The valley of amazement

Description:

Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese/half-American courtesan who deals in seduction and illusion in Shanghai, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her.

subjects: Family secrets,  Kidnapping,  Art,  Courtesans,  Fiction,  Americans,  Mothers and daughters,  Identity (Psychology),  Amerikanisches Englisch,  Historical fiction,  Mother-child relationship,  nyt:hardcover-fiction=2013-11-24,  New York Times bestseller,  Fiction, historical, general,  San francisco (calif.), fiction,  Shanghai (china), fiction,  Chinese americans, fiction,  Fiction, cultural heritage