Tea, Tears and Touches of Tranquility
Judy I. Lin was truly made to write — the way she softly deals with the difficult feelings of grief and intense guilt in her main character is truly artful. Our main character Ning, named by her mother after the woman in the moon, is an inherently sympathetic character — just with this short introduction to her, I completely understand where she comes from and her ambitions.
A stunning introduction into the artform of making tea in this magical world full of deep Chinese myth and a care to excruciating emotional detail starts us off. The writing stitches Ning's past and her present perfectly — I teared up as she described her mother's continuous influence in her life even with her ever-present absence. Actually, more than anything, the moment where she describes her mother (herself dying effected by the tea) makes the tonic which temporarily saves her younger child hit me right in the emotions.
Beautiful writing, beautiful depictions of grief and of the guilt which pushes our Ning into her newest challenge and a beautiful cover. Insane that this is Lin's debut novel — a glorious way to start a career which I will be hooked onto for as long as it runs I am sure.
A stunning introduction into the artform of making tea in this magical world full of deep Chinese myth and a care to excruciating emotional detail starts us off. The writing stitches Ning's past and her present perfectly — I teared up as she described her mother's continuous influence in her life even with her ever-present absence. Actually, more than anything, the moment where she describes her mother (herself dying effected by the tea) makes the tonic which temporarily saves her younger child hit me right in the emotions.
Beautiful writing, beautiful depictions of grief and of the guilt which pushes our Ning into her newest challenge and a beautiful cover. Insane that this is Lin's debut novel — a glorious way to start a career which I will be hooked onto for as long as it runs I am sure.