From Amazon.com
Though Miranda Graham is a savvy, successful fashion designer, she's never set foot outside the U.S. As a widow and a mom, she has cleaved to the familiarity of her Boulder, Colorado, home. So when business sends her to China, Miranda reels from profound culture shock. Luckily, kind Yuan Li takes the frightened visitor under his wing and offers to be her tour guide.
As Miranda adapts to chopsticks and crowded streets, she finds Li has appealing qualities beyond his perfect English and natural hospitality. A Renaissance man as well as a businessman, Li opens Miranda's heart to the countless treasures of China. With newfound courage, Miranda finds herself falling into deep, passionate love with this man whom she hardly knows. The looming deadline for her return and the threatening disapproval of a fading communist state force these lovers to make the most of their glorious time together.
Bestselling author Judith Michael has situated this familiar midlife coming of age tale in a truly unique location. Colorful descriptions of Chinese culture and atmosphere will certainly infect some readers with the travel bug. But while Miranda's character is well-developed and likable, Li's borders on stereotypical, and at times the threats to their relationship seem artificial. However, in the context of a "perfect love, imperfect world" story, these faults are entirely forgivable, and the overall story line is very entertaining.--Nancy R.E. O'Brien
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
An exotic locale, a hint of danger, a dollop of fashion, a soup?on of Confucian philosophy and a big dose of clashing cultures add up to tasty if unoriginal chop suey in the latest novel from the bestselling husband and wife writing team. Miranda Grant, a 40-year-old widow with two adolescent children, travels from her home in Boulder, Colo., to Beijing. Petite (size four) Miranda is, on the one hand, shy, fearful and mousy, and, on the other, artistic, creative and hungry for change. Her visit to China is a business trip, arranging knitting contracts for the cashmere sweaters she designs for a New York firm, but it becomes a two-week sojourn that will change her life. Although scenes detailing the textile negotiations add interest, the story focuses on Miranda's relationship with Yuan Li, a successful builder/construction engineer. The son of a Chinese mother and an American soldier, he becomes her soulful guide to China, romance and personal growth. Danger intrudes after Miranda innocently acts as courier for a letter from a former dissident, now in America; the authorities put Miranda and Yuan Li under round-the-clock surveillance. The supporting charactersALi's aloof daughter, scheming son, old friend's wifeAcontribute to the feel of an earnest and colorful travelogue and history lesson. The sense of being an American in a foreign culture is nicely conveyed as Miranda views such phenomena as the thick crowds of bicycle riders in Beijing, the dense army of terra cotta soldiers in Xi'an and the stunning architecture of the Forbidden City. This 10th offering from the practiced Michael (Deceptions; Acts of Love) will undoubtedly join its nine predecessors on the bestseller lists. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
