<strong>LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE<br /><br />LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 WOMEN’S PRIZE<br /><br />A </strong><strong><em>LIBRARY JOURNAL</em></strong><strong> EMERGING STARS PICK<br /><br />A mesmerizing novel of World War II Singapore, “a story about memory, trauma, and ultimately love” (</strong><strong><em>New York Times</em></strong><strong>)—for fans of </strong><strong><em>Pachinko</em></strong><strong> and </strong><strong><em>We Were the Lucky Ones</em></strong><strong><br /><br /></strong>Singapore, 1942. As Japanese troops sweep down Malaysia and into Singapore, a village is ransacked, leaving only two survivors and one tiny child.<br /><br />In a neighboring village, seventeen-year-old Wang Di is strapped into the back of a troop carrier and shipped off to a Japanese military brothel where she is forced into sexual slavery as a “comfort woman.” After sixty years of silence, what she saw and experienced still haunts her.<br /><br />In the year 2000, twelve-year-old Kevin is sitting beside his ailing grandmother when he overhears a mumbled confession. He sets out to discover the truth, wherever it might lead, setting in motion a chain of events he never could have foreseen.<br /><br />Weaving together two timelines and two very big secrets, this stunning debut opens a window on a little-known period of history, revealing the strength and bravery shown by numerous women in the face of terrible cruelty. Drawing in part on her family’s experiences, Jing-Jing Lee has crafted a profoundly moving, unforgettable novel about human resilience, the bonds of family and the courage it takes to confront the past.