The Concubine’s Daughter by Pai Kit Fai

From the book flap of my Advanced Reader’s Copy provided during a LibraryThing’s Early Bird Review giveaway:

When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or “Beautiful One,” the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father’s orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Together with him, Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother’s dreams of becoming a scholar—but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, “Little Star,” in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.

This tale is told at a leisurely pace so don’t expect to be pulled into the story immediately.  It takes about twenty pages to be firmly planted into the culture that surrounds Li-Xia’s birth. 

Li-Xia is willful.  Her father decides he will fetch a good price for her sung-tip (a contract giving another person ownership of her) by binding her feet.  It doesn’t work and instead of being hobbled by the bindings, she learns her freedom is only limited by how far her feet can take her.  Eventually she becomes a scholar who can read, write and calculate sums.

It is the story of Su Sing that is the most interesting.  Each successive generation has new societal challenges and heartbreak.  Su Sing is fortunate to be raised by people who care for her and who value education.  She is a scholar and an athlete. 

I am not sure each woman’s story could stand on its own but combined they do provide a powerful portrait of women who want to overcome their circumstances for a better life.