The Secret Language of Women

From the beginning, I was struck by the detail of the place and time of this epic love story. The author, Nina Romano, has done her research. As a reader, I was transported back to the nineteenth century in China, where Lian, a healer, falls in love with Giacomo, an Italian sailor. The chance encounter that brought the two together and left them both wanting is at the heart of this novel. Some say opposites attract, but here the odds of them making a life together seem insurmountable. Their cultural differences are further heightened during the Boxer Rebellion, a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising around the end of that century. A beautiful story, brilliantly told. Highly recommended.