Beginning amid the decadent glamour of China in the 1930s and ending in the 1980s in Hong Kong, this brilliant novel, which formed the basis for the award-winning movie, is the passionate story of an opera student who falls in love with his best friend, and the beautiful woman who comes between them."Remains endearing and sensitive in its portrayal of the delicate relationships of the protagonists while scathingly indicting the revolution and its effect on the art and culture of China.... A refreshing divergence from the often redundant offerings in the world of Western literature." "--Seattle Herald"