Between Confidantes: Two Novellas

In Memory of the Departed

In this gripping tale of love, betrayal and revolution, Chen Danyan takes the
reader on an extraordinary journey through the complexities wrought by history on
a mother, her daughter and their circle of friends in Shanghai during the
tumultuous years between 1944 and 1978.

With moving descriptions, this story brings to life the hardships of post-war China
as well as the difficulty of making sense in a world whose moral, political and
social boundaries were shifting with impossible speed.
Between Confidantes

A beautifully wrought and intriguing novel set amidst Shanghai's leafy plane trees
and softly lit streets, Between Confidantes recounts the story of a friendship torn
apart by love and ambition.

As Xiaomin struggles to make her way through a nursing career by day and work
in a bar at night, her life as a single girl reveals the paradoxes and complexities
faced by China's young women. Xiaomin's best friend An'an is married and has a
lovely home, but does not realize how vulnerable her happiness and marriage
really are until she leaves Shanghai for a few weeks. Desire and loyalty are set
against each other as Xiaomin tries to figure out what the rules of success mean
in contemporary China. Her heart-felt memories of a childhood spent with her
grandmother, and her current dilemmas weave themselves through this
compelling novel.