of war can. China is under siege by the Japanese, and the war tears Renshu’s family apart in more ways than one. American history classes did not talk much about this, so there is no shame if you are learning about it for the first time. The novel starts as a tale of a horrific but oddly familiar war-torn nation. As China exits World War II only to enter a rift with itself, things pick up as Renshu and his mother, Meilin, fight to survive.
Meilin fights to shield her growing son from the horrors of their civil war, but they struggle to find money. She lands a job at an emporium, which works until the Nationalists lose their wealth to spend on such extravagances. Even though she is a seamstress, a man assumes he has the right to rape her because she worked in an emporium. Since the story spans decades, the family has multiple obstacles to overcome as China goes from one conflict to the other.
A brilliant scroll that Meilin possesses drives the beginning of the story. It has many inspiring stories, but one that stands out asks, “How do you know this is not a blessing?” every time something tragic happens. Renshu begins to think positively after each trial and tribulation as a result. After all of this, you start to root for the characters, even when cliché parts about the ultimate dream being a trip to America occur. Meilin was one of my favorite characters this year.
I connect “Peach Blossom Spring” to “Homegoing” because it sweeps through history and covers a significant period. To go through two wars and then experience the Kennedy assassination as an outsider covers a great deal of the Chinese and American experience. The best moments come between Renshu and his mother. I will not dare reveal the events later in the novel, but the strong character development made me want the best for our heroes.
The immigrant experience, which I can only imagine, feels authentic here and we see both sides of the internal debate. Do you flee from a nation of strife, or do you stick to the culture you know and love? Seeing China through America’s eyes is a challenge. Seeing the political drama that faces mixed-race people is tough since we sometimes assume that only America has that problem. You will learn and understand so much more about Chinese life.
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About the author
Epic Historical Fiction
Historical fiction lovers will love this epic, decade-spanning, multi-generational story of Meilin and Renshu. The writing is exquisite. Their journey was harrowing. The themes of blessings vs. misfortunes and familial bonds run deep throughout. When Meilin describes watching her son grow into a man my heart evaporated. I am a mom to two little boys and it was like my future was echoing off the page. 💓 The POV flowed between mother, son and granddaughter throughout but was primarily Meilin in the beginning and Renshu in the middle and Lily in the latter. I LOVED all of the book but enjoyed Meilin's POV more. Probably because I related to her more as a mother. I listened to the audio periodically throughout the book and I have to say I enjoyed reading it much more. There were many characters and it was difficult to keep track of on audio. Add to your next BOTM box, borrow, buy, whatever. Read it. And then message me about it. 😉
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2022Format: KindleVerified Purchase
"She cannot promise them external safety, but she can help them create their own internal reserves of beauty."
A story of trudging forward that illuminates modern Chinese history
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2022
Fu's novel follows a Chinese family from 1938 to 2005, from Changsa, China to the northern countryside to Shanghai to Taipei, Tawain, to Illinois and finally New Mexico. It intrigued me because I recently watched a few Mainland Chinese dramas set around the War of Aggression (aka WWII to Americans) that made me realize how little I knew about that period in Chinese history and also left me very aware of the current government censorship and propaganda in them (happy endings for everyone who supports communism). Although Fu's book is a novel, it is a well-researched, painfully realistic story that certainly will help anyone understand some of the lingering impact of the second Japanese invasion on the Chinese people. Fu's writing is very accessible and beautiful, and she starkly weaves a story that may not be a true story but is filled with truth. In addition to the horror and trauma of war, she also depicts the Chinese immigrant and interracial family experiences clearly and compassionately. This is a book I would recommend to anyone because I think it shines light on some important parts of world history, but I will add the caveat that it's really a sorrowful, devastating read. I kept contrasting it with the memoir Spider Eaters by Rae Yang which deals with equal devastation (during the Cultural Revolution) but keeps a more optimistic tone by deliberately focusing on the triumphs. Fu's novel is almost merciless to the reader - the happier passages in the family's history are succinctly summarized and she dwells on the tragedies. This is certainly a common and realistic approach, but I suggest readers go in mentally prepared to trudge through sorrow and a constant sense of fear. Full of Chinese folktales and hardwon wisdom, I will be thinking about this one for a long time.
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Top reviews from other countries
- Richard Campbell Norman CaReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2024
A story well written
- Neil DavisReviewed in Australia on November 5, 2022
Thought provoking and provides amazing insight into the flow on effect of war
- martin h.Reviewed in Canada on June 1, 2025
A delightful story, beautifully told
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