Here’s Why Our Book Club Loved THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE

April 13 2018
Share Here’s Why Our Book Club Loved THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE

In case you missed it, the Off the Shelf Book Club hosted a fantastic Facebook Live Book Club meeting with a special guest, the author of our book club pick! We chatted with Lisa See about the THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE and all things Pu’er tea.

Tune in as the Off the Shelf Book Club chats about Lisa See’s bestselling novel THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE. Join the discussion by leaving a comment or question below. One grand prize winner will receive a set of tea and books for their book club. Five lucky second prize winners will receive two signed copies of the book (one for themselves and one for their mother or daughter)! You can read more about the book here: https://offtheshelf.com/2017/10/tea-girl-of-hummingbird-lane-lisa-see/For official rules, visit: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/otsfbgiveawayrules

Posted by Off The Shelf on Friday, April 13, 2018

We absolutely love this novel about a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple. Here’s why.

1. The Timing and Rich Culture. While the novel starts in what feels like an ancient, rural Chinese village, it’s actually set in modern times. The village doesn’t have electricity or running water, and is steeped in longtime traditions—some that are very surprising. But really, the outside modern world just hasn’t reached this Akha village yet, preserving their rituals and culture. Lisa See traveled to China and the tea mountains to obverse the Akha people and get to know their customs firsthand.

2. The One Child Policy. See has wanted to write a novel about the One-child Policy in China for 20 years now. She grew up in a very large Chinese American family, but has always thought about how adopted children adopted from China are often the only Chinese person in their American community. See wanted to write about what that might feel like.

3. The Twins. There’s a heartbreaking and shocking scene in which twins born in an Akha village are considered human rejects. The parents are forced to murder the twins. It’s a disturbing scene, but one that exemplifies the order and rules of their village in a really emotional way. We thought it was interesting how various parts of the world view twins differently, and why. One mother in Eastern Europe told See that when she realized she was going to have twins, her mother made trinkets to ward off evil and quarantined her in the house for the duration of her pregnancy.

4. Tea Snobbery. See became a self-professed tea snob while researching this book. She drank a lot of Pu’er tea while writing, a habit she still enjoys. Her favorite is a Pu’er tea made from the leaves of a 1,000-year-old tea tree. See befriended the largest importer of Pu’er into the United States. Through this connection and Linda at the Bana Tea Company, See learned about the process for making tea—from picking leaves to making tea cakes and tea cake wrappers. You can learn more and find behind the scenes content at LisaSee.com.

5. Mother Love. There is Chinese written character for Mother Love that is composed of two elements: one meaning love and one meaning pain. Often mothers carry the pain of their children in their hearts. Children also feel love and pain towards their mothers growing up, and again when their mothers die. Our relationships to our mothers are complicated and full of conflicting emotions.

6. The Adoption Story. There are many dyads of mothers and daughters in this story. Haley, a young woman who was adopted by a family in the United States, has both a birth mother and an adopted mother. She has two mothers, but one is always an absence for her. Haley also struggled with feeling both grateful and angry: grateful to live in America and for the family she loves, but angry about stereotypes put upon her. See also explores the loss of what it feels like to give up a child in the hope of giving them a better life. See interviewed people all across the country who were adopted from China, and received incredibly beautiful letters from her interviewees about their experiences. This novel brilliantly explores the many facets of adoption.

7. The Cover and the Title. The original title of the book was THE FOX SPIRIT OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE, but it turns out the Akha don’t have a fox spirit despite See’s hopes. The cover is just plain gorgeous.

8. See loves book clubs as much as we do! To ask Lisa See to join your book club via Skype, please send an email request.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
by Lisa See

Lisa See writes a powerful story about a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple. See paints an unforgettable portrait of a little-known region in China and, as with all of her novels, delivers intricate relationships between women, with a special focus on the mother-daughter relationship.

Read the full review of THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Lisa See

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

The Perfect Blend: 12 Book and Tea Pairings

By Sarah Jane Abbott | February 25, 2020

7 Books So Compelling We Almost Missed Our Train Stops

By Off the Shelf Staff | February 24, 2020

A Menagerie of Books: 9 Reads for Animal Lovers

By Sarah Jane Abbott | April 22, 2019

Off the Shelf’s Favorite Books from the Last 5 Years

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 27, 2019

A Conversation On Lisa See, Female Friendships, and Dumplings

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 5, 2019

Enter for a Chance to Win a Luxurious Reading Oasis

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 27, 2018

Close
Peony in Love
by Lisa See

A young woman entombed in her family’s traditional values and rituals dreams of a life outside the obedience expected from her. Lisa See expertly weaves the journey of Peony in seventeenth-century China with themes just as prevalent today: pursuing one’s destiny against the odds, a woman’s place and lack of a voice in the world, and the power of friendship and freedom.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Peony in Love
Lisa See

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

A Conversation On Lisa See, Female Friendships, and Dumplings

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 5, 2019

Here’s Why Our Book Club Loved THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 13, 2018

The 5 Best Books I Read During My Commute

By Erin Madison | April 11, 2018

Put a Little Spring in Your Fall Step: A Bookish Bouquet in 9 Novels

By Amy Hendricks | November 14, 2017

Close
China Dolls
by Lisa See

Three young women from different backgrounds meet at San Francisco’s exclusive Forbidden City Nightclub and become fast friends. When their dark secrets are exposed, a shocking act of betrayal changes everything.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
China Dolls
Lisa See

Three young women from different backgrounds meet at San Francisco’s exclusive Forbidden City Nightclub and become fast friends. When their dark secrets are exposed, a shocking act of betrayal changes everything.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

A Conversation On Lisa See, Female Friendships, and Dumplings

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 5, 2019

Here’s Why Our Book Club Loved THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 13, 2018

9 Historical Novels That Offer New Perspectives of Our World

By Erin Madison | April 2, 2018

15 Stories of Betrayal to Read for the Ides of March

By Taylor Noel | March 15, 2017

Close
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See

A captivating journey back to nineteenth-century China when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, Lisa See’s gorgeously written work of fiction is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Kobo logo Bookshop logo
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Lisa See

A captivating journey back to nineteenth-century China when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, Lisa See’s gorgeously written work of fiction is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Kobo logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

Such Sweet Sorrow: 6 Tender Stories of Forbidden Love

By Finola Austin | August 4, 2020

11 Historical Novels That Will Enlarge Your Worldview

By Sarah Jane Abbott | March 26, 2019

A Conversation On Lisa See, Female Friendships, and Dumplings

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 5, 2019

A Former Bookseller Reminisces on Her 12 Favorite Works of Fiction

By Nancy Quinn | September 25, 2018

Here’s Why Our Book Club Loved THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 13, 2018

13 Reasons to Join Our Mothers’ Book Club

By Off the Shelf Staff | September 22, 2015

Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.