Under the Red Moon: A Chinese Family in Diaspora

Kirk’s Review: Kwei chronicles a Chinese family through exile, homecoming and Maoism in this historical novel. The three sisters of the Huang clan disperse during WWII. Golden Bell attends Syracuse University. Silver Bell attends a nearby American high school. Coral Bell, the youngest, remains in Shanghai, along with her mother, a concubine. The expat sisters return to China. Golden bell weds an industrial tycoon. Silver Bell marries an unscrupulous philanderer and mysterious manipulator. Coral Bell becomes a communist Red Guard. The three stories are intercut and eventually converge during the cultural revolution. Set in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York between 1945 and 1968, the novel takes readers on a journey from the Nanking Massacre and Korean War to the Great Leap forward, English colonial rule in Hong Kong, and immigration to America. The silk thread that binds the story is the solidarity of these three strong, complex female characters that guide their family during their heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting struggle. A powerful saga of love and survival.
A sequel of sorts to A Concubine for the Family, this novel further analyzes China’s shifts in the 20th century through the lens of one family. The writing is frequently striking … the trials of the family are compelling and, at times, heart wrenching and leaves the reader with a new perception of the forces that shaped modern China. An absorbing exploration of mid-20th-century China through the story of a fractured family.