Song of the Silk Road [Paperback]

Mingmei Yip (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2011

As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographs of the desert - its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China's desolate Taklamakan Desert - and carry out a series of tasks along the way. Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountains of Heaven to gather a rare herb. At Xian, her first stop, Lily meets Alex, a young American with whom she forms a powerful connection. And soon, she faces revelations that will redefine her past, her destiny, and the shocking truth behind her aunt's motivations...Powerful and eloquent, "Song of the Silk Road" is a captivating story of self-discovery, resonant with the mysteries of its haunting, exotic landscape.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yip's lively new novel manages to be at once modern and traditional. Struggling scribe Lily Lin is writing her Chinese-American family saga, stuck in a dead-end relationship with a married man, and employed as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant in midtown Manhattan. When she is contacted by a law firm representing a previously unknown but apparently wealthy Chinese aunt, she ignores her good fortune, thinking it fishy, "like a clichéd plot in a cheap novel." But it's not, and if Lily follows her aunt's obsessive instructions to retrace her own Silk Road sojourn, Lily will receive three million dollars. She accepts the challenge, and thus begins an absorbing journey that only seems to make sense as a way of uniting the Chinese and Western halves of Lily's heritage. Surprising and often funny. Yip's (Peach Blossom Pavilion) modern heroine's quest is filled with unique companions, unforeseen dangers, unexpected joys, and bitter sorrows. Part epic, part coming-of-age story, part modern fairy tale, it only falters in an easy ending, which readers, by then in love with Lily Lin, will likely forgive. (Apr.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; 1 edition (March 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758241828
• ISBN-13: 978-0758241825
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mingmei Yip grew up in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States in 1992.

Her debut novel, Peach Blossom Pavilion, tells the story of the last in the Chinese tradition of poet-musician-courtesans, was published by Kensington in 2008.

Her new novel is Petals from the Sky, (Kensington Books, March 2010) story of a young Chinese woman who escapes her dysfunctional, ne'er-do-well family to become a Buddhist nun - only to realize she had run away from her own heart. Petals from the Sky was inspired by Mingmei's life since she befriended powerful Buddhist nuns in her youth and was once groomed to be one.

Her Chinese Children's Favorite Stories, which she both wrote and illustrated, was published in 2004 by Tuttle. She is now writing and illustrating another children's book for Tuttle.

Mingmei has appeared on over 60 TV and radio programs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and the United Sates, as well as many newspaper interviews. She has published five prior books in Chinese and wrote columns for seven major Hong Kong newspapers. Her song lyrics have been published and performed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U. S.

Mingmei received her Ph. D. from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. In Hong Kong, she held faculty appointments at the Chinese University and Baptist University and has published over forty scholarly articles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Exotic Adventure, March 29, 2011

By 

Fu Xi (Anyang, China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of the Silk Road (Paperback)

Who of us does not imagine that one day a letter will arrive transforming our ordinary existence by bringing adventure, romance, money... My own dreams frequently have taken me to the fabled Silk Road that connects some of the world's most remote places. So I opened this new book with its luminous green cover with great expectations. I had thoroughly enjoyed Yip's previous two novels, Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky.

I am glad to say that my expectations were fully met. Indeed, I am now feeling the effects of staying up most of last night to finish it.

The heroine, Lily Lin, is living in New York and wondering where her life is going when the letter arrives. At a meeting with a stuffy lawyer she is told that an aunt, whom she had never known existed, has promised her a reward of 3 million dollars if she retraces the aunt's own exploits on the Silk Road.

Yip vividly conveys the sense of traveling along the Silk Road, one of the harshest environments on the planet. She crosses the Taklamakan desert -- the name means "Go in, won't come out" -- and ascents the high Mountains of Heaven.

There is also a love story that begins with Lily been seen by a young many while she bathes secretly in the pool of an ancient palace. Of course many obstacles arise for them. I will not say how this part ends.

There were many unexpected details that I enjoyed: Lily's friendship with a Chinese Muslim woman -- there are many in China but rarely written about -- Lily's "yin eye" -- the ability to see the spirts of the dead, the "upside-down hanging lotus position," what happens with her all-too-married boyfriend, and more that I will not reveal.

I have traveled on the Silk Road myself and can say that Yip quite vividly conveys what it is like to be this place that was once so dangerous it was said that the most common sights along the way were the bones of travelers and their camels.

If you want an enjoyable read that also expands your knowledge of a far corner of our world, where adventure and even the supernatural still lurk, pick up Song of the Silk Road.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Traveling the Silk Road was a little dry for me, April 13, 2011

By 

K. Herbrand - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Song of the Silk Road (Paperback)

I don't think that I have read a book set in China before. I really liked the story line as it was peppered with descriptions of beautiful locations and much cultural history. It moved along pretty quickly, changing locales and "tasks" and keeping me interested in to where Lily would have to go next and who she might meet along the way. There were many colorful characters from monks to fortune tellers to other travelers.

After starting it, I was not readily invested in the character of Lily Lin. She seemed very shallow and self-centered and sometimes the dialogue seemed a little stilted. I think that Lily comes full circle though and even though the ending contained an unforeseen twist, it had a very satisfactory conclusion.

Yip has two previous novels out, Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky that I think I will adding to my TBR list.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Along the road, December 20, 2011

By 

K. Knight (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of the Silk Road (Paperback)

I was drawn to this book by the title, the cover and the idea of a beautiful, exotic journey in a foreign land. What I got was a cheap imitation of a 'journey' story with unbelievable characters, gaping holes in the plot and a bunch of time spent doing nothing.

Lily is told that if she completes her 'aunt's' instructions along the silk road, she'll inherit millions of dollars. She leaves her married ex-teacher (she's the mistress) behind (and her incomplete novel) and heads to China.

For a woman who thinks she's going to earn millions by completing this journey, Lily takes forver to get through it. She has 8 months to complete the task and she spends a great deal of time lounging (and loving) in a small village for no reason. She completes various tasks (occassionally) and ends up with a younger American she meets on her first trip. And let's talk about her 'love interest' (OK so I can't even remember his name. That's terrible!). They meet incidently and I kept thinking he was part of the 'aunt's' plot. I waited for him to have an alterior motive for wanting to spend time with Lily because his actions were so far-fetched and hard to believe. As it turns out, he's just a desperate stalker. He loves her after knowing her for about 2 minutes.

Aside from the pacing issues, the characters suddenly change and then suddenly change back. Lily isn't in love with this young student and repeatedly seeks to get rid of him or avoid him. Then, suddenly, she sleeps with him and is In LOVE. GAG. And let's talk about Lily's morals. She's the mistress of a married man, falls 'in love' with 2 seperate men in this novel and sleeps with a third because her 'aunt' instructed her to. And she just does..she 'doesn't want to' but then just does it anyway. Completely unbelievable.

And I"m not even going to get into Lily's sudden paranormal skills that have no explanation and really aren't needed.

The really unbeliveable bit is the end, which I can't get into without ruining the surprise. Needless to say, it didn't make a lot of sense and then is quickly wrapped up. While I did like what happens when she returns to New York, I also knew it was going to happen as soon as she and her teacher met up.

There were some really nice descriptions in this book and the locations were wonderful. The author obviously has a great imagination, this book was just too disjointed to work.