I first came across Mingmei Yip after reading her second novel, Petals from the Sky (Kensington, 2010). I was astonished to see that she had taught at my alma mater, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. It’s not everyday that I come across an author who used to teach there.
I was also impressed that she did graduate work at the Sorbonne and how she’s been in New York for the last two decades. Mingmei’s novels have been translated into nine languages. Her latest is Secret of a Thousand Beauties (Kensington, 2014), and in true Mingmei Yip fashion, it’s sensual, humorous, and features a young Chinese female protagonist.
Check out her amazing book trailer here.
And that’s not all. Mingmei is also a children’s author and an accomplished qin musician, painter, and calligrapher.
For more information about Mingmei and her work, check out her website here.
I’ve read her first novel, Pavilion of Plum Blossoms I think its called? Pretty similar to to Memoirs of a Geisha aside from more research and its way more realistic, and its about a Chinese woman who is similar to a Geisha. There are parts of the book I liked, but overall, not a favorite and it seemed to be a frustrating read of sorts. (Perhaps the main character drove me crazy…)