This novel describes the growing up a small girl in Shanghai at a time when traditional values are turned upside down and new values have yet to be established. This small girl is mature well beyond her age, and the novel records her perceptions of the adults around her.

Author Biography

Eileen Chang is now recognized as one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, though she was completely erased from official histories in mainland China. She was the most popular writer in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II, with English and Chinese stories focusing on human frailties rather than nationalist propaganda. For her non-committal politics and idiosyncrasies, she was boycotted by fellow writers after the war and forced to the margins of literary respectability.