The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

Genre: Fiction

I gave this book ****

This is the life story of Li-yan, an Akha girl (ethnic minority living in the southern region of Yunnan in China) living in the remote village of Spring Well in the Nannuo Mountains. Li-Yan and her family are tea farmers. Li-Yan’s A-ma (mother) is a mid-wife and healer who is well known and respected in her village and her A-ba (father) is a tea farmer who, together with his sons, cares for the family’s trees. The family is very traditional and as is typical of remote communities, the Akha people are reliant on the land, very superstitious and spiritual. Li-yan is a bright student (the only member of her family to attend school) who falls in love with a boy from a near-by village and when he leaves to make money so that he can marry her, Li-yan learns that she is pregnant with a baby girl. She gives birth to the girl, and unlike her people’s beliefs (that the child of an unwed mother is a curse from the gods), she does not kill her, but leaves her in an orphanage with a tea cake from her tea grove to remember her by. Li-yan, who grows to become a successful business woman, wife and mother, spends the rest of her life looking for the daughter she lost. The book follows Li-Yan from her childhood in the mountains of Nannuo through adulthood as her search unfolds.

The story and the writing are well done and thought-provoking. I was particularly intrigued by the strong theme of feminism throughout the book. Yes, this is a patriarchal society where men clearly are in control, however, A-ma, Li-yan’s mother, is one of the heroines in this story as it is her support of her daughter and her somewhat modern ways that ultimately give Li-yan the strength to find her own way in the world. Li-yan, too, despite not being a forceful individual, makes her way, successfully so, through the business world and is the one who ultimately leads her family to financial success.

It is the description of A-ma’s (and Li-yan) tea tree grove, that was passed on to her from her family and generations past, that is so very charming and unique and my favorite part of this book. It seems like a magical place, not just because of the way it looks, nestled in the mountains, but because of the spirituality it evokes. Also, See does a great job describing the tastes and smells of the tea. Words like earthy, nutty and putrid give the reader a sense of the quality and flavors of the tea, which really plays a major role in this story. As the reader, you feel like you are there and can smell the air and taste the flavors. I was so inspired by this book, that I began drinking tea again. I know Lipton isn’t on par with pu’er (the finest tea in the world), but it will have to do!