The Spy Lover, Kiana Davenport
The Spy Lover, Kiana Davenport
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
Club: $17.99

The Spy Lover

Author: Kiana Davenport

Narrator: Todd Haberkorn

Unabridged: 9 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/28/2012

Synopsis

Thrust into the savagery of the Civil War, a Chinese immigrant serving in the Union Army, a nurse doubling as a spy for the North, and a one-armed Confederate cavalryman find their lives inextricably entwined.Fleeing drought and famine in China, Johnny Tom arrives in America with dreams of becoming a citizen. Having survived vigilantes hunting “yellow dogs” and slave auction-blocks, Johnny is kidnapped from his Mississippi village by Confederate soldiers, taken from his wife and daughter, and forced to fight for the South. Eventually defecting to the Union side, he is promised American citizenship in exchange for his loyal services. But first Johnny must survive the butchery of battles and the cruelties inflicted on non-white soldiers.Desperate to find Johnny, his daughter, Era, is enlisted as a spy. She agrees to work as a nurse at Confederate camps while scouting for the North. Amidst the unspeakable carnage of wounded soldiers, she finds solace in Warren Petticomb, a cavalryman who lost an arm at Shiloh. As devastation mounts in both armies, Era must choose where her loyalties lie—with her beloved father in the North, or with the man who passionately sustains her in the South.A novel of extraordinary scope that will stand as a defining work on the Chinese immigrant experience, The Spy Lover is a paean to the transcendence of love and the resilience of the human spirit.

About Kiana Davenport

Kiana Davenport is the author of the best-selling novels House of Many Gods, Song of the Exile, and Shark Dialogues, and two story collections, House of Skin and Cannibal Nights. A Native Hawaiian, her novels and stories have won numerous awards and have been translated into twenty languages.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carol on September 10, 2012

"The Spy Lover" by Kiana Davenport is an extraordinary book. It blew me away with its richness. Johnny Tom is a Chinese immigrant who has an amazing story even before he leaves China. His daughter, Era born from Johnny Tom and her mother, a beautiful Creek Indian, becomes a nurse and a spy during th......more

Goodreads review by Ruth on December 23, 2013

I have to admit that I struggled to know how to rate this book. I will be up front--this is a very hard book to read. The writing style is fantastic. Kiana Davenport is a very descriptive writer, and you feel as though you are right there experiencing the action as it happens. But that is also what......more

Goodreads review by Lorraine on July 14, 2015

THE SPY LOVER brings to life the blood and guts of the Civil War in a vivid, unforgettable way. A few decades ago, high praise for her writing would have been: she writes like a man, because the Civil War was bloody awful and Davenport does not shy away from depicting it as such, blood, guts and gor......more

Goodreads review by Jodi on July 21, 2013

When most of us think of the Civil War we don't think of Chinese immigrants. This book takes a look at the war through the eyes of a Chinese woman, Era Tom, whose father was in the Union Army. In order to find out information about him she is required to spy on the Confederates. So she does. But thi......more

Goodreads review by Teressa on September 21, 2012

I am so awestruck by this story that it is hard to find words. The tale is phenomenally well-researched, but the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed by the facts - they are simply the backdrop for this passionate epic. Kiana Davenport describes the brutalities of war (and life in general in the mid-1800......more

Quotes

“A great story told with such beautiful prose I am hoping The Spy Lover will be picked up by Ang Lee or Steven Spielberg. Kiana Davenport is a brilliant writer. [Based] on her ancestors from the American South and global East, The Spy Lover takes the incredibly difficult…topics of race, gender, slavery and war and artfully weaves them into a specific story. Davenport is genius at capturing complex times, and complications of the heart. It’s been a long time since I cried while reading a novel, and that happened several times while reading The Spy Lover…I couldn’t wait to finish the story, but grieved when it ended. That’s exactly how I felt when I finished reading Gone With The Wind so many years go. If you need a holiday escape…or want to spend time in a different world read…The Spy Lover!” —Ellen Snortland for The Huffington Post“A beautifully written tale…filled with the horrors of war…and the anguish of loss…as we follow the characters on their journeys to find peace and redemption. The prose is magnificent. You will come away fulfilled. If you read one Civil War novel this year, make this the one.” —Joseph A. Truglio, from Civil War News“Beautiful writing…a page turner one could not lay down. The novel emanates from Davenport’s own family history, ancestors who fought in the war…as she tells the story of a woman and her lover, the conflict between love, conscience and determination…I have no hesitation in recommending The Spy Lover to anyone who enjoys stories of the Civil War as well as of genuine conflicts, love and dedication…It will go into a special niche of historical fiction and…likely become a classic like Cold Mountain.“ —Martha Boltz of The Washington Times

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List