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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
"…a deeply emotional, culture-rich, and
surprisingly addictive narrative around love and war."
–San Francisco Book Review
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
"Unpredictable Winds was an uplifting read as
it brings to the fore all that is good in humanity.
A win indeed!"
–Readers’ Favorite
author . artist
Unpredictable Winds
Cover design: David Ter-Avanesyan @ter33design
Shanghai, 1940s: Lee De-Chang serves as the general manager of Bayer Pharmaceutical Company. In secret, he operates a gun-parts factory—a dangerous game to play while the Japanese army occupies the city. Lee is engaged to Lily, the daughter of a wealthy Hong Kong shipyard owner.
Lily has her own secret and uses her wits to keep her fiancé at arm’s length. Though calm on the surface, Lee’s desire for her torments him day and night, and then life changes for him forever when Mei, a young beauty from Suzhou, appears in his office and begs for help. Lee is ashamed of his attraction to Mei, a married woman, and he faces a moral dilemma.
While Mei’s husband is off fighting for the motherland, Mei must work for Lee during the day, but she faithfully writes her husband at night. After a terrifying event when Japanese soldiers force their way into her employer’s home, Mei catches the eye of a captain of the Imperial Army. She is unexpectedly pursued by him, and this puts her in a precarious situation.
Lee’s greatest desire is to love—and to be loved. Will the outcome of his relationships be everything he hoped they would be? Will Lily ever be brave enough to tell the truth? And will Mei be able to navigate the choppy waters of love and friendship while keeping her honor?
Unpredictable Winds tells the story of unrequited love, secrets, desire, and an unintended friendship that leads to devastating consequences.
Love is a strength despite the pain.
In Unpredictable Winds, Thomas T. Chin builds a deeply emotional, culture-rich, and surprisingly addictive narrative around love and war. Like a highly entertaining boxing match, Unpredictable Winds holds many tensive moments and a rewarding knockout at the ending. Who gets to be with the person they love? This was the question on my mind as I followed the relatable, captivating struggles of the characters. Lee is put in a difficult position by his choice to follow his family's wishes and marry from a wealthy home. Lily, who is from a wealthy family, has her own secret agenda. Apart from the themes of romance and love, the book includes other engaging themes like war, friendship, wealth, loss, illness, jealousy, politics, deceit, and more. Like the title suggests, Unpredictable Winds is not easy to predict. Though it didn't end in the way I expected, I respected the writer's creativity and his ability to build a story that made me feel deeply for its characters like they were actually real. Unpredictable Winds is the sort of book you read, and you can't sit still or rest until you tell others about it and recommend they get it ASAP!
–Foluso Falaye
San Francisco Book Review
"
Unpredictable Winds by Thomas T. Chin is a powerful and heart-wrenching novel set in Shanghai at the time of the Japanese occupation during the Second Sino-Japanese War. I was hooked from start to finish. It brought a tear to my eye on several occasions, yet a smile to my lips on others. Chin has an extraordinary ability to make his characters come to life–their very humanity shines through. His use of description is apt, with just the right amount of detail to enable a reader to picture the scene in their mind’s eye. I found the historical and cultural context of interest and information regarding such was cleverly woven into the narrative as a whole. Ultimately, for me, Unpredictable Winds was an uplifting read as it brings to the fore all that is good in humanity. A win indeed!
–Frances Deborah Kerr-Phillips
Readers’ Favorite
"
"
Chin has crafted a beautiful book in this story of friendship, love, and longing set against a backdrop of war in China. Even though the shadow of the war touches every character in some way, the focus is always on individual people living through it, which makes for a touching, intimate tale that I will not soon forget. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a touch of a different theater of World War II!
–Jo Niederhoff
Manhattan Book Review
Although this story is set during the war, don’t be fooled: Chin intentionally makes this a tale of humans and love, rather than fighting and devastation. He doesn’t ignore it but shows us how day to day life was altered. I loved how Chin’s female characters are showing their strength and tenacity in trying times. He has a knack for creating interesting women who have their own agendas and their own morals despite the influence of the men around them. Unpredictable Winds takes you on a journey of love and loss, of grief and healing. Chin proves that searching for love is no easy feat, but through his protagonist Lee, he raises the sails and asks you to follow the wind wherever it might
take you.
–Madeline Barbush
Independent Book Review
"
Thomas T. Chin is an artist and art teacher. Born and raised in Beijing,
China, he is a graduate of Bennington College, where he studied fine arts
and creative writing. He received his advanced degrees from Columbia
University and Pratt Institute. His creative work has been featured in
American Poetry Annual, Manhattan Arts, Photographer’s Forum, and his
paintings are in private collections in the United States and Europe.
Unpredictable Winds is his first novel. He lives in New York.
To view his artworks, please visit: www.thomaschinfinearts.com