Emma Pei Yin

In this remarkable and harrowing debut novel, three extraordinary women—a mother, her daughter, and their maid—are each forced on a journey to survival during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II.

1941. Following the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, the wealthy Tang family has settled in Hong Kong, believing it to be protected under British occupation. As the First Wife of the family, Mingzhu leads a glamorous, if at times lonely, existence—mothering the son of her husband’s concubine, overseeing her daughter Qiang’s education, and directing their household of servants, including her long-time confidante, Biyu.

But when the Japanese invade Hong Kong, the three women’s paths wildly diverge. Although Mingzhu’s affinity for languages spares her from physical labor, she finds herself coerced to either work for the enemy or face certain death. Qiang and Biyu scrape through days of factory work and meager food supplies, constantly on the run from newly unfolding dangers until an encounter with the East River Column Resistance fighters separates them. The longer these women become embroiled in the brutal occupation that engulfs the region, the more determined they are to resist—but can they support the resistance and still find their way back to each other?

At once monumental and intimate, When Sleeping Women Wake powerfully explores how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, and the unwavering hope that love can carry us through even the darkest of times.