In poised and elegant prose, Kathryn Harrison weaves a stunning story of women, travel, and flight; of love, revenge, and fear; of the search for home and the need to escape it. Set in alluring Shanghai at the turn of the century, The Binding Chair intertwines the destinies of a Chinese woman determined to forget her past and a Western girl focused on the promises of the future.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
May, a young Chinese woman, suffers the brutal ritual of foot binding at the turn of the last century. The book follows May from a bad marriage (think Raise the Red Lantern) to Shanghai, "the infamous city of danger and opportunity." May--either despite or because of her foot's deformity--is considered a woman of astonishing beauty. "Each part of May, her cuticles and wristbones and earlobes, the blue-white luminous hollow between her clavicles, inspired the same conclusion: that to assemble her had required more than the usual workaday genius of biology." Her beauty, her fetishistically bound feet, and her quick mastery of a handful of languages earn her a pile of money and finally a Western husband.
May develops a close relationship with her husband's Jewish family, especially with her unruly niece Alice. Harrison's scrupulously researched novel follows the two of them from Shanghai to London and back again, encountering along the way a colorful cast of women who've all suffered a disfigurement, mental or physical, that echoes May's. Finally several of the women come together in Nice, where each works out her destiny. The Binding Chair is far-flung, geographically and emotionally, and never quite coalesces, but perhaps the author was intentionally seeking to make a story about the Chinese and the Jews that has a feeling of diaspora. You've got to hand it to Harrison. Most writers, upon developing a fascination with Shanghai, would write a nice article for Travel & Leisure and have done with it. Kathryn Harrison has forged an ambitious novel. --Claire Dederer
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Softcover. Condition: new. In poised and elegant prose, Kathryn Harrison weaves a stunning story of women, travel, and flight; of love, revenge, and fear; of the search for home and the need to escape it. Set in alluring Shanghai at the turn of the century, The Binding Chair intertwines the destinies of a Chinese woman determined to forget her past and a Western girl focused on the promises of the future. Seller Inventory # DADAX0060934425
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Binding Chair 0.56. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780060934422
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 0.75. Seller Inventory # bk0060934425xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9780060934422
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 498754-n
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580003035
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780060934422
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In poised and elegant prose, Kathryn Harrison weaves a stunning story of women, travel, and flight; of love, revenge, and fear; of the search for home and the need to escape it. Set in alluring Shanghai at the turn of the century, The Binding Chair intertwines the destinies of a Chinese woman determined to forget her past and a Western girl focused on the promises of the future. The author of The Kiss tells the story of two women - a Chinese girl named May and her Western niece, Alice - whose lives intersect in turn-of-the-century Shanghai. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780060934422
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # L0-9780060934422
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0060934425