Description

In her amazingly delicate fresh tale, “Rules for Virgins”—the first misinformation she's printed in six years—beloved best-selling writer Amy Tan (“The Joy Luck Club,” “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”) requires us deeply in to the illegal world of 1912 Shanghai, where beautiful courtesans mercilessly compete for the patronage of wealthy men. For the ladies, the competition is deadly serious, a risky sport of financial success that, if played properly, may set them up as mistresses of the notable and wealthy for life. There's no room for mistake, nevertheless: sensual energy is difficult to accomplish and harder to steadfastly keep up, particularly in the loftiest cultural groups. Enter experienced seducer, Magic Gourd, previously among Shanghai’s “Top Five today and Beauties” the clerk and consultant of Violet, an ambitious but unskilled courtesan.