'My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s.'Anna Schoene was a golden child. Her parents, Joseph and Genevieve, were rich American expats in Shanghai before the Japanese invaded, before the war intervened. Joseph Schoene had made his fortune living on his wits. He was in love with Shanghai, with China, with the idea of taking risks. Completely devoted to his daughter, he imbued her with the same love of China's turbulent city that he had. To Anna, it seemed that the idyll would last forever. But when the Japanese army invaded, when war finally came, even Anna knew that the dream was over. Joseph, however, refused to leave. Instead, he sent his wife and daughter back to the States with the promise that they would soon be reunited. But that, too, would prove to be a dream. Anna grows up in Los Angeles and slowly, over the years, begins to learn the real story of her father - both then in Shanghai and, finally, his last years in California. Their story, ultimately, is one of love and forgiveness - and of the great gifts that a parent can give a child-The Distant Land of My Father is a moving, engaging and triumphant novel of discovery and rediscovery.
For Anna, the narrator of Bo Caldwell's richly lyrical and vivid first novel, growing up in the magical world of Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s creates a special bond between her and her father. He is the son of missionaries, a smuggler, and a millionaire who leads a charmed but secretive life. When the family flees to Los Angeles in the face of the Japanese occupation, he chooses to remain, believing his connections and luck will keep him safe.
He's wrong. He survives, only to again choose Shanghai over his family during the Second World War. Anna and her father reconnect late in his life, when she finally has a family of her own, but it is only when she discovers his extensive journals that she is able to fully understand him and the reasons for his absences. With the intensity and appeal of When We Were Orphans, also set in Shanghai at the same time, The Distant Land of My Father tells a moving and unforgettable story about a most unusual father-daughter relationship.
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Vendeur : Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Etats-Unis
Etat : Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. N° de réf. du vendeur 52818141-6
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