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Till Morning Comes
Foreign correspondent Stephanie Ryder falls in love with the dedicated surgeon, Dr. Jen Yong, and struggles to find happiness amid the turmoil of the Communist revolution in China
620 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1983
13 people are currently reading
411 people want to read
About the author
Han Suyin
106 books105 followersHan Suyin (Pinyin: Hán Sùyīn) is the pen name of Elizabeth Comber, born Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow (Pinyin: Zhōu Guānghú). She was a Chinese-born Eurasian author of several books on modern China, novels set in East Asia, and autobiographical works, as well as a physician. She wrote in English and French. She died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 7, 2009
I learned so much about China reading this book. Our American history classes never covered anything about China or the Communist revolution there so it was all so new - and frequently terrible. This is one of the few books that actually made me cry.
December 22, 2021
This book is really something. The author is extremely knowledgeable about the events of which she has written. Astounding detail. The beginning chapters had me hooked - genius the way the characters' plots were becoming intertwined.
However, there was a lot to take in, increasingly so as the story went on. All the changes happening in politics/government because of the wars that happen over the 20+ year span the story takes place, a myriad of characters, etc. I became restless and a bit impatient with the ridiculousness of war, but to be fair, this reflects how restless and impatient the characters must have been during these times of upheaval.
I learned so much about China and communism and about poverty and unrest. I thought I had learnt about these topics in school, but not even close...
I was disappointed with the ending, but again, I'm sure it reflects the reality that was: families having to rebuild themselves after all the devastation, not whole, but with joy about what is salvaged. Overall, an excellent historical fiction and romance (although it is more the kind of romance that endures through hardships rather than the sexy spice that some may hope for), this story is certainly sticking with me.
However, there was a lot to take in, increasingly so as the story went on. All the changes happening in politics/government because of the wars that happen over the 20+ year span the story takes place, a myriad of characters, etc. I became restless and a bit impatient with the ridiculousness of war, but to be fair, this reflects how restless and impatient the characters must have been during these times of upheaval.
I learned so much about China and communism and about poverty and unrest. I thought I had learnt about these topics in school, but not even close...
I was disappointed with the ending, but again, I'm sure it reflects the reality that was: families having to rebuild themselves after all the devastation, not whole, but with joy about what is salvaged. Overall, an excellent historical fiction and romance (although it is more the kind of romance that endures through hardships rather than the sexy spice that some may hope for), this story is certainly sticking with me.
May 22, 2017
Till Morning Comes (1983) by Han Suyin
Added 1/27/09.
I'll never forget this book. It told such a touching story.
==================================
Addendum 3/26/13:
Amazon description: "Alone in exotic Chungking, beautiful foreign correspondent Stephanie Ryder is warned to keep silent about the atrocities she witnesses in the city's teeming slums. Defying a brutal Kuomintang officer, she is swept to an electrifying first meeting with Dr. Jen Yong, a handsome, dedicated and compassionate Chinese surgeon. For Yong, a sexual liaison with an American woman could mean a death sentence. For Stephanie, an affair with an Asian man would cause an irreparable breach with her Texas millionaire father. But just when dangers to threatens to separate them forever, their passion bursts into flame, and carries them on a fabulous romantic journey from the stormy depths of fear and desire, to the moving affirmation that enduring love is truly a many-splendored thing."
FROM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553...
====================================
Addendum 3/5/12:
Below are some details about this book.
The author, Han Suyin was a physician. A member review from LibraryThing says:
========================================
"This is a gritty and highly detailed novel of the Second World War in China. The Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek has become corrupt and oppressive, sending flocks of patriotic Chinese to the Communist side. Han Suyin vividly describes the teeming poverty of China."
FROM: http://www.librarything.com/work/138918
========================================
Too bad I gave the book away. :-( 3/26/13-PS-I found a used copy of the book online and bought it. Maybe I'll read it again. :)
About its author, Han Suyin, Wiki says:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Her novel, A Many-Splendoured Thing, the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song."
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Suyin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS-THERE'S A BOOK WITH A SIMILAR TITLE. IT'S CALLED:
If Morning Ever Comes by Anne Tyler. (first published in 1964)
THERE'S ALSO: If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
THERE ARE OTHER SIMILAR TITLES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.
Added 1/27/09.
I'll never forget this book. It told such a touching story.
==================================
Addendum 3/26/13:
Amazon description: "Alone in exotic Chungking, beautiful foreign correspondent Stephanie Ryder is warned to keep silent about the atrocities she witnesses in the city's teeming slums. Defying a brutal Kuomintang officer, she is swept to an electrifying first meeting with Dr. Jen Yong, a handsome, dedicated and compassionate Chinese surgeon. For Yong, a sexual liaison with an American woman could mean a death sentence. For Stephanie, an affair with an Asian man would cause an irreparable breach with her Texas millionaire father. But just when dangers to threatens to separate them forever, their passion bursts into flame, and carries them on a fabulous romantic journey from the stormy depths of fear and desire, to the moving affirmation that enduring love is truly a many-splendored thing."
