Book Notes | ‘The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane’
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See is mostly set in China, with Southern California also a part of the story. The two main story lines involve one of the ethnic groups in China living in a Pu’er tea growing area, and the plight of a Chinese girl adopted by a family in Southern California and the challenges of being a minority and adopted.
China is known for its tea and Pu’er tea is especially desired by Chinese and foreigners alike. The novel tells the story of a young woman from the Akha tribe of China’s Yunnan province who becomes a tea entrepreneur, as her daughter grows up in California.
The book explores a facet of Chinese culture that is generally unknown. Li-Yan, the only daughter of a tea-growing family, is a child of the Akha “ethnic minority,” as groups in China who are not of the Han majority are known. The Akha are governed by their beliefs in spirits, cleansing rituals, taboos, and the dictates of village shamans. The Akha, inhabiting rugged, inaccessible terrain, have avoided the full brunt of China’s experiments in social engineering, including the Great Leap Forward, (1958–62) and its resultant famine, the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), and the one child family policy (1980–2016). Li-Yan’s family harvests mostly from wild tea trees as opposed to terraced bushes, and their product is discovered by an outsider and tea connoisseur, Huang, who alters Li-Yan’s destiny.
The Akha encouraged youthful sexual experimentation, but progeny outside marriage were automatically “rejects.” So, when Li-Yan discovers she is pregnant by her absent fiancé, San-pa, she hides her pregnancy. After the infant is born, Li-Yan journeys on foot to a town where she gives up her child. Over the next 20 years, we follow Li-Yan’s life and its many complex turns. We also read of her child's challenges as a privileged American daughter. Though aware of all she has in her life, the daughter still feels a piece of herself is missing.
Our book club members were mixed in their reactions to the book. Although it represents exhaustive research on See’s part and is certainly engrossing, the novel’s extensive elucidation of international adoption, tea arcana, and, in particular, Akha lore at times put off some members, particularly the parts of the story dealing with the treatment of “rejects.”
— Kathryn Sedo, UMRA Book Club I member
Book Club I in August
Fri, Aug 18 2023, 2pm
Kathryn Sedo will lead the discussion of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 18.
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.