The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel

Li-Yan lives in the Spring Well Village, one of the many villages of the Akha people. Akha people, are one of the many ethnic tribes of people who live in the Yunnan province of China. Li-Yan falls in love with classmate Sen-pa from the Shelter Shadow Village but their parents do not approve of the marriage. Li-Yan finds out she is pregnant with his child. Because it's taboo to have a child unmarried, Li-Yan end up abandoning her daughter at an orphanage with a tea cake instead of following tradition to kill the child. Her daughter, Haley, ends up being adopted by an American couple in California. Both Li-Yan and Haley is curious about each other and they hope to find answers about each other. A-ma can be very strict about things in the family but because Li-Yan is her only daughter, she tries to help Li-Yan during the pregnancy and conceal it from the family since its taboo to be pregnant when unmarried. Li-Yan had to give up her dream to past an exam to go to college but she wanted to make sure can provide a good life for her child. Her sacrifice for many things has helped her daughter obtain a better life. Although her life is a constant struggle, Li-Yan is able to relocate away from her Akha home to a trade school in Kunming to start off with a clean slate. The mother and daughter relationships are vital in the novel just like how the special ancient tea grove is passed down the family from mother to daughter. The women in The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane are strong women; they are resilient. Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is beautifully written and it's compelling. Her narration is that of a well versed storyteller. She educates readers about the traditions and culture of the Ahka people. I found it very interesting to learn more about the Ahka people and See did her research well. The art of tea is explained exquistely throughout the book. I am a huge tea lover so I found it fascinating to read. Cultivating tea to brewing tea is very complex and tea aficionados will enjoy reading about the history of tea, especially of Pu'er. Through tea Li-Yan is connected to her family roots and most importantly to her daughter. The yellow threads in the tea cakes bring the family together. The novel is mostly in first person through Li-Yan's perspective. See starts the novel off with Li-Yan being about 10 and ends the novel when Li-Yan is in her mid to late 30s. Through letters and support group dialogue, readers peer into Haley's life and how she is doing. Although heartbreaking at times, See has captured the spirit of what it means to be a daughter and a mother. While Li-Yan is separated from her daughter, she yearns for her every day. Haley always thinks about her birth mother and the tea cake. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a story about tradition, culture, family, love, loss, sacrifice, perseverance, new beginnings and origins. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is by far my favorite novel by See and it makes a wonderful reading companion to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I highly recommend this novel.

I have read all of Lisa See’s books and am an ardent fan. I traveled frequently to Hong Kong as an American businessman in the 80s, when the harbor was still filled with junks, and was in the first wave of foreign businessmen allowed onto the Chinese mainland. I ultimately lived and worked in China for nine years and have since read all of the Chinese fiction I can get my hands on. No other author that I have found appreciates and understands the nuances of Chinese culture as deeply as See. This book certainly meets her standard on that front but is admittedly not my favorite. It’s like tea, I guess; a matter of personal taste. There is an awful lot about tea, for sure. It is, in my experience, far more information than the average Chinese person could provide, but the storyline is built around it so that is not a criticism from me. It didn’t strike me as a book about tea as other readers obviously felt. This is the first time in my memory that See has tackled a protagonist from one of the 55 minority ethnic groups and that was a bold challenge that I thought she handled superbly. Truly understanding how the minority groups and the Han majority fit into the Chinese tapestry is a challenge for any Westerner, but I thought See brought her usual sensitivity and insight to the task. She also tackles the issues faced by Chinese orphans brought to the US as babies. My company in China actually sponsored a local orphanage and I gained quite a bit of insight into that unique slice of modern China. See does a very good job of characterizing the challenges that exist within China, but even though I have a Chinese wife (Dongbei Han), I have never fully appreciated what happens to these babies after they leave China. And I am thankful for See’s insight on that. Another huge literary challenge that she handled extremely well. My only reservation about the book is that while the rags-to-riches storyline, with a lot of pain along the way, is a modern Chinese story, it is an extremely rare one statistically. (Less rare in Southern California.) I’m not so much concerned with reinforcing false stereotypes, and I don’t think of it as a discredit to my friends and family who don’t fit that stereotype, as much as a lost opportunity. See is an extremely gifted storyteller with an uncanny insight into Chinese culture. I guess I would rather she leave the rags-to-riches storylines to others less gifted with her talent so that she can continue to give us more of what makes her so special as an author.

I truly enjoyed this book. I found the story line compelling and easy to read. I liked how the author ended the book as she took you to that end with the story. The history of Pu’erh tea was fascinating!

Excelente libro

Una storia un po' melensa e improbabile, zeppa di finali lieti e zuccherosi. Ciò premesso, il libro risulta interessantissimo sia per i racconti della vita nella Cina rurale dall'epoca post-maoista alla liberalizzazione, sia perché approfondisce le difficoltà di figli adottivi, sia per il valore divulgativo sul "pu'erh", il tè più buono e prezioso che ci sia. Una lettura imprescindibile per chi voglia avvicinarsi a questa straordinaria bevanda.

Having lived in China for a few years and familiar with the culture I have read a few Lisa See novels and enjoyed them so I naturally continued on into reading this one. I found the first part of the book slow going but found myself engaging with the main characters. The story opened up in the second half and became more interesting and I found myself wanting to see a happy conclusion. I got that for sure but little did I realise as a supposed 'blokey bloke' that I would be tearing up over the last couple of pages. I thought the ending was perfect, otherwise the story screamed out for another 100 pages of 'then what happened'. Hopefully there will be a sequel that carries the story forward as I think this novel deserves that.

It was for a friend but she loved it

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