Such is the voice of Shan Sa's unforgettable heroine in her latest literary masterpiece, Empress. Empress Wu, one of China's most controversial figures, was its first and only female emperor, who emerged in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted by those taking vengeance on a woman who dared to become emperor. But now, for the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu (...

“A dramatically imagined tale. . . . Written with the unironic portentousness of an ancient myth, the novel nonetheless has modern and moving insights into such hot-button topics as violence and gender.” —Washington PostThe imaginative and dramatic love affair between Alexander the Great and Alestria, queen of the Amazons, when both are at the height of their powers.A brilliant yet ruthless savage conqueror and poet exhilarated by ...

As the Japanese military invades 1930s Manchuria, a young girl approaches her own sexual coming of age. Drawn into a complex triangle with two boys, she distracts herself from the onslaught of adulthood by playing the game of go with strangers in a public square--and yet the force of desire, like the occupation, proves inevitable. Unbeknownst to the girl who plays go, her most worthy and frequent opponent is a Japanese soldier in disguise. Captivated by her beauty as much as by her bold, u...

"Admirers of Empress Orchid will be interested in this sequel. Others may find the introduction to relatively modern Chinese history a revelation" ( Rocky Mountain News).During the tumultuous end of the nineteenth century in China, the only constant was the power wielded by one person: the resilient, ever-resourceful Tzu Hsi, Lady Yehonala—or Empress Orchid—as readers came to know her in Anchee Min's critically acclaimed novel covering the first p...

"A fascinating novel, similar to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha . . . A revisionist portrait of a beautiful and strong-willed woman" ( Houston Chronicle ).A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the YearFrom Anchee Min, a master of the historical novel, Empress Orchid sweeps readers into the heart of the Forbidden City to tell the fascinating story ...

From the Nobel Prize–winning author of The Good Earth, the New York Times –bestselling biographical novel of the concubine who became China's last empress.In Imperial Woman, Pulitzer Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck brings to life the amazing story of Tzu Hsi, who rose from concubine status to become the working head of the Qing Dynasty.Born from a humble background,...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A Chinese family becomes enmeshed in a dramatic story, uncovers past secrets and tragedies, and learns that love can transcend death in this “engrossing [and] thought-provoking meditation on what it means to be human” (People, Critic’s Choice) from the acclaimed author of Snow Flower and The Secret Fan.“Electrifying . . . a fascinating and often surprising story of women helping women, women hurting wom...

The "stunning conclusion" to the bestselling saga of the fierce lifelong bond between two women, from a gritty Naples childhood through old age ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).One of the New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st CenturyThe Story of the Lost Child concludes the dazzling saga of two women, the brilliant, bookish Elena and the fiery, uncontainable Lila, who first met amid the shambles of postwar Italy. In this ...

Part of the bestselling saga about childhood friends following different paths by "one of the great novelists of our time" ( The New York Times).In the third book in the New York Times–bestselling Neapolitan quartet that inspired the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, Elena and Lila have grown into womanhood. Lila married at sixteen and has a young son; she has left her husband and the comforts her marriage brought and now works as a common ...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this stunning historical novel, the celebrated author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan presents “a heartwarming love story of heroic love between a mother and daughter” (Bookreporter) during revolutionary-era China.“Astonishing . . . one of those hard-to-put-down-until-four-in-the morning books . . . a story with characters who enter a reader’s life, take up residence, and illuminate the myriad d...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD • Two Chinese sisters, sold as wives to American merchants, must adapt to a strange new country in this “powerful” (The Washington Post) historical novel from the acclaimed author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.“A gifted writer . . . explores the bonds of sisterhood while powerfully evoking the often nightmarish American immigrant experience.”—USA Today

A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstoreThe Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumb...