JUNE 2020 - AudioFile
On one level this is an exciting story about Chinese university students under attack by the Japanese in 1937. On another level it is about folklore, magic, and spirits that are ever present. Both genres are ably presented by narrator Emily Woo Zeller, whose soft yet confident voice persuades us that the magic is real and the plight of the student refugees, difficult and dangerous. The students' special challenge is the safe transport of the Library of Legends, an ancient encyclopedia of sacred knowledge that preserves China's culture, mythology, and folklore. This is a tale of courage, marvels, and suspense told by a narrator who is adept at both fantasy and historical fiction. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/01/2020
Chang (Dragon Springs Road) explores the effects of the Second Sino-Japanese War on students in this spellbinding tale. In 1937, after the Japanese bomb Nanking, students at Minghua University flee to an interim campus in Chengtu, including a group entrusted with Minghua’s sacred 147 encyclopedia volumes from the Ming dynasty, known as the Library of Legends. Hu Lian, 19, enrolled in Minghua to study the volumes. Now, on the journey with them to Chengtu, she is intent on letting her mother in Shanghai know about the evacuation as she befriends fellow student Liu Shaoming “Shao” and his servant, Sparrow. Their travels are fraught with the perils of bombing raids and poor living conditions, yet Lian continues her research on Willow Star, a legend about an immortal princess who returns to Earth with each of her reincarnations, and begins falling for Shao. In a supernatural twist, Lian discovers Sparrow is Willow Star, and fears that as long as Sparrow remains on Earth, Shao will never return her love. As the journey becomes more dangerous, Shao and Sparrow join Lian as she veers off for Shanghai where she hopes to find her mother. Chang expertly weaves mysticism and historical details, and sets up a cast of memorable characters. This will charm readers from the very first page. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (May)
From the Publisher
The Library of Legends is a gorgeous, poetic journey threaded with mist and magic about a group from a Chinese university who take to the road to escape the Japanese invasion of 1937 – only to discover that danger stalks them from within. Janie Chang pens pure enchantment!” — Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
“Janie Chang has beautifully melded history and the spirit world to create an adventurous love story for all of us readers who love books and who, in a perfect world, would do anything to save them.” — Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
“Chang expertly weaves mysticism and historical details, and sets up a cast of memorable characters. This will charm readers from the very first page.” — Publishers Weekly
“Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends is a delicious mix of history, myth, and romance. Chang deftly intertwines Chinese folklore and historical detail to create a magical, heartfelt read.” — Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation and Searching for Sylvie Lee
“Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends delivers stark historical truths on the tail of a shooting star. Absolutely enchanting.” — Ana Johns, bestselling author of The Woman in the White Kimono
“Love and fate entangle in a tender tale of star-crossed romance and scholarship. In The Library of Legends, Janie Chang whisks the reader on a journey of a lifetime, with the transportation of a university library of rare books across China. Based on Chang’s father’s own experience as a student-in-exile, it interweaves the pressures of war with a poignant saga of love lost and gained. Vibrant, rich, and moving, The Library of Legends brings an unusual true episode in Chinese history to shimmering, heartfelt life.” — Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost Bride and The Night Tiger
“Janie Chang brings wartime China to life in The Library of Legends, imbuing her characters with the same epic qualities they find in the mythic figures that follow them on their journey to safety. Moving smoothly between historical fiction and magic realism, this is a beautifully written story of love, hope, and courage.” — Bryn Turnbull, author of The Woman Before Wallis
“Janie Chang has done it again with this story of an exodus of young students — treasured as China’s future — intermingled with an imaginary, unconventional departure of mystical beasts and legendary deities during a war that changes China forever. Evocative, unforgettable, The Library of Legends is truly out of this world!” — Weina Dai Randel, award-winning author of The Moon in the Palace
“Atmospheric and beautifully told, Janie Chang has woven a tale that tugs on the threads of China’s history and legend alike. Readers will find themselves immersed in this story of love amidst war, hope amidst sacrifice.” — Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of And They Called It Camelot
“The Library of Legends is a luminous and enthralling story set during a pivotal period in the making of modern China, and highlights the Chinese determination to preserve their culture by saving precious historical treasures at great sacrifice. The exploits of historical characters and ancient mythological beings are interwoven in a blend of wonder, courage, and suspense.” — Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of The Splendor Before the Dark and Elizabeth I
