In the last days of World War II, the Japanese occupation of Manchuria has collapsed. As the Chinese move in, the elders of the Japanese settler village of Sakito decide to preserve their honour by killing all the villagers in an act of mass suicide. Only 16-year-old Tatsuru escapes.
But Tatsuru's trials have just begun. As she flees, she falls into the hands of human traffickers. She is sold to a wealthy Chinese family, where she becomes Duohe - the clandestine second wife to the only son, and the secret bearer of his children. Against all odds, Duohe forms an unlikely friendship with the first wife Xiaohuan, united by the unshakeable bonds of motherhood and family.
Spanning several tumultuous decades of Mao's rule, Little Aunt Crane is a novel about love, bravery and survival, and how humanity endures in the most unlikely of circumstances.
A celebration of resilience, as well as a poignant, clear-sighted portrait of the mysterious and contrary human heart. -- Stephanie Cross - Daily Mail
At times lyrical and always deeply moving, Yan's grand tale is one to savour -- Shirley Whiteside - Independent of Sunday
A classic family saga... The perfect opportunity to encounter a celebrated Chinese writer who deserves to be better known in translation - Stylist
Intriguing - Mail on Sunday
Lyrical, moving and, at times, wonderfully amusing. - Nudge
Author
About Geling Yan
Born in Shanghai to a writer and an actress, Geling Yan began writing in the late 1970s as a war correspondent covering the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts. Her first novel was published in China in 1985. In 1989, following the massacre at Tiananmen Square, she left China for the United States. Since then, two of her works have been made into films and a collection of her short fiction was translated into English. She has won many awards, both in China and the USA. She now lives in San Francisco.
