"Originally written in 1976 but not published until 2009 in China, this is a welcome discovery from a writer who is only now, more than two decades after her death, coming into her own." –
Kirkus "Before Joan Didion, there was Eileen Chang. . . . Chang combined Didion's glamour and sensibility with the terrific wit of Evelyn Waugh. She could, with a single phrase, take you hostage." –Jamie Fisher,
The Millions "Her writing . . . is cinematically crisp, and phantasmagorical.... She had the lunatic sensibilities of Marc Chagall, married to a Henri Matisse-like elegance." –Ilaria Maria Sala,
The Wall Street Journal "This intricate novel follows a young Chinese woman, known as Julie, who comes of age during World War II....[it] provides an intimate glimpse into an alluring world, rife with vivid detail and characters
." –Publishers Weekly