Praise for: Dragon Springs Road “Janie Chang’s second novel is a remarkable read, brimming with magic and the grit of realism. . . . With this novel, Chang asserts herself as an exciting, relatable voice . . . that requires us to re-examine our relationships to place, identity, and ancestry.” — Quill & Quire (starred review)
“Beautifully told . . . fascinating . . . a great choice for a book club.” — Huffington Post
“Lyrical and magical . . . Chang’s lovingly crafted novel will resonate with readers long after the story is done.” — RT Book Reviews
“Dragon Springs Road is simply one of the best novels I have read in a long time. With her lyrical, heartfelt portrait of a vanished world . . . Janie Chang has created an enchanting and unforgettable book. I recommend it unreservedly.” — Jennifer Robson, author of The Gown
“Chang unfurls this intriguing story—set against the chaotic backdrop of China in the early twentieth century-with precision. Rich with detail and a fascinating interplay between the spiritual and earthly realms, Chang’s second novel explores whether it is possible to overcome your past.” — Booklist on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
“Janie Chang has a keen eye for detail and infuses them throughout this magical story, with its masterfully rendered setting of the early Chinese republic, characters who bring to life the constrictions of those girls, and a mystical benevolent spirit. The result is enchanting.” — Shilpi Somaya Gowda, author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
“Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Janie Chang’s first novel is an immersive and enjoyable read.” — Booklist on THREE SOULS
Jean Kwok
Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends is a delicious mix of history, myth, and romance. Chang deftly intertwines Chinese folklore and historical detail to create a magical, heartfelt read.
Margaret George
The Library of Legends is a luminous and enthralling story set during a pivotal period in the making of modern China, and highlights the Chinese determination to preserve their culture by saving precious historical treasures at great sacrifice. The exploits of historical characters and ancient mythological beings are interwoven in a blend of wonder, courage, and suspense.
Bryn Turnbull
Janie Chang brings wartime China to life in The Library of Legends, imbuing her characters with the same epic qualities they find in the mythic figures that follow them on their journey to safety. Moving smoothly between historical fiction and magic realism, this is a beautifully written story of love, hope, and courage.
Stephanie Marie Thornton
Atmospheric and beautifully told, Janie Chang has woven a tale that tugs on the threads of China’s history and legend alike. Readers will find themselves immersed in this story of love amidst war, hope amidst sacrifice.
Yangsze Choo
Love and fate entangle in a tender tale of star-crossed romance and scholarship. In The Library of Legends, Janie Chang whisks the reader on a journey of a lifetime, with the transportation of a university library of rare books across China. Based on Chang’s father’s own experience as a student-in-exile, it interweaves the pressures of war with a poignant saga of love lost and gained. Vibrant, rich, and moving, The Library of Legends brings an unusual true episode in Chinese history to shimmering, heartfelt life.
Kate Quinn
The Library of Legends is a gorgeous, poetic journey threaded with mist and magic about a group from a Chinese university who take to the road to escape the Japanese invasion of 1937 – only to discover that danger stalks them from within. Janie Chang pens pure enchantment!
Lisa See
Janie Chang has beautifully melded history and the spirit world to create an adventurous love story for all of us readers who love books and who, in a perfect world, would do anything to save them.
Weina Dai Randel
Janie Chang has done it again with this story of an exodus of young students — treasured as China’s future — intermingled with an imaginary, unconventional departure of mystical beasts and legendary deities during a war that changes China forever. Evocative, unforgettable, The Library of Legends is truly out of this world!”
Ana Johns
Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends delivers stark historical truths on the tail of a shooting star. Absolutely enchanting.
Booklist on THREE SOULS
Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Janie Chang’s first novel is an immersive and enjoyable read.
RT Book Reviews
Lyrical and magical . . . Chang’s lovingly crafted novel will resonate with readers long after the story is done.
Quill & Quire (starred review)
Praise for: Dragon Springs Road “Janie Chang’s second novel is a remarkable read, brimming with magic and the grit of realism. . . . With this novel, Chang asserts herself as an exciting, relatable voice . . . that requires us to re-examine our relationships to place, identity, and ancestry.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Janie Chang has a keen eye for detail and infuses them throughout this magical story, with its masterfully rendered setting of the early Chinese republic, characters who bring to life the constrictions of those girls, and a mystical benevolent spirit. The result is enchanting.
Huffington Post
Beautifully told . . . fascinating . . . a great choice for a book club.
Jennifer Robson
Dragon Springs Road is simply one of the best novels I have read in a long time. With her lyrical, heartfelt portrait of a vanished world . . . Janie Chang has created an enchanting and unforgettable book. I recommend it unreservedly.
