Lisa writes about our event with Anchee Min

Lisa was the Tattered Cover host for last night's book signing with Anchee Min, author of Pearl of China, Empress Orchid, The Last Empress, Wild Ginger, and Becoming Madame Mao. She was deeply impressed with Min, and had this to say after the event:

"Anchee is truly an amazing woman and author. There are really only a few authors whose talks who pulled me in so completely that it seems like it's just you and that person in a room - and she is one of them.

She started the talk with her story 1971 - she was a small school girl when Mao took over and she remembered the teachers coming to class and making all the children denounce Pearl S. Buck as an enemy of China. She didn't know who Pearl S. Buck was but they told her that Pearl had written The Good Earth which insulted the peasants and that was why. Anchee said she wanted to read the book, but never got the chance until years later at her book signing for Becoming Madame Mao - a woman came up and asked her if she'd known Pearl S. Buck and said that Pearl S. Buck taught her to love Chinese people. Then the woman pulled The Good Earth out of her bag and handed it to Anchee. That book changed Anchee's life and she realized even more so how pervasive Mao's revolution was and how wrong.

As she did more research on Pearl - it became clear to her that she had to write this book as fictional biography of Pearl from the Chinese poor perspective. So she created Willow as Pearl's best friend. Anchee said she is Willow. She was a rebellious child and used to work on her Grandmother's farm (which was one hour away from where Pearl had grown up) and her grandmother would tell her "Women are like grass. They are there to be walked upon." Anchee didn't like that. So Grandmother (who had bound feet!) said "Don't complain, wear your broken arm in your sleeve," or "You must eat that meatball which is made of your own tongue." After that Anchee raced back home and joined the Communist Party. She wanted to be equal - a feminist and wasn't getting that from Grandma. So she growing up in Shanghai, but also near the poor farm area of Pearl's life, mixed with her stubbornness and rebelliousness - is Willow. Anchee worked in labor camps and knew that side of life which made her telling of the Chinese view of Pearl's life in China even more believable.

All of these strange intersections between Anchee's life and Pearl's life made Anchee feel she was the only one who could write this. And the ending - well - Anchee went to visit Pearl's house in Pennsylvania. She got there too late for a tour. So she asked directions to Pearl's grave. She got them and promptly got lost. But back at the Inn the woman there gave her directions and asked why did she want to see her grave. Anchee said because she had business with it. She woke at 3:30 and waited until first light, found the grave as a flat stone amongst bamboo plants. There in only Chinese characters it said Pearl's name. Anchee said the Willow part of her collapsed and cried and the writer part of her went back and wrote the end to Pearl of China in her room in an hour. She said she felt like she was Pearl's connection back to China after being denied entry by Madame Mao in 1972 when Nixon would have taken her as his translator and journalist. Pearl died in 1973 - never seeing her childhood home or parents' graves. And the business Anchee had - was that she brought soil from Pearl's mother's grave to Pearl's and mixed it in, and she took some of Pearl's soil back to China and mixed it into Carrie's grave so that they would finally be connected again and their souls could rest.

The entire evening was finished with the grand finale of Anchee singing a piece of peasant opera that Pearl loved - in Chinese. This petite woman, with the strong eyes that seem to look right into you, standing there belting out in an unbelievably strong voice this aria. Goosebumps - I had them. I think the part of the crowd that got the serendipitous connection between Pearl and Anchee through writing had them.

After people left, Anchee said to me - that it was her destiny to write this book and help right the wrong done to Pearl by Madame Mao. I said yes I understood that after reading the book and hearing her. It was meant to be. She seemed very glad that I understood and hoped others would. They will. It's night's like this one that really remind me why I love books and why I love meeting authors and sharing their stories. "