Daughters of the Sun and Moon: A Novel
An instant New York Times bestseller!
From beloved bestselling author Lisa See, the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post–Civil War Los Angeles.
In 1870, three Chinese women arrive in the small, dusty, and violent pueblo of Los Angeles. Dove, the bound-footed daughter of an imperial scholar, is entrancing and innocent. These characteristics should bring her great rewards, beginning with her arranged marriage to a much older merchant. Petal, the big-footed daughter of peasants, has grown up hungry and with dirt between her toes. In a moment of desperation, Petal’s father sells her to buy money for rice seed, and she is loaded onto a ship to the Gold Mountain—America—where she is once again sold. Moon is married to a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She is educated, speaks fluent English, and has been endowed with a face of great beauty, yet her failed footbinding as a child has left her with a limp that lessens her value in the eyes of many.
Each woman has her own desires. Dove wants to love and be loved, Petal desires freedom, and Moon seeks justice. Together they face a larger society that wishes them not one ounce of good will. Anti-Chinese sentiment is strong in Los Angeles, and this eventually leads to the Night of Horrors during which all three women are challenged in ways they could not have imagined. Brought together by hardship and heartbreak, they must use their bravery, endurance, and ability to “eat bitterness” to discover their voices, find freedom, and connect through solace and friendship. Together they are daughters of the sun and moon.
From beloved bestselling author Lisa See, the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post–Civil War Los Angeles.
In 1870, three Chinese women arrive in the small, dusty, and violent pueblo of Los Angeles. Dove, the bound-footed daughter of an imperial scholar, is entrancing and innocent. These characteristics should bring her great rewards, beginning with her arranged marriage to a much older merchant. Petal, the big-footed daughter of peasants, has grown up hungry and with dirt between her toes. In a moment of desperation, Petal’s father sells her to buy money for rice seed, and she is loaded onto a ship to the Gold Mountain—America—where she is once again sold. Moon is married to a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She is educated, speaks fluent English, and has been endowed with a face of great beauty, yet her failed footbinding as a child has left her with a limp that lessens her value in the eyes of many.
Each woman has her own desires. Dove wants to love and be loved, Petal desires freedom, and Moon seeks justice. Together they face a larger society that wishes them not one ounce of good will. Anti-Chinese sentiment is strong in Los Angeles, and this eventually leads to the Night of Horrors during which all three women are challenged in ways they could not have imagined. Brought together by hardship and heartbreak, they must use their bravery, endurance, and ability to “eat bitterness” to discover their voices, find freedom, and connect through solace and friendship. Together they are daughters of the sun and moon.
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Community Reviews
Once again Lisa See does not disappoint. This is in an incredible story as well as in opportunity to learn about historical events in California. Highly recommend!
From belovedbestselling author Lisa See, the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post–Civil War Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles was surrounded by vineyards, orchards, and ranches. On the surface, it looked like paradise, but that was a veneer…Not one of the thirty-four Chinese women in Los Angeles came here by choice. About half…had been sold, like Petal, by their families back in China—or had been kidnapped—and brought to the United States to work in cribs. The other half were women like Dove and [Sun], married, which meant one of two things: Some had been matched—usually sight unseen—to a husband in China, or they were women who had once held up their legs who were bought out of their contracts by a customer to become a wife.”
“We were not a circle of friends tied together by laughter, common experiences, and lifelong connection. Rather we came together in unlikely ways, and we each had our own desires. Dove wanted to love and be loved, Petal desired freedom, and I sought justice…Is fate heaven’s will? Where does bad fortune end and a happy destiny begin? Could Dove, Petal…and I have chosen other paths that would have resulted in altered outcomes? Maybe by writing down all that happened, I will understand each of us for what we did and who we were.”
“The three of us were daughters of the sun and moon—connected, but different in many ways. I had helped them…Now they helped me. Sometimes you must wait a long while for the clouds to part to see the moonlight…Never could I have imagined that the daughter of an imperial scholar and a girl raised in Moon Pond Village could find such harmony together.”
“The flower and the thorn are on the same stem. Together Dove, Moon, and I will navigate a way forward, experiencing the flowers and thorns, but always on the same stem…We lived in an environment that we had to adapt to, fight against, reject, or discard. We each had weaknesses to overcome, but we also faced a larger society that wished us not one ounce of goodwill. We shared the experiences of having little choice, little power, and little opportunity. We unearthed within ourselves bravery, endurance, and the ability to eat bitterness. We discovered our voices, found freedom, and changed our destinies.”
Fate and fortune, feminism and friendship, Lisa See’s Daughters of the Sun and Moon is literary tea for the soul.
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