Travel between the pages of this wonderful book – Where Waters Meet, which is an epic saga of two woman, a mother and daughter. I promise you will be transported back in time and across continents reading this wonderful English language debut.
It is not a debut novel as such as Zhang Ling is an award-winning
author of nine novels and numerous collections of short stories including
Aftershock which was adapted into China’s first IMAX movie and was an unprecedented
box office success.
But more about the book please.
When he married his wife, his mother in-law came as a package deal. The story unfolds as the daughter discovers the dramatic history that shaped her mother’s secret life in a story that reminded me of multiple Russian dolls as it kept unfolding and unpacking with more and more revelations. It made me realise that every person holds within them so many stories, and so many of those stories remain untold on our deaths. There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when she got married, Rain, who had followed her from China to Toronto came to share her life. Now at the age of 83, Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation. Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase – a memory box she brought from home. Inside Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her Aunty Mei – living in China tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. As she starts to undercover her mother’s secrets, she writes the story, and travels on her own journey of self-discovery. Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel is a tale of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets we keep and those we share, and the driving force it takes to survive against all odds. I honestly feel privileged to have read this book which has remained with me, taking up thinking space as I savour it like a good piece of chocolate. Treat yourself to this book here. https://www.amazon.com/Where-Waters-Meet-Zhang-Ling-ebook/dp/B0B3HRYSH5
