Synopsis
'A major novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses. LuLing Young is now in her eighties, and finally beginning to feel the effects of old age. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write down all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile, her daughter Ruth, a ghostwriter for authors of self-help books, is losing the ability to speak up for herself in front of the man she lives with. LuLing can only look on, helpless: her prickly relationship with her daughter does not make it easy to discuss such matters. In turn, Ruth has begun to suspect that something is wrong with her mother: she says so many confusing and contradictory things. Ruth decides to move in with her ailing mother, and while tending to her discovers the story LuLing wrote in Chinese, of her tumultuous life growing up in a remote mountain village known as Immortal Heart. LuLing tells of the secrets passed along by her mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined and where Peking Man was discovered; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World, where Precious Auntie's bones lie, and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Like layers of sediment being removed, each page unfolds into an even greater mystery: Who was Precious Auntie, whose suicide changed the path of LuLing's life?Set in contemporary San Francisco and pre-war China, The Bonesetter's Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit. With great warmth and humour, Amy Tan gives us a mesmerising story of a mother and daughter discovering together that what they share in their bones through history and heredity is priceless beyond measure.' (From Amazon.)

I read about 100 pages of this book on holiday when I first bought it several years ago: The old plane ticket was still in it marking my place. When a fellow bookcrosser asked for it this week I decided to read it before sending it off and I am glad I did. I can see why I did not finish it the first time: the first part is a rather rambling and dull story of a conflict between a modern young Chinese American woman and her bizarre Chinese born mother who is showing early signs of Alzeimers. The second part is the story of the mother's early life in China and her relationships with her mother and the rest of her Chinese family. There is mystery, tragedy, loss, humour, war, The Peking Man discoveries - it is a superb story. It was definitely worth ploughing through the first section to get to the real story - too bad I did not know this the first time.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed as RABCK to fellow bookcrosser kittycatss in Portugal. Hope you enjoy the book.

This book arrived today! And it's going to be borrowed to a non-BC to try if I convence her to enter to Bookcrossing ;-)
Thank you so much aboojum1

I'm going to make a surprise rabck of this book.
I hope that the person likes it and will smile with this surprise.

RELEASE NOTES:

ADOREI!!!!!!!!!!!

Miga, fiquei sem palavras... não estava nada à espera e conseguiste emocionar-me com o bilhetinho muito lindo que vinha lá dentro... Poxa, só tu... Quanto ao livro por acaso andei uma vez na Amazon a pesquisar sobre ele!! Mas que pontaria!!! De certeza que vou adorá-lo!

Obrigada por todo o teu carinho nestes tempos difíceis... Obrigada do fundo do coração mesmo...

FELIZ NATAL!!!!!!!!!!!

E vai continuar a viagem como a Snow gostaria.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Snow would love to know it's traveling again.

A parting gift from a very special Bookcrosser.
Thank you Snowshoee, we'll never forget you.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

To be released at Pavilhão Bookcrossing/LEM - Lisboa Encruzilhada de Mundos during Lisbon's Bookfair (April 30th - May 17th), Parque Eduardo VII, Lisboa

I picked it up in the LEM / Bookcrossing tent at the Lisbon Bookfair. Now I just found out it was one last gift from a departed friend. I'll never forget you, my little warrior.