The narrative, alternating between 1920's Nice, late 19th century rural China, Shanghai, the trans-Siberian railway and pre WWI England, tells the story of May, the Chinese wife of an Australian Jew, and his feisty niece Alice to whom the older woman becomes a surrogate mother. The gruesome custom of binding little girl's feet is central to the narrative dominating May's life and affecting all around her. Dare I use the word unputdownable? Well, it was!
(Jenny Baker - bwl 12 January 2002 ) |
