The Tea Lady of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel

Li-yan and her household align their lives across the seasons and the farming of tea. There may be ritual and routine, and it has been ever thus for generations. Then in the future a jeep seems on the village gate—the primary vehicle any of them have seen—and a stranger arrives.

On this distant Yunnan village, the stranger finds the uncommon tea he has been searching for and a reticent Akha folks. In her greatest vendor,
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, See launched the Yao folks to her readers. Right here she shares the customs of one other Chinese language ethnic minority, the Akha, whose world will quickly change
. Li-yan, one of many few educated women on her mountain, interprets for the stranger and is among the many first to reject the principles which have formed her existence. When she has a child exterior of wedlock, fairly than stand by custom, she wraps her daughter in a blanket, with a tea cake hidden in her swaddling, and abandons her within the nearest metropolis.

After mom and daughter have gone their separate methods, Li-yan slowly emerges from the safety and insularity of her village to come across fashionable life whereas Haley grows up a privileged and well-loved California woman. Regardless of Haley’s blissful dwelling life, she wonders about her origins; and Li-yan longs for her misplaced daughter. They each seek for and discover solutions within the tea that has formed their household’s future for generations.

A strong story a couple of household, separated by circumstances, tradition, and distance,
Tea Lady of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little bit identified area and its folks and celebrates the bond that connects moms and daughters.