FROM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553...
====================================
Addendum 3/5/12:
Below are some details about this book.
The author, Han Suyin was a physician. A member review from LibraryThing says:
========================================
"This is a gritty and highly detailed novel of the Second World War in China. The Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek has become corrupt and oppressive, sending flocks of patriotic Chinese to the Communist side. Han Suyin vividly describes the teeming poverty of China."
FROM: http://www.librarything.com/work/138918
========================================
Too bad I gave the book away. :-( 3/26/13-PS-I found a used copy of the book online and bought it. Maybe I'll read it again. :)
About its author, Han Suyin, Wiki says:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Her novel, A Many-Splendoured Thing, the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song."
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Suyin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS-THERE'S A BOOK WITH A SIMILAR TITLE. IT'S CALLED:
If Morning Ever Comes by Anne Tyler. (first published in 1964)
THERE'S ALSO: If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
THERE ARE OTHER SIMILAR TITLES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.
March 22, 2017
I read this, oh, probably a good 40 years ago and fell in love with China. Han Suyin became my go-to reading for long plane flights, trips in which I forgot the agony of cramped seating and escaped into the vivid imagery of her prose. It has always surprised me how few people seem to have read her books. She deserves to be widely read.
January 19, 2024
My grandmother had this book in her library in Bosnia - when I visited to spend summers with her after the 90s war, I'd often run out of reading material and would pick something from her stash. (This is how I ended up reading Jane Eyre for the first time, which I loved and wasn't completely inappropriate for a thirteen year-old; and Thornbirds, which was definitely inappropriate for a thirteen year-old).
This book falls somewhere in-between on the scale of "even Eastern Europeans would give the person who let the child read this book a side-eye" and "not even American parents would object". Most of the politics wooshed over my head with the speed of light, despite my grandmother's noble efforts to enlighten me about World War II and the Cultural Revolution (my father was an only child born late in her life, she never did have a knack with kids - now, politics were a different matter). More than twenty years later, I don't remember much of the plot apart from the fact that I had a little crush on the surgeon, was often annoyed with Stephanie, and THAT ENDING. It crushed my tiny green feelings and made me swear to never read another novel from that bookcase again. Until I inevitably did, come next year.
I guess I was inspired to write this short note (a review it is not, I'm well aware) because I was sad to see the dearth of readers here, and it's one of the books that probably got me "into" reading in the first place. In any case, it made enough of an impact on my then-still-plastic brain for me to remember it after all this time, fondly, like those summers at my grandmother's house.
This book falls somewhere in-between on the scale of "even Eastern Europeans would give the person who let the child read this book a side-eye" and "not even American parents would object". Most of the politics wooshed over my head with the speed of light, despite my grandmother's noble efforts to enlighten me about World War II and the Cultural Revolution (my father was an only child born late in her life, she never did have a knack with kids - now, politics were a different matter). More than twenty years later, I don't remember much of the plot apart from the fact that I had a little crush on the surgeon, was often annoyed with Stephanie, and THAT ENDING. It crushed my tiny green feelings and made me swear to never read another novel from that bookcase again. Until I inevitably did, come next year.
I guess I was inspired to write this short note (a review it is not, I'm well aware) because I was sad to see the dearth of readers here, and it's one of the books that probably got me "into" reading in the first place. In any case, it made enough of an impact on my then-still-plastic brain for me to remember it after all this time, fondly, like those summers at my grandmother's house.
September 21, 2017
A beautiful love story set in the beginning of the communist revolution in China. I still remember it after reading it over 20 years ago. A sad ending--caught me off-guard.
January 19, 2022
If you are looking for how to understand China, read this book! Eternal! Epic! Exhilarating!
July 7, 2009
Wonderful read!
June 19, 2022
I was excited to read Till Morning Comes, a family saga that takes place in China during the 1930s-1970s. While there is a lot of interesting history, the book was a rambling and boring read. The plot went on and on without any end in sight. Most historical fiction engages the reader in the history through the characters and this was done to some extent; however, Suyin would often have pages and pages of history that read like she pulled facts from newspaper articles. There was too much telling and not enough showing.
The origins of communism were enlightening to me. It was interesting to learn the perspective of the communists and capitalists and the constantly shifting political tide. The snitching on family members/friends and placement of uneducated/inexperienced workers in leadership positions was intriguing. Some of the decisions and actions of the U.S. were appalling. I found the portrayal of all the countries & groups to be well balanced.
There were too many characters in the story and I had an extremely difficult time remembering who everyone was. My recommendation to anyone reading this book is to create a character list to reference.
The main character Stephanie was too much of a perfect character. Beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, and willing to risk her life to help others and be with her jnstalove Jen Yong. I found it surprising that Yong’s family accepted her so easily. I felt detached from Stephanie and all of the characters.
