{"product_id":"what-we-were-promised","title":"What We Were Promised","description":"\u003cp\u003eSet in modern Shanghai, a debut by a Chinese-American writer about a prodigal son whose unexpected return forces his newly wealthy family to confront painful secrets and unfulfilled promises.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter years of chasing the American dream, the Zhen family has moved back to China. Settling into a luxurious serviced apartment in Shanghai, Wei, Lina, and their daughter, Karen, join an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals who have returned to a radically transformed city.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne morning, in the eighth tower of Lanson Suites, Lina discovers that a treasured ivory bracelet has gone missing. This incident sets off a wave of unease that ripples throughout the Zhen household. Wei, a marketing strategist, bows under the guilt of not having engaged in nobler work. Meanwhile, Lina, lonely in her new life of leisure, assumes the modern moniker taitai -a housewife who does no housework at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe is haunted by the circumstances surrounding her arranged marriage to Wei and her lingering feelings for his brother, Qiang. Sunny, the family's housekeeper, is a keen but silent observer of these tensions. An unmarried woman trying to carve a place for herself in society, she understands the power of well-kept secrets. When Qiang reappears in Shanghai after decades on the run with a local gang, the family must finally come to terms with the past and its indelible mark on their futures.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom a silk-producing village in rural China, up the corporate ladder in suburban America, and back again to the post-Maoist nouveaux riches of modern Shanghai, What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families, and ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lucy Tan","offers":[{"title":"Pre Loved \/ Paperback","offer_id":52731965014383,"sku":null,"price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0936\/2771\/1855\/files\/9780316437196.jpg?v=1772848794","url":"https:\/\/ohgoodieabook.com\/products\/what-we-were-promised","provider":"Oh Goodie A Book","version":"1.0","type":"link"}