Book - The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

The Hundred Secret Senses is a captivating book that spans across generations and miles. It starts in (fairly) modern-day San Francisco and then startlingly pops back several lifetimes to a tiny village somewhere in China. Olivia first met her sister from China Kwan after her dad died leaving a dying wish for her to be in America too. It is Kwan that is telling these stories to young Olivia in the form of advice from ghostly figures when they share a bedroom in San Francisco.

It is only when they are living married lives that Olivia gets a chance to fulfil a dream and create a travel photography book. She runs a marketing agency with her soon to be estranged husband Simon and they figure Kwan, with all her stories of living in a Chinese village, would be a good guide for them.

At first, I just couldn’t concentrate on ghost stories and skipped chunks. When they arrive in China, they came into their own and everything started to make sense, as much as ghost stories of previous lifetimes can. So the stories of love and family and loyalty all captivated by the end of this with another lesson in Chinese culture to add to Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell. It’s a clever book that takes us out of reality and puts us firmly in a tiny electricity-free Chinese village.

Thanks to the person who recommended this in a magazine article. (That’s all I remember)