‘The Song of the Jade Lily’ Will Resonate With Readers for Years to Come [REVIEW]

Shanghai holds the secrets to one family’s past in Kirsty Manning’s The Song of the Jade Lily. (Photo by Bouzouke, Flickr)

A tragic past. Long buried family secrets. As one woman searches for the truth, her quest for answers will lead her from Australia to distant Shanghai. What she finds there will change her life forever. Discover the beauty and majesty of Kirsty Manning’s The Song of the Jade Lily.

William Morrow

In the midst of World War II, two young girls forge a friendship against the backdrop of Shanghai, the “Paris of the East.” Li, a lovely native, and Romy, a Jewish refugee, make the city their playground, slipping between the glamorous French Concession district and the teaming streets of the Shanghai Ghetto. But as the war ravages everything else, soon it tears their friendship apart as well.

Seventy-seven years later, another woman, Alexandra, returns to Australia to nurse a broken heart in her grandparents’ embrace. But Wilhelm is dying, and before he slips away altogether, he and Romy pull back the curtain on the family secrets they have kept closely guarded for more than half a century. The more Alex learns, the more her own mother makes sense, even though the revelations raise new questions that only a trip to Shanghai will answer.

After Wilhelm finally slips away, Alex makes the journey, following her grandmother’s past and peeling back the layers of her family’s long-hidden saga. For it is in Shanghai where she eventually comes to understand at what cost her family’s past decisions were made and just how much history shapes her present.

With a painstaking attention to historical detail, a clear voice, vivid descriptions and a strong sense of place, Kirsty Manning has created a timeless novel that allows her to belly up to the bar alongside the likes of authors Anthony Doerr and Kristen Hannah. Full of heart, The Song of the Jade Lily is one of those unforgettable, unflinching, and powerfully moving novels that leaves us pondering our own choices, our family roots, and the impact our lives will have on those who come after us. It truly captures everything we love about fiction: unknown histories, memorable friendships, searing love affairs, and epic feats of heroism which push us all to be more courageous. This is a riveting, insightful, and inspiring story that deserves more than just one read. Add this one to your nightstand’s to-be-read pile now!

Kirsty Manning

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kirsty Manning grew up in northern New South Wales, Australia. She has degrees in literature and communications and worked as an editor and publishing manager in book publishing for over a decade.

A country girl with wanderlust, she has traveled and studied through most of Europe, the east and west coast of the United States, as well as pockets of Asia.

Kirsty’s journalism and photography specializing in lifestyle and travel regularly appear in magazines, newspapers, and online.

She lives in Australia. Visit her home on the Web at KirstyManning.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

THE SONG OF THE JADE LILY
By Kristy Manning
480 pp. William Morrow. $16.99

Purchase The Song of the Jade Lily at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, HarperCollins, IndieBound, and Powell’s.

The Song of the Jade Lily is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.

Kirsty introduces the book below as it was originally published in Australia, The Jade Lily.