'The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane' by Lisa See

We'll be discussing The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by American author Lisa See, published in 2017.

As described by the publisher: In this stirring coming-of-age novel, a young Chinese woman finds purpose, passion, and the key to a new life in the tea-growing traditions of her ancestors.

High in the Yunnan mountains, Li-yan and her family, members of the Akha ethnic minority, live according to the precise rituals of their people. Then one day, the market economy, in the form of a businessman seeking a rare tea, arrives at their remote village and changes the community forever. As Li-yan’s family adapts to the incursion of the outside world, she falls in love with a boy who her mother believes is an inauspicious match. When she bears his child, instead of hewing to the tradition that would have her kill the little girl, she leaves her baby, wrapped in a blanket with a special tea cake inside, on the steps of a nearby orphanage. Through hard work, education, and an appreciation for Pu’er, her people’s special tea, Li-yan eventually makes a life for herself in the wide world outside her village. Yet, even as she finds a business and a husband that she loves, she never stops thinking about her lost child.

We'll be meeting up in person in Den Bosch. The location will we announced to the attendees at least two days in advance. In any case, it will a location not far from the train station, as to be accessible to people coming from outside the city.

As a special winter/Christmas edition, we will be doing a book swap, that's why the event starts earlier (if you can only make it later, that's ok). More details to follow.

Lastly, there's a limited amount of attendants as to keep the conversation manageable. If you're on the waiting list and want to know whether you'll be able to make it in the end, please contact the host directly.