The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa SeeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this for my bookclub and I loved it, but was disappointed in the ending.
1. Discuss the significance of the epigraph. The Book of Songs is the oldest extant collection of Chinese poetry, written between the 7th and 11th centuries B.C.; what kind of resonance does it have today?
I am not sure it has any, but then I really don't like poetry that much.
2. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane begins with the Akha aphorism, “No coincidence, no story.” What are the major coincidences in the story? I think the only real coincidences in the story were Tina's running into Deh-ja, although it seems that Tina and Haley's lives had intersected numerous times and they could have possibly ran into each other in America, so I found it sort of unbelievable that the first time they meet was in the tea grove where Tina gave birth to Haley. Especially as they were both looking for each other.
Are they believable? for the most part yes.
How important are they in influencing your reaction to the novel as a whole? Everything seemed to happen for a reason and some of the things that seemed to be coincidences turned out to have a puppet master (Mr Huang) behind them.
3. Perhaps the most shocking moment in the novel comes with the birth of the twins and what happens to them. A-ma explains that “only animals, demons, and spirits give birth to litters. If a sow gives birth to one piglet, then both must be killed at once. If a dog gives birth to one puppy, then they too must be killed immediately.” The traditions surrounding twins are very harsh, to say the least, but were you able to understand what happens to them within the context of Akha culture?
No, it's bad enough that they ruthlessly killed special needs children but at least that made sense as they didn't have the resources to care for them. But to kill perfectly healthy children just because they were twins was beyond my ability to understand. Especially as the culture didn't have a problem with changing this "tradition" soon after Deh-ja's twins were murdered.
How does this moment change Li-yan’s view of Akha Law, and what are the consequences?
That she became more willing to break their taboos
Are there any aspects of the Akha culture that you admire?
There wasn't really anything I admired about their culture. I did admire Li-Yan "Tina" and her Mother for saving Haly's life despite their culture.
4. What is Li-yan’s first reaction when she sees her land?
That it is worthless.
Why does A-ma believe the tea garden is so important? Why does A-ma believe that the trees are sacred?
Because the Mother tree came from far away and has important medicinal qualities.
What is the significance of the mother tree?
Everything in this book seemed to revolve around Mother's, The Mother Tree and it's life saving properties brought Mr. Huang and his son Sean into Tina's life, and provided her family and village with a livelihood. Tina's feelings about the Mother tree also seemed to mirror her feelings about her own Mother to some extent and she grew to appreciate them both more. And the Mother tree provided a sanctuary for Tina to give birth to Haley and the life saving properties of the Mother Tree may have even kept Haley alive as an infant. It also provided a way for Haley to find her way home.
5. San-pa and Li-yan’s relationship ends tragically and causes them both great pain. Is what happens between them fate, or is it bad luck?
In all actuality I think it's a result of their poor choices especially San-pa's choice to use drugs. Being killed by the Tiger was probably the best end for him.
In your opinion, does their community’s negativity about their union shape the outcome of their marriage?
Yes, if he hadn't had to go away he and Tina could have married and Haley's birth would have been a blessing. Perhaps he would have chosen a different path with a child to think about.
Does his death change your feelings about him?
Yes, I think it showed he truly loved Tina and that if it hadn't been for the drugs they might have been happy together. He obviously still cared enough about her to make sure she was safe.
6. Can the experience Li-yan’s village has with selling Pu’er be thought of as a microcosm for globalization?
Yes
Why or why not? The village became more a part of the world outside through the wealth they gained from selling Pu'er and many of their traditions were lost due to outside influences.
Are all the changes to the village positive? No
Given all we hear about China being a global economic superpower, were you surprised that the novel starts in 1988? Not really
7. As a midwife, A-ma occupies a position of relative power on the mountain, although as “first among women” she still comes after every man. Can such a traditional role for women be truly empowering?
No
In the context of their society, what are the limits and expanse of A-ma’s power?
I think her real power came when she choose to step outside the limits of their society and choose to help Tina give birth in secret and then helped her save her daughters life.
8. This novel uses a number of devices to tell Haley’s story, including letters, a transcript of a therapy session, and homework assignments. It isn’t until the final chapter, however, that you hear Haley in her own pure voice and see the world entirely from her point of view. Did this style of storytelling enrich your experience of the narrative? Did it make you more curious about Haley?
Yes, to both questions.
9. In the chapter transcribing a group therapy session for Chinese-American adoptees that Haley attends, many of the patients have mixed feelings about their adoptive and birth parents. Were you surprised by their anger? Yes
Did reading this novel affect your feelings about transnational adoption?
Yes, it did sadly I think they should probably end or at least that the adoptive parents should look more like the children they are adopting.
10. The three most significant mother-daughter relationships in the novel are those between A-ma (So-Sa) and Li-yan, Constance and Haley, and Li-yan and Haley. The connection between Li-yan and Haley, although arguably the emotional center of the novel, exists despite the absence of a relationship: though the two women think a great deal about each other, they do not meet until the very end of the story. How does this relationship in absence compare to the real-life relationships between A-ma and Li-yan and Constance and Haley?
You can't really compare them. And since the book ends with Tina and Haley meeting we can't really know what sort of relationship they will have. Until they meet their relationship is built on their expectations of what the other will be like and questions
11. What are the formal and informal ways that Li-yan is educated?
Formally she learns outside ways in school and So-sa teaches her about being a midwife and medicine. Informally life teaches her several harsh lessons.
How are they different from how her family was educated? Her schooling sets her apart from those who have never left the village.
What role does Teacher Zhang play in Li-yan’s life and how does it change over the years? Teacher Zhang opens Tina's eyes to a chance at a better life and is able to open doors (trade school) for Tina even after she marries San-pa
How important in education in Haley’s life? Very important.
12. Li-yan is much older and more experienced when she meets Jin than she was when she fell in love with San-pa. How are the two men different?
I don't know that they are other than Jin doesn't use drugs and is successful.
What do you think Li-yan learns from her first marriage? To be more cautious
13. Almost everyone in the novel has a secret: Li-yan, A-ma, San-pa, Mr. Huang, Deh-ja, Ci-teh, Teacher Zhang, Mrs. Chang, and Jin. How do those secrets impact each character? How are those secrets revealed and what are the results, particularly for Li-yan and Ci-teh’s relationship?
Their secrets are revealed when Tina either finds out or they confess to her. Tina realizes that she and Ci-teh didn't really have the relationship that she thought they did.
The only person who doesn’t have a secret of major significance is Haley. What does that say about her?
That she has lived a privileged life.
14. When Li-yan returns to her village to confront Ci-teh, the ruma tells the women that Li-yan is still Akha even though she has a new home and lifestyle. How do questions of identity, especially as they relate to Li-yan’s status as an ethnic minority, play into the events of the novel? How does Li-yan’s identity shift? Do her nicknames, especially her American nickname, inform this shift?
When the book begins Tina is very traditional and doesn't envision any other life as the book progresses she begins to dream of the world outside her village and she slowly begins to dress and act more like a Westerner. By the end of the book she if more Tina than Li-yan
15. By the time Li-yan and Haley meet, each has been searching for the other for many years. However, Haley already has a family and an adoptive mother. Is there room for Haley to have two mothers? How do you think Li-yan and Haley will relate to each other—as mother and child, or will their roles be something slightly different?
I think their roles will be different Haley already has a Mother. I think Tina will probably mentor her about tea and pass the Mother tree and it's care to Haley. I think their relationship will be built around the Mother Tree and Sean
What do you suppose Haley and Li-yan will talk about first? Where she was born and why Tina gave her up.
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