Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots

Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots

The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Summary

New 25th Anniversary Edition
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'I am still haunted by Mah's memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure' Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club

1940s, Shanghai. As the civil war rages on and China falls under communist rule, young Adeline lives in constant fear. Not of the war, but of her family: blamed for the death of her mother, she is rejected by her father and abused by her cruel stepmother.

With the help of her aunt, Adeline escapes to the United States where she finds love, happiness and success. But will that be enough to quell a lifelong yearning for acceptance, or will she return to the family that rejected her years ago

Falling Leaves Return to their Roots is both the enthralling story of a Chinese family in a time of political upheaval, and a moving account of one girl's unrelenting will to survive.
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'Falling Leaves is a terrible and riveting family history . . . It is also a story about endurance and the cost it can exact. Gripping' Daily Telegraph

'An illuminating account of the destructive nature of family relationships set against a backdrop of China in change' Mail on Sunday

'An act, not of vengeance or bitterness, but of catharsis' Sunday Telegraph

Reviews

  • Charged with emotion . . . a vivid portrait of the human capacity for meanness, malice - and love'
    Jung Chang

About the author

Adeline Yen Mah

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