I learned a lot from this book and appreciate the author’s knowledge of the events but it was not an engaging read for me.
The origins of communism were enlightening to me. It was interesting to learn the perspective of the communists and capitalists and the constantly shifting political tide. The snitching on family members/friends and placement of uneducated/inexperienced workers in leadership positions was intriguing. Some of the decisions and actions of the U.S. were appalling. I found the portrayal of all the countries & groups to be well balanced.
There were too many characters in the story and I had an extremely difficult time remembering who everyone was. My recommendation to anyone reading this book is to create a character list to reference.
The main character Stephanie was too much of a perfect character. Beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, and willing to risk her life to help others and be with her jnstalove Jen Yong. I found it surprising that Yong’s family accepted her so easily. I felt detached from Stephanie and all of the characters.
I learned a lot from this book and appreciate the author’s knowledge of the events but it was not an engaging read for me.
July 2, 2022
2 1/2 stars rounded up.
Till Morning Comes is a family saga covering 1939 - 1970's that should be at least 3 books. It is the story of an American female journalist and a chinese surgeon on the backdrop of all the political turmoil happening in China and US in those decades. The book is incredible dense with so many characters that I think the book should have had a character dictionary in the back as well as a timeline of all the political changes in China.
Some things feel repetitive but not because of the writing but because of same stuff happening over and over again and people never learning from it: hatred towards intellectuals and foreigners, many purges, political zealots, people reporting on each other (and not all of it only in China).
The book was too dense, hard to follow and depressing. The love story was a bit hard to believe without more context on the characters.
Till Morning Comes is a family saga covering 1939 - 1970's that should be at least 3 books. It is the story of an American female journalist and a chinese surgeon on the backdrop of all the political turmoil happening in China and US in those decades. The book is incredible dense with so many characters that I think the book should have had a character dictionary in the back as well as a timeline of all the political changes in China.
Some things feel repetitive but not because of the writing but because of same stuff happening over and over again and people never learning from it: hatred towards intellectuals and foreigners, many purges, political zealots, people reporting on each other (and not all of it only in China).
The book was too dense, hard to follow and depressing. The love story was a bit hard to believe without more context on the characters.
November 2, 2024
mi dispiace che questo libro sia poco conosciuto in quanto io, personalmente, l'ho amato con tutto il cuore.
per gli appassionati di storia, questo libro è perfetto! racconta la storia della Cina e delle tensioni con l'America e la Russia a seguito della guerra civile e, poi, con l'avvento del Comunismo, visti dagli occhi di una giovane giornalista americana che si innamora perdutamente di un medico cinese.
Questi due protagonisti vi accompagneranno per tutto il libro e, alla fine, avrete una connessione tale con loro da non voler mai arrivare all'ultima pagina.
insomma, ve lo consiglio caldamente!
per gli appassionati di storia, questo libro è perfetto! racconta la storia della Cina e delle tensioni con l'America e la Russia a seguito della guerra civile e, poi, con l'avvento del Comunismo, visti dagli occhi di una giovane giornalista americana che si innamora perdutamente di un medico cinese.
Questi due protagonisti vi accompagneranno per tutto il libro e, alla fine, avrete una connessione tale con loro da non voler mai arrivare all'ultima pagina.
insomma, ve lo consiglio caldamente!
January 9, 2021
Una tormentata e indimenticabile storia d'amore. Una saga romantica che si snoda dalla fine della seconda guerra mondiale agli anni tormentati della rivoluzione culturale. Un commosso affresco della Cina con tutto il fascino del più impenetrabile e misterioso Oriente. Con questa sua opera Han Suyin - l'autrice di L'amore è una cosa meravigliosa - si conferma l'interprete più suggestiva del sentimento popolare cinese.
January 26, 2025
Un racconto che si dipana tra le pieghe della storia cinese dal secondo Dopoguerra agli anni Ottanta. A tratti difficile da comprendere per un occidentale, confusa; a volte alcuni elementi sono trattati superficialmente, altri fin troppo dettagliati. Nel complesso è stato un viaggio importante che li ha permesso di scoprire meglio un Paese, la Cina, e la sua storia, a me sconosciuta.
Però, seppur senza spoiler, non posso dirmi 100% soddisfatta del finale.
Però, seppur senza spoiler, non posso dirmi 100% soddisfatta del finale.
June 13, 2022
vorrei che questo libro non finisse mai, fantastico
Want to read
June 21, 2022Does anybody know where I can find this book outside the USA? I'm obsessed with the premise
maybe-later
September 25, 2016"I grew up with books and my parents were avid readers. My father would quote Tennyson and was a fan of authors from Leslie Charteris, who wrote the Simon Templar The Saint books, to Han Suyin and Dostoyevsky." - Sumiko Tan
June 24, 2014
Slow moving and at times, difficult to understand.
Want to read
April 21, 2015[image error]
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews