BITTERSWEET

Bittersweet, a strong-willed peasant woman, escapes infanticide to become the wife of the second-most powerful man in China. This fictionalized biography of Leslie Li's grandmother is fascinating history and a window into the soul of China. In a voice distinct with delicate nuances, Linda Stephens flawlessly plays all parts of this one-hundred-year epic. Marshaling us through the Chinese names with ease and authority, Stephens compels us first with the power of Bittersweet's early life and then with the poignant ironies of her later life. An afterword spoken by the author herself explains the novel's genesis. P.E.F. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT 96]