The constant threat of bombs by the Japanese and fear of encountering Japanese soldiers on the roads creates a great deal of tension.Ĭhang keeps the story moving with intrigue within the group and by inserting stories about the immortals. Lian’s mother is also supposed to be in Shanghai, so Lian desperately wants to find her. The students and professors hope to go to Shanghai and safety. They are helping the university professors save the Library of Legends, books about the ancient myths of China, by smuggling the books out of harm in the students’ backpacks. We focus on Hu Lian, the narrator, and her companions Liu Shaoming, called Shao, and his maidservant Sparrow. The Library of Legends opens in 1937 with a group of university students fleeing from Minghua University in Nanking as Japanese planes bomb the city. Change weaves the legends into her modern story seamlessly. The stories she learned as child are complete with encounters with dragons, ghosts, and immortals. Since Janie Chang grew up hearing old stories her family told of life in a Chinese village, she pulls those stories from the past to write mesmerizing fiction today.
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