The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

I've missed Lisa See, and her newest novel, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (#645) does not disappoint. 


As in her previous novels, family is paramount.  Li-yan is Akha, a member of an ethnic Chinese hill tribe in the province of Yunnan.  Her remote village revolves around the collection of tea leaves from their ancient trees.  But Li-yan's mother introduces her to a special, hidden grove of ancient trees high on the mountain.  It's her inheritance, but her a-ma is insistent that no man may visit the grove, nor learn of its location.  In most ways, Li-yan is obedient to the centuries-old traditions that govern the lives of Spring Well Village, but the day she attends the birth of twins with her mother, the village midwife, her thinking begins to change, especially when she falls in love with an unsuitable boy.


When she gives birth to a girl out of wedlock, she is forced from the village.  She takes the child to an orphanage in Menghai, where she leaves her.  Many years later, when her fortunes change, she and her husband return to Menghai to reclaim the child, only to find she has been sent to America to be adopted.  When Li-yan is forced once again to create a new future for herself, it is in the tea trade.  She becomes an expert on Pu'er tea, the rare tea that comes from Nannuo Mountain, her home.  Her life is set on a different course that will lead to profound discoveries.


I found this book very interesting, although a bit disjointed.  I thought the information about how the hill tribes in China lived until fairly recently was fascinating.  Also, as a tea drinker, I was intrigued to learn about a variety that I will make it a point to try in the future.  I hope Lisa See is correct in her prediction that a tea boom is coming the United States.  I never order tea when out because nobody here seems to know how to make it properly.  Warm water with a tea bag on the saucer beside the cup just don't make it.  No wonder Americans don't appreciate tea!  However, when Li-yan's daughter grows up, the switches back and forth between the mother and daughter aren't always smoothly handled, with several techniques being used: letters, medical records, school assignments, narratives, etc.  But still overall, this book gets a big thumbs up from me.