Book Review: The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan revisits familiar themes of mother-daughter bonds, cultural identity, and the enduring scars of separation, but on an epic, sweeping scale. Spanning over forty years and two continents, this novel is as much a saga of survival as it is a deeply personal exploration of love, betrayal, and the search for belonging.
The story centers on Violet, the American daughter of a Chinese courtesan, who is raised in a Shanghai courtesan house at the turn of the 20th century. When she is forcibly separated from her mother, Violet is thrust into a life she never chose, trained to become what she once viewed from the safety of her mother’s world. Her journey is harrowing — filled with loss, resilience, and slow, hard-earned self-understanding.
Tan’s narrative shifts between Violet’s voice and that of her mother, Lulu, later in the novel, and this dual perspective offers a fuller picture of the generational echoes of trauma and longing. Their stories, though separated by time and geography, mirror one another in poignant, painful ways.
As always, Tan’s prose is rich with historical and cultural detail. She brings to life the opulence and danger of Shanghai’s courtesan culture with empathy, nuance, and unflinching honesty. The novel also explores themes of identity — particularly mixed-race identity — with a sensitivity that adds depth to Violet’s search for self.
Though at times the pacing lingers, The Valley of Amazement rewards patient readers with a deeply moving portrait of women navigating a world that constantly tries to define them. It is a novel of pain and beauty, abandonment and reunion — and ultimately, of the enduring bond between mothers and daughters, even when all seems lost.
About The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic of two women’s intertwined fates and their search for identity, that moves from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village.
Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China’s last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of lucrative foreign trade and anti-foreign sentiment, to the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign “Shanghailanders” living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II.
A deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters, The Valley of Amazement returns readers to the compelling territory of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.
