Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “And the Ancestors Sing” by Radha Lin Chaddah, On Tour with Suzy Approved Book Tours, Rising Action Publishing Co. February 3, 2026

In this well written and professionally researched novel, Radha Lin Chaddah, the Author, vividly describes the scenery, and dramatic, colorful characters. The Genres for this poignant and memorable novel are: Historical Fiction, Multigenerational Fiction, China Literary Fiction,Asia, and Fiction. Goodreads description for this book is : “And the Ancestors Sing is a sweeping, multigenerational novel of sacrifice, survival, and the unbreakable pull of home, set against the rapidly changing back-up of post-Cultural Revolution China .”

This is a thought-provoking and complex novel, and I had to go back several times to read certain parts. I found this extremely educational, and I was thinking in terms of Power. There were wealthy and poor people, doing what they had to do to survive. In the women’s hierarchy, the family would “trade” their daughter for marriage. In this case, Lei, the female protagonist, is bartered for two cases of cigarettes and eggs. Once, Lei is married, she belongs to the new family and has to make adjustments. In some households, such as Lei’s, the mother in law is the Matriarch in the family. The Mother-In Law holds the position of power and her son, other children, Lei, and her children have to show respect and support the mother-in-law in all ways. Lei works very hard, and her husband takes her share of the money. Her husband not only has to respect his mother, but is held accountable by the Head Farmer who pays his wages.

When there are problems with the crops, and economy, often the family has to move on. Lei and her husband leave their children with the Mother-in-law and go to the big cities in China to make money. Another woman character LuLu goes to Shanghai to try to work in a factory, but is turned away, and is forced to work as a prostitute. Lulu sends her parents money, and pretends she is working in the factory to save face.

I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, mental illness, sacrifice, survival, the importance of home, love and hope. I highly recommend this intriguing and memorable Historical Fiction novel.