Book description
December 1937. The Japanese have taken Nanking. A group of terrified
schoolgirls hides in the compound of an American church. Among them is
Shujuan, through whose thirteen-year-old eyes we witness the shocking
events that follow.
Run by Father Engelmann, an American priest who has been in China
for many years, the church is supposedly neutral ground in the war
between China and Japan. But it becomes clear the Japanese are not
obeying international rules of engagement. As they pour through the
streets of Nanking, raping and pillaging the civilian population, the
girls are in increasing danger. And their safety is further
compromised when prostitutes from the nearby brothel climb over the
wall into the compound seeking refuge.
Short, powerful, vivid, this beautiful novel transports the reader
to 1930s China. Full of wonderful characters, from the austere priest
to the irreverent prostitutes, it is a story about how war upsets all
prejudices and how love can flourish amidst death.
Geling Yan is one of the most acclaimed contemporary novelists and
screenwriters in the Chinese language today and a well-established
writer in English. Born in Shanghai in 1959, she served with the
People's Liberation Army during the Cultural Revolution, starting aged
12 as a dancer in an entertainment troupe. She published her first novel
in 1986 and since then has written over 20 books and won over 30 awards.
Her works have been translated into twelve languages, several have been
adapted for screen, the latest being
The Flowers of War
, which was filmed by Zhang Yimou and stars Christian Bale. Geling Yan
currently divides her time between Berlin and China.
