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A remarkably good bit of fiction that almost has the feel of biography. It focuses on the story of a few members of China's Akha minority, tracing their still very impoverished and traditional lives in the 1980s through their economic improvement and modernization into much more recent times, but does so through the eyes of the book's leading characters. It makes for a very personal and dramatic presentation. Lisa See brings real life to her characters and their situations, and helps the reader see the larger changes through very human eyes.
While there may be many works of popular fiction that seem similar, the quality of the characters, the plot twists and turns, See's vivid descriptions, and the ambitious nature of the story itself as it is told all make this a stand-out. A very good read simply as fiction, and so much more so if you have any interest in China, or issues concerning economic change, or the meeting of cultures, or tea, then you really must read it.