Two Sides Of A Coin

Preston is the son of the richest man in town. The world is his oyster, or so he thinks. Until he meets his new neighbour, Rose. She's everything he's not. Working class, ambitious, and determined to make her way in the world. But she's also the only person who can see his loneliness. When Rose learns of her mother's terminal illness, she does what she has to do to save her mother's life. All the while Preston stands by, watching, feeling helpless. As their worlds collide, both Preston and Rose are forced to question what they want out of life.Two Sides of a Coin is a story about three generations of women who are caught in the bind of the traditional Chinese patriarchy. The book is told from the perspective of Ying-ying, the protagonist, who wants to be an artist, but is forced to take over her family's tea business. Her mother, Ailing, wants to be a scholar, but her father would rather she be a wife and mother. She is unable to marry the man she loves because he is too poor. Her grandmother, A-Li, refuses to remarry after her husband dies, but has an affair with a man who gives her money and gifts. The story is an intimate look at the lives of these three women, who are trying to make their way in a world that doesn't always understand them. Ying-ying is determined to make her own way in the world as an artist, despite her father's disapproval. She spends her time painting or drawing, even when she's supposed to be working in the tea shop. Ailing's father refuses to let her marry the man she loves because he is too poor. She eventually agrees to marry someone else, but they are never happy together. She takes up with a wealthy man who gives her money and gifts in exchange for sex. Her grandmother, A-Li, refuses to remarry after her husband dies, but has an affair with a man who gives her money and gifts. When she becomes pregnant, she agrees to marry him so that her son will have a father. Two Sides of a Coin is an intimate look at the lives of three generations of women in China. Ying-ying is determined to make her own way in the world as an artist, despite her father's disapproval. Ailing's father refuses to let her marry the man she loves because he is too poor. Her grandmother, A-Li, refuses to remarry after her husband dies, but has an affair with a man who gives her money and gifts. When she becomes pregnant, she agrees to marry him so that her son will have a father.