Booklist on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
Chang unfurls this intriguing story—set against the chaotic backdrop of China in the early twentieth century-with precision. Rich with detail and a fascinating interplay between the spiritual and earthly realms, Chang’s second novel explores whether it is possible to overcome your past.
Booklist
Chang unfurls this intriguing story—set against the chaotic backdrop of China in the early twentieth century-with precision. Rich with detail and a fascinating interplay between the spiritual and earthly realms, Chang’s second novel explores whether it is possible to overcome your past.
Vancouver Sun
Enthralling. . . . It’s both a pleasure and an education to read this sensitive, intelligent novel.
2017
Praise for Dragon Springs Road
Kristin Beck
"Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends tells an unforgettable story of love, grief, longing, and duty amid the dangers of war. Lyrical and moving, the novel weaves Chinese history and legend into a seamless, captivating tale. I couldn't put this book down!"
Tara Conklin
Compelling and utterly original. Janie Chang’s riveting debut gives us so much: a complex heroine, a window into the vanished world of pre-Communist China, a fascinating plot and language that sings. An intoxicating story of family, ambition and the risks we take for love.
Toronto Star
Captivating, tinged with magic realism, and rich with Chinese history, folklore (and cuisine!), this is a delight from start to finish.”
Quill & Quire
A remarkable read, brimming with magic and the grit of realism. . . . Chang asserts herself as an exciting, relatable voice in Canadian fiction, a voice that requires us to re-examine our relationships to place, identity, and ancestry. . . . A story for our times.
Daniel Kalla
A tour de force. Evocative of Lisa See at her best, Three Souls vividly conjures life in pre-Mao China, and runs the emotional gamut from playful to haunting. This original story and its sympathetic heroine will stay with you long after the final pages.
Beverly Swerling
A triumph. There is so much magic here, such generous imagining. The prose sings while the story is told in surging crescendo that makes us race to know what happens.
Booklist
Chang unfurls this intriguing story—set against the chaotic backdrop of China in the early twentieth century-with precision. Rich with detail and a fascinating interplay between the spiritual and earthly realms, Chang’s second novel explores whether it is possible to overcome your past.
Quill & Quire (starred review)
Praise for: Dragon Springs Road “Janie Chang’s second novel is a remarkable read, brimming with magic and the grit of realism. . . . With this novel, Chang asserts herself as an exciting, relatable voice . . . that requires us to re-examine our relationships to place, identity, and ancestry.
Huffington Post
Beautifully told . . . fascinating . . . a great choice for a book club.
Booklist on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
Chang unfurls this intriguing story—set against the chaotic backdrop of China in the early twentieth century-with precision. Rich with detail and a fascinating interplay between the spiritual and earthly realms, Chang’s second novel explores whether it is possible to overcome your past.
Booklist on THREE SOULS
Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Janie Chang’s first novel is an immersive and enjoyable read.
RT Book Reviews on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
Lyrical and magical . . . Chang’s lovingly crafted novel will resonate with readers long after the story is done.
Huffington Post on DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD
[B]eautifully told . . . fascinating . . . a great choice for a book club.
Library Journal
04/01/2020
In the year 1937, Japanese bombers began raids over China. In an effort to save the lives of the students of Minghua University and the 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends, the university's teachers make a daring plan: Each student is given one book of the 147-volume collection to carry thousands of miles to China's western provinces. Nineteen-year-old student Hu Lian undertakes the task not just for the sake of her school and the priceless volumes, but also to find her mother, who was forced out of her home and sought shelter in Shanghai. It soon becomes evident that, in spite of the perils of the journey, the students and teachers seem to be under the protection of supernatural beings, guardian spirits who have been awakened and who also have their own path to take—one that may change China forever. VERDICT Chang (Dragon Springs Road) has created a lovely novel that is both joyful and lighthearted and deeply tragic as she explores a culture and people who are forced to accept that their country will never be the same following the war and the departure of the spirits that protected their land for centuries.—Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK
JUNE 2020 - AudioFile
On one level this is an exciting story about Chinese university students under attack by the Japanese in 1937. On another level it is about folklore, magic, and spirits that are ever present. Both genres are ably presented by narrator Emily Woo Zeller, whose soft yet confident voice persuades us that the magic is real and the plight of the student refugees, difficult and dangerous. The students' special challenge is the safe transport of the Library of Legends, an ancient encyclopedia of sacred knowledge that preserves China's culture, mythology, and folklore. This is a tale of courage, marvels, and suspense told by a narrator who is adept at both fantasy and historical fiction. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
