ABOUT KAREN KAO
I am the child of Chinese immigrants who came to the US in the 1950s. My debut novel was born out of stories I heard as a child of the old country. But your listeners might also want to know that I am a UCI alumni, where my path to writing started with classes taught by Charles Wright (US poet laureate 2014) and a handful of poems published by Yusef Komunyakaa (Pulitzer 1994). The road then passed through the valley of law practice and crossed the ocean from Washington DC to Amsterdam, the Netherlands before ending up with fiction writing.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A rape. A war. A society where women are bought and sold but no one can speak of shame. Shanghai 1937. Violence throbs at the heart of The Dancing Girl and the Turtle.
Song Anyi is on the road to Shanghai and freedom when she is raped and left for dead. The silence and shame that mark her courageous survival drive her to escalating self-harm and prostitution. From opium dens to high- class brothels, Anyi dances on the edge of destruction while China prepares for war with Japan. Hers is the voice of every woman who fights for independence against overwhelming odds.
The Dancing Girl and the Turtle is one of four interlocking novels set in Shanghai from 1929 to 1954. Through the eyes of the dancer, Song Anyi, and her brother Kang, the Shanghai Quartet spans a tumultuous time in Chinese history: war with the Japanese, the influx of stateless Jews into Shanghai, civil war and revolution. How does the love of a sister destroy her brother and all those around him?
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California: this is their newsletter.
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum: the Eventbrite page
http://inkstonepress.com. The book is available on Amazon.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A rape. A war. A society where women are bought and sold but no one can speak of shame. Shanghai 1937. Violence throbs at the heart of The Dancing Girl and the Turtle.
Song Anyi is on the road to Shanghai and freedom when she is raped and left for dead. The silence and shame that mark her courageous survival drive her to escalating self-harm and prostitution. From opium dens to high- class brothels, Anyi dances on the edge of destruction while China prepares for war with Japan. Hers is the voice of every woman who fights for independence against overwhelming odds.
The Dancing Girl and the Turtle is one of four interlocking novels set in Shanghai from 1929 to 1954. Through the eyes of the dancer, Song Anyi, and her brother Kang, the Shanghai Quartet spans a tumultuous time in Chinese history: war with the Japanese, the influx of stateless Jews into Shanghai, civil war and revolution. How does the love of a sister destroy her brother and all those around him?
BOOK TOUR INFO!
Two public book tour events coming up this week
in Southern California!
in Southern California!
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum: the Eventbrite page
http://inkstonepress.com. The book is available on Amazon.
