Bamboo — Paul Yee

Told by an author who has made a career out of exploring the world and experience of "overseas Chinese," Bamboo is a sensitive, revealing work. Telling a tale of change and acceptance, the book begins in rural turn-of-the-century China when Bamboo, a young farmer, finds himself beset by poverty and decides to travel to the New World in order to find fortune. But while Bamboo is away, his sister-in-law makes mischief: she schemes to steal Bamboo's ancestral lands. The plan looks set to work until the magic bamboo that Bamboo's new wife, Ming, brings as a gift saves her husband's life.