About the author

Lisa See is an American writer and novelist. Her books include On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family (1995), a detailed account of See's family history, and the novels Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999), Dragon Bones (2003), Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), Peony in Love (2007) and Shanghai Girls (2009), which made it to the 2010 New York Times bestseller list. Both Shanghai Girls and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan received honorable mentions from the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature.

See's novel, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (2017), is a powerful story about circumstances, culture, and distance among the Akha people of Xishuangbanna, China. It paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and celebrates the bond of family.

See's most recent novel, The Island of Sea Women, is a story about female friendship and family secrets on Jeju Island before, during and in the aftermath of the Korean War. It was released on March 5, 2019.

Flower Net, The Interior, and Dragon Bones make up the Red Princess mystery series. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love focus on the lives of Chinese women in the 19th and 17th centuries respectively. Shanghai Girls (2009) chronicles the lives of two sisters who come to Los Angeles in arranged marriages and face, among other things, the pressures put on Chinese-Americans during the anti-Communist mania of the 1950s. See completed a sequel titled Dreams of Joy, released in May 2011. China Dolls (June 2014) deals with Chinese American nightclub performers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Writing under the pen name Monica Highland, See, her mother Carolyn See, and John Espey, published two novels: Lotus Land (1983), 110 Shanghai Road (1986), and Greetings from Southern California (1988), a collection of early 20th Century postcards and commentary on the history they represent. She has a personal essay ("The Funeral Banquet") included in the anthology Half and Half.

See has donated her personal papers (1973–2001) to UCLA. During the 2012 Golden Dragon Chinese New Year Parade in Los Angeles Chinatown, See served as the Grand Marshal.

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Lisa See

Pæonpavillonen

Pæon lever et beskyttet og privilegeret liv som datter af den velhavende Chen-familie. I dagene op til hendes 16 års fødselsdag lader faderen en lille teatertrup opføre kærlighedsoperaen Pæonpavillonen i familiens have. Moderen er imod, at Pæon får lov til at overvære operaen: "Ugifte piger bør ikke ses i det offentlige." Men de unge piger bliver placeret bag en beskyttende skærm, så de er skjult for mændene under forestillingen. Ikke desto mindre får Pæon et glimt af den smukke og elegante mand Ren og forelsker sig øjeblikkeligt. Operaen handler om kærligheden mellem to unge mennesker, der mødes i en drøm. Pæon selv er lovet væk til en mand, hun aldrig har mødt, og operaens tragiske kærlighedshistorie bliver det fuldendte udtryk for hendes egne længsler og drømme.
Da faderen ved operaens afslutning pludselig annoncerer Pæons bryllup og udpeger brudgommen, ser hun væk. Hun kan ikke bære tanken om at skulle giftes med en anden end Ren. Brylluppet nærmer sig, men Pæon nægter at spise og drikke. Hendes eneste glæde er at læse Pæonpavillonen og nedskrive sine kommentarer. På sit dødsleje erfarer hun, at hendes brudgom faktisk er Ren. Men da er det for sent, og Pæon drager til de dødes verden.
Da Ren gifter sig med den forkælede og kolde Tan Ze, forsøger Pæon at tale til ham fra de dødes verden ved at "overtage" den nye hustrus krop. Det lykkes hende at få Tan Ze til at interessere sig for litteratur og ligeledes nedskrive sine tanker om Pæonpavillonen. Operaen bliver således det univers, hvor Pæon og Ren forenes, og hvor kvinder spejler sig i hinandens skæbner og henter selvindsigt gennem deres fælles lidenskab for poesien.

Lisa Sees roman er et enestående indblik i kvinders beskyttede liv i 1600-tallets Kina. Den er baseret på autentiske kvindeskæbner, der har nedfældet deres friheds- og kærlighedstrang inspireret af den klassiske kinesiske opera Pæonpavillonen.

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Edition

Printed pages336 Sider

Publish date03 Apr 2010

Published byLindhardt og Ringhof

Languagedan

ISBN epub9788711415436