The porcelain moon : a novel of France, the Great War, and forbidden love

The porcelain moon A novel of France, the Great War, and forbidden love

Janie Chang

Book - 2023

France, 1918. In the final days of the First World War, a young Chinese woman, Pauline Deng, runs away from her uncle's home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. To prevent the union, she needs the help of her cousin Theo, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. In the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, Camille Roussel is planning her escape from an abusive marriage, and to end a love affair that can no longer continue. When Camille offers Pauline a room for her stay, the two women become friends. But it's not long before Pauline uncovers a perilous secret that Camille has been hiding from her. As their dangerous situation escalates, the two women are forced to make... a terrible decision that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.

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FICTION/Chang Janie
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Subjects
World War, 1914-1918 > France > Fiction.
Arranged marriage > Fiction.
Female friendship > Fiction.
France > Fiction.
Historical fiction.
Romance fiction.
Novels.
Genres
Historical fiction
Romance fiction
Novels
Published
New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Janie Chang (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
x, 338 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9780063072862
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The subtitle of the latest by Chang (The Library of Legends, 2020) leaves out the book's most interesting and unique aspect, its focus on the contributions of Chinese people to the war effort. Pauline Deng is a Shanghai native living in Paris as a housekeeper for her uncle and her cousin Theo, who signs on as an interpreter for contract laborers brought from China to the Western front to dig trenches and repair roads for the British and French armies. Assigned to a camp near the small town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, he meets the postal clerk, Camille Roussel. Their burgeoning attraction is complicated by the facts that Theo is Chinese and Camille is married to an abusive war profiteer. When Pauline journeys to Noyelles-sur-Mer to enlist Theo's help in avoiding her arranged marriage, she and Camille join forces. Chang explores themes of racism and sexism and shines a spotlight on this little-known part of the Great War. Refreshingly, the entwined stories have a happy ending. Readers of Jennifer Chiaverini's Switchboard Soldiers (2022) will appreciate Chang's rich historical detail and strong female characters.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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