Silk Road [Paperback]

Jeanne Larsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 1990

Greenpearl, only daughter of a powerful Chinese general, is kidnapped when she is only seven.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In eighth-century China, Greenpearl, the daughter of a Chinese general, is kidnapped by Tibetan raiders and sold into slavery, beginning a picaresque adventure involving three related quests that emanate from the celestial as well as the human realm. An "enchanting, ingeniously constructed first novel," lauded PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Fairy tale and myth entwine in this gently humorous fantasy set in ancient China. Greenpearl is seven when she is stolen by bandits and sold to a genteel house of prostitution. She escapes and embarks on a quest to rescue her mother from the realm of the Dragon Monarch in Cavegarden Lake. The goddesses and gods, behaving like celestial bureaucrats, barter favors amongst themselves to assist Greenpearl; despite their bumbling and the obscure form their aid takes, eventually she and the companions she gathers in her travels manage to fulfill their destinies in unexpected ways. The author, a translator of Chinese verse, has cleverly blended feminism, Chinese history and myth, and beautiful language in an enjoyable, exotic fantasy.
- A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (July 8, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449905233
• ISBN-13: 978-0449905234
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,954,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeanne Larsen fell in love with Chinese poetry when she was in high school. After earning her M.A. in creative writing from what was then Hollins College, she spent two years teaching at Tunghai University in Taiwan. That not only locked in her love for Tang dynasty poets and the world they lived in, it convinced her that, right Mom, she'd better go get a Ph.D. A few years of Comparative Literature later (Iowa City, USA, & Nagasaki, Japan, mostly), Jeanne started teaching at Hollins, between Virginia's Blue Ridge and the Allegheny highlands, in the Roanoke valley: one of the best spots on the planet, so she says.

Jeanne's latest book is WHY WE MAKE GARDENS (& OTHER POEMS). She has also published the AWP Award winning (JAMES COOK IN SEARCH OF TERRA INCOGNITA: A BOOK OF POEMS), two collections of translated poems by women of the Tang era (BROCADE RIVER POEMS and WILLOW, WINE, MIRROR, MOON), a little lit crit, and the three novels in her "Avalokiteshvara trilogy", SILK ROAD, BRONZE MIRROR, and MANCHU PALACES. Essays, poetry, translations, and occasionally a short story all show up in literary magazines (some print, some digital), now and then. More books in the works, of course. Right now, she's mainly happy for the Authors Guild "back in print" program, which has made the novels easily available again: same inside, maps and all, with snappy new covers to boot.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical, December 5, 2006

By 

R. Olivier "puttputtproductions" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silk Road (Paperback)

I read this years ago, when it first came out. I was a working in a bookstore. It came in and had a blurb on it from Annie Dillard. So, I decided to try it. I was entranced.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, well-researched and emotional, May 24, 2004

By 

Randy Farnsworth (Northern Utah, Near the Lake, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silk Road: A Novel of Eighth-Century China (Hardcover)

_
Reviewed by Randy Farnsworth, author of "A Stand Yet Taken"

Larsen's novel is a very refreshing view of male-dominated ancient China, told by a woman from a woman's perspective. The story follows the life of a diety that has been mortalized in order to experience life as a human. It's told in several parts, depicting major chapters in the protagonist's life. The tale is part fantasy, part history, part drama, and told in a very unique way. Larsen's language is eloquent and engaging. At times, she uses the first person viewpoint of the heroine/protagonist; other times switching to the flowery diction of a marketplace storyteller; and at other times using a more traditional omniscient narration and even a fair amount of poetry, which plays a major role in the outcome of the story.

The story itself is fun and challenging to read; I really enjoyed it. However, there are parts that for me seemed too drawn out, where I wished the main characters would just get on with whatever they were doing. But don't worry, each slow part is followed by many quicker-moving and more exciting events.

Perhaps Larsen is trying to make a point about something, but it seems that almost all the characters, both male and female, don't really care who or what they sleep with and what gender their partners are. I found that aspect of the book to be less enjoyable. I would have much preferred the main character to have avoided her fate as a glorified call girl. But again, perhaps the author is trying to tell us something about ancient Chinese culture. I would caution younger readers though, before reading this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book., February 4, 2010

By 

Pat Loftfjeld "patloftfjeld" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silk Road: A Novel of Eighth-Century China (Paperback)

I read this book for the first time when it came out in hardcover in 1990, and have enjoyed every time I've re-read it since. Larsen's knitting together of multiple religious and mythical traditions (and not to mention textbook histories) is artful and seemingly effortless.