Join NVCL’s Drop-in Book Club for a discussion of Three Souls, by Janie Chang. The Club is open to adults of all ages; no registration is required. We meet approximately every six weeks, from 7-8:30pm in the Third Floor Program Room of the North Vancouver City Library.
The following is a list of NVCL Drop-in Book Club dates and books:
- May 27, 2015: Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger
- June 24, 2015: The Death of Bees, by Lisa O?Donnell
For more information visit our Book Clubs page on our website, or contact Heidi Schiller at hschiller@cnv.org or 604-998-3474.
About the Book
A young woman’s consciousness awakens at her own funeral, surrounded by her three souls: her yin, manifesting as a dancing schoolgirl; her yang, manifesting as an elderly scholar; and her han, manifesting as a silhouette of light. Until she can remember her sins, she cannot ascend to the afterlife and reincarnation; she runs the risk of becoming a hungry ghost, roaming the Earth for eternity. To help her remember, Song Leiyin’s souls make her watch her own life unfold again, beginning with the evening of her sister’s engagement party, the night she met Yen Hanchin. Born into a traditional and prosperous family, the three Song daughters realize their dreams are circumscribed. Leiyi’?s eldest sister, Gaoyin, already married, worries that if she doesn’t conceive a child soon, her husband will take a concubine. Leiyin’s second sister, Sueyin, is betrothed to a well-connected young man far more interested in opium than the business world. Leiyin’s eldest brother, Changyin, waits in the wings to become the family patriarch, while her second brother, Tongyin, squanders his educational opportunities at college to drink and mingle with friends. Leiyin herself longs to continue school, to become a teacher, to make a difference in China. When she meets Hanchin poet, translator and political agitator Leiyin’s aspirations gain a romantic edge. Her plans to escape her father’s oppressive household, however, quickly land her in an unexpected marriage. Still, her ambitions and her desire for Hanchin simmer, waiting for a startlingly tragic opportunity. Now, her ghost must find a way to repair the damage wrought.
