The year is 1883. China is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. In the countryside antagonism against foreigners and missionaries is growing and the warlords are at large. Li Ling, a young peasant girl in China, flees to Malaya to escape being made a concubine to a warlord only to find herself tricked into becoming a second wife to a rich man with sadistic tendencies. Her life became intertwined with that of her rescuer, Shao Peng, in a Malaya that was rapidly transforming under British rule. A Flash of Water gives insight to some of the main characters in Sweet Offerings. Reviews: This is yet another triumph for Chan Ling Yap. Beautifully written and very difficult to put down. Amazon
Customer reviews (amazon.co.uk):
I have just read ‘Flash of Water’ for a book club meeting.
I really started to become interetsed in the book when three of the main characters left China and arrived in Kuala Lumpar and the plot started to develop around the family dynamics and day to day life.
Having to follow certain social etiquette, meant that communication between the characters led to interesting sub plots and made the story line edgy and hard to put down!
The story line was always peppered with interesting historical fact from the era.
Chan Ling Yap is a serious writer with a lot of knowledge about her subject, I am motivated to read more of her work and would highly recommend her books.
– Amazon Customer 17 April 2016
An excellent read. Having read Chan Ling’s previous three novels, I was looking forward to reading her fourth and final book in the series and was delighted not to be disappointed. Set in the background of the dramatic events occurring in China and Malaya at the turn of the twentieth century, the fascinating story of the relationships between the characters from different religions and cultures are sensitively drawn and developed. Although the series has now been completed, I hope that in the future we will see more novels from the pen of Chan Ling Yap.
– A M Wall 28 August 2017
Good read, good value — Thanks!
– Sapspec 5 July 2018
