Melissa Fu

A moving debut novel about war, migration, and the power of telling stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home. With every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time. It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin's future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family's story? Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It's about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

Peach Blossom Spring

kristie alexis

Lindsay

To know a story is to stroke the silken surfaces of loss, to feel the weight of beauty in his hands. 

To know a story is to carry it always, etched in his bones, even if dormant for decades.

To tell a story, he realises, is to plant a seed and let it grow.

‘Remember that to have an orchard is to honour the generations that came before and will come after.’

She cannot promise them external safety, but she can help them create their own internal reserves of beauty.

She was frightened, but she was also determined. These two feelings always go hand in hand.’

Her independence has been too hard won to relinquish to some man.

Maybe, Meilin thinks, it’s that you have to carry your regrets until you’ve made peace with them. Only then can you lay them down.

‘We can forgive without understanding. Sometimes we must. Maybe that’s what forgiveness is – accepting someone’s actions, even if there are no good explanations.’

Peach Blossom Spring quotes

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