Inheritance: A Novel by Lan Samantha Chang (University of Iowa, Writers' Workshop)
A timeless story of familial devotion undermined by deceit and passion and rebuilt by memory, by the acclaimed author of Hunger. In 1931, abandoned after their mother's suicide, the young Junan and her sister, Yinan, make a pact never to leave each other. The two girls are inseparableuntil Junan enters into an arranged marriage and makes the mistake of falling in love with her soldier husband. When the Japanese invade China, Junan and her husband are separated. Unable to follow him to the wartime capital, Junan makes the fateful decision to send her sister after him. Set in China and America, against the backdrop of political chaos and social upheaval, the story is narrated by Junan's daughter, Hong, its witness, who is haunted by its influence on her own life. Inheritance traces the echo of betrayal through generations and explores the elusive nature of trust. Hunger, "a work of gorgeous and enduring prose" (Washington Post), introduced a writer of considerable talent and promise. Inheritance, elegant and historically rich, shows this storyteller's remarkable range.