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Cargando... The Fan Tan Players (2010)por Julian Lees
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. “The Fan Tan Players” tells the story of Nadia Shashkova, a Russian refugee, and Iain Sutherland, a Scottish spy working for the British government. In part one of the book they meet in Macau or Macao, as it was called by the Portuguese, in the spring of 1928. Nadia is 28 and therefore, “on the shelf.” She helps her uncle in his tobacconist shop and looks after her mother who is still in mourning for her husband who was savagely beaten by peasants in Russia and then disappeared. Officially a clerical worker in the British Consulate, Iain is an ex-soldier who is investigating the source of local opium trading which from the very first page is shown clearly to be dangerous and terrifying. Iain courts Nadia because he believes the opium smuggling is connected to packages of tobacco for her uncle, but soon he is smitten by her, although she remains detached. The story of their relationship is deeply entangled in the history of the time. The book spans 1928 to 1945 in four parts as Iain travels from Macao to Russia, back to Scotland and finally to Hong Kong at a critical time in world history. Fan Tan is a gambling game which Nadia enjoys playing when she is out with Iain and she later proves herself still to be a brave gambler, even with her own life, for the sake of those she loves. Both she and Iain suffer many hardships and tragedies but both possess indomitable spirit. I found this novel mesmerising. The characters are warm, stubborn and real and the history, only some of which I knew, was fascinating. The setting in 1920s Macao is vividly described and atmospheric. I shall certainly seek out Julian Lees again. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
THE FAN TAN PLAYERS opens in 1928 in Macao on a cyclone-drenched Quasimodo Sunday. Nadia Shashkova, now in her late twenties, but originally a child refugee from pre-revolutionary Russia, is contemplating her diminishing marital prospects. None of the Portuguese suitors who pay their respects appeal to her in the slightest. Independent, astute, an outsider, Nadia is haunted by secrets from her childhood, memories of violence and rupture, and one terrible secret above all others will not let her go. Enter Iain Sutherland, an enigmatic Scot who is, officially, a British Consular representative, and who is very interested in Nadia for a number of reasons. As Nadia and Iain learn about each others' histories, neither of them can anticipate what the future holds for each of them ? a journey into Russia to find something that has been lost, internment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, a courageous rescue. THE FAN TAN PLAYERS is an opulent family saga, set in Macao, Russia, the Scottish Highlands and Hong Kong in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Exotic and beautifully written, it is a story of love, history, adversity and adventure. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-ValoraciónPromedio:
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There are moments of high drama, very well presented, and moments that do not seem to quite fit the emotions I would expect.
My sincere congratulations to Mr. Lees in creating the intricate plot and presenting his oriental setting so vividly. I was taken with the image of Macao during this period and loved all the details that brought it to life.