ALAN COOPER

I received a copy of “ South of the Yangtze” from my daughter in law, a friend of Flora Qian, when I arrived in Hong Kong in December 2023. I had met Flora the year before and was anxious to read the novel having some knowledge of the writer’s personality and mannerism. South of the Yangtze is an eloquently written novel. The characters have deep personalities that grow and change as the characters mature. Flora does an excellent job in making you feel what the characters are feeling. Although the people in the book are fictional you get the sense that a large part of this is the writers real life from childhood to maturing adult. I recommend reading “ South of the Yangtze “ for its vivid characters, eloquent writing and for anyone growing up in a culture that is forever changing which is any of our cultures today no matter what country we are in.