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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Brothersby Da Chen
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:At the height of China's Cultural Revolution a powerful general fathered two sons. Tan was born to the general's wife and into a life of comfort and luxury. His half brother, Shento, was born to the general's mistress, who threw herself off a cliff in the mountains of Balan only moments after delivering her child. Growing up, each remained ignorant of the other's existence. In Beijing, Tan enjoyed the best schools, the finest clothes, and the prettiest girls. Shento was raised on the mountainside by an old healer and his wife until their deaths landed him in an orphanage, where he was always hungry, alone, and frightened. Though on divergent roads, each brother is driven by a passionate desire — one to glorify his father, the other to seek revenge against him.
Separated by distance and opportunity, Tan and Shento follow the paths that lie before them, while unknowingly falling in love with the same woman and moving toward the explosive moment when their fates finally merge. Brothers, by bestselling memoirist Da Chen, is a sprawling, dynamic family saga, complete with assassinations, love affairs, narrowly missed opportunities, and the ineluctable fulfillment of destiny. Review:"Acclaimed memoirist Chen (Colors of the Mountain) draws on his experiences growing up during the Cultural Revolution for this arresting novel about two brothers negotiating the momentous changes that have buffeted China in recent decades. The protagonists are half-brothers: Tan, the privileged, legitimate heir of Gen. Ding Long, and Shento, the general's abandoned bastard child. While Tan is 'groomed to be a leader,' Shento is placed in a hellish orphanage where he plots revenge. Shento eventually escapes, joins the army and rises to the head of the president's security detail. Meanwhile, caught on the wrong side of the changes sweeping China following Chairman Mao's death, Tan's family is discredited and flees to their ancestral home in the south where Tan builds an economic empire. Tan also falls in love with the beautiful orphan, Sumi Wo, who has an illegitimate son by Shento. When Sumi and Tan become involved in the pro-democracy movement, they attract official attention, putting the estranged brothers on paths that will converge at Tiananmen Square. Chen's inventive and sprawling family saga eloquently recreates a time of enormous upheaval. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Da Chen has knotted a complex and brilliant novel that brings together a human story and an inhuman regime. He chronicles the brutal facts of the Cultural Revolution while withdrawing at times to the serene hills and seascapes of rural China and to the idealism and dreams of his characters. 'Brothers' is his first novel, although he has published two widely praised memoirs, 'Colors of the... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) Review:"Within this sweeping, ambitious, historical novel, there is a beautifully wrought story of young men coming of age, related to each other but strangers, and heading toward a breathtaking collision." Ron Nyswaner, author of Blue Days, Black Nights: A Memoir Review:"Brothers begins as if in a dream. And like a dream you are captured by its first eerie lines: 'To tell the tale of my birth, I must start not from the beginning, but from the end to my beginning. I was born twice, really.' This is Shento speaking. His brother Tan speaks next. And an epic novel evolves out of their alternating accounts, with all the rich and exquisite detail you expect from such an artful writer as Da Chen. He deals in big emotions: revenge, love (both graphic and romantic), torture, and fealty. He gives us China, from the ordinary soul to the ruling elite. He takes you from Mao to Tiananmen Square and then beyond. If you're in the mood for a good atmospheric read, you won't find a better one." John Bowers, author of The Colony, In the Land of Nyx, and Stonewall Jackson: Portrait of a Soldier Review:"This book is fantastic in every sense of the word — a saga of China that is at once exotic and universal, an epic tale of destiny entwined with history." Laura Shaine Cunningham, author of Sleeping Arrangements and Beautiful Bodies Review:"This story of revenge, adventure, and an explosive love triangle satisfies a taste for historical fiction as well as for a family saga." School Library Journal Review:"[A]n epic novel that neatly distills modern Chinese history." Kirkus Reviews Review:"...Chen deftly blends pathos and humor in this breathtaking evocation of an era of momentous political, social, and economic change." Booklist Synopsis:A sweeping family saga, Brothers follows the parallel paths of two brothers born to different mothers. Da Chen paints a mesmerizing portrait of their lives, of their desperate love for the same woman, and of China during the cultural revolution. About the AuthorDa Chen is thirty-seven years old and is a graduate of Columbia University Law School, which he attended on full scholarship. A brush calligrapher of considerable spirituality who also plays the classical bamboo flute, he lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his wife and two small children. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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