By the author of the bestselling The Woman Warrior, a magical book:

a literature of peace built on the stories of war. Divided into four sections - Fire, Paper, Water and Earth - this book is neither fiction nor autobiography nor memoir, but a unique form of Chinese talk-story in which real and imagined worlds intrude upon and enrich one another.

From the anti-war protests in Hawaii to Kingston's own conversations with Vietnam veterans, the author takes us inside the hearts and minds of a host of characters, not least of whom is her own Mama, the veteran woman warrior Brave Orchid.

This remarkable book is also the narrative of the seminal years in which Kingston rebuilds her life following a devastating fire, which destroyed all her possessions including her novel The Fourth Book of Peace, and the death of her father.