Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: If You Like 'The Valley of Amazement,' You May Also Like...

Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic saga 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. (Publisher's Summary)

If you loved The Valley of Amazement, then you may also like the read-alike books listed below. These books are recommended by NoveList, our readers advisory database.

Invisible Mountain by Carolina De Robertis

Hanna's Daughters by Marianne Fredriksson

Night in Shanhai by Nicole Mones

Touring Shanghai in 1936 as part of a black jazz orchestra, Thomas Greene meets Song Yuhua, translator for one of Japan's biggest crime bosses, and through friendship and love they weather the Japanese invasion together. (Publisher's Summary)

Invisible Mountain by Carolina De Robertis

Follows the story of the fiercely independent women of the Firielli family as their lives, relationships, and the pursuit of their dreams take them from Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and the United States. (Publisher's Summary)

Hanna's Daughers by Marianne Fredriksson
A Swedish writer chronicles more than a century in the lives of three extraordinary women against the background of the unforgiving Swedish countryside, in an evocative novel that captures the contributions of women to Scandinavian history. (Publisher's Summary)

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Forced to leave Shanghai when their father sells them to California suitors, sisters May and Pearl struggle to adapt to life in 1930s Los Angeles while still bound to old customs, as they face discrimination and confront a life-altering secret.(Publisher's Summary)

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

If You Like 'The Valley of Amazement,' You May Also Like...

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