by Lisa See
First published 2011
When 19-year-old Pearl's mother, Joy, commits suicide, Pearl flees to Shanghai to find her birth father. But the past Pearl uncovers shatters her family's illusions. As she navigates this strange new world, Pearl must confront the legacy of her mother's choices and the trauma that shaped them both. Can Pearl break free from the shadows of history, or will she be consumed by them?
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Shanghai
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
354 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury UK
Content warnings: mental-illness, suicide