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Mingmei Yip Talks About Petals from the Sky

I’m hoping that you caught my review of Petals From The Sky by Mingmei Yip a couple of weeks back; it’s the story of a girl who dreamed of being a buddhist nun but then found herself caught between the East and the West, between spirituality and passion. The novel is loosely based on Mingmei’s own life story so I was delighted when she offered to answer some interview questions as part of the Sunday Salon this week.

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CS – Mingmei – Petals from the Sky is such a beautiful novel what inspired you to capture this tale in a book?

MY – Petals from the Sky is the story of a young Chinese woman who had planned to escape her dysfunctional, ne’er-do-well family by becoming a Buddhist nun – only to realize she had run away from her own heart.

Meng Ning, the protagonist’s life, is partly based on my own. In my youth, I was befriended by the most powerful nun in Hong Kong and groomed to be her successor because of my background — I hold a PhD in Chinese music from the Sorbonne and am trained in the exotic Chinese arts of music, poetry, painting and calligraphy.

I wanted to tell the story of a woman caught between her youthful Buddhist philosophy of overcoming desire, only to awaken to the power of her own desire. Having known many Buddhist nuns, I also wanted to tell the stories of different women who became nuns for very different reasons, not only religious calling, but also poverty, being abandoned by a lover, or as a path to political influence. Nuns live many different kinds of lives; not all spend their time in solitary meditation on remote mountains. Some are even billionaire fund-raisers running multinational organizations and hobnobbing with high society and heads of state — such as the abbess portrayed in my novel. I know about the lives of Buddhist nuns from the inside.

CS – So parts of the book are almost more memoir than novel; I assume that meant that little research was required to build the story?

MY – To write my first novel Peach Blossom Pavilion, story of the last Chinese geisha, I spent several months in China, reading in obscure sources about these fascinating, elegant, yet tragic women. Many left behind essays, poems or paintings – the only ways they could express their true feelings.

The source for my new novel Petals from the Sky is completely different — it was inspired by my own life – my childhood in an eccentric family, my youth with nuns, my education in France, my unexpected meeting at a Buddhist event with the man who would become my husband. Of course there are parts of the novel that I made up.

CS - In your opinion Mingmei, what are some of the most important themes in Petals from the Sky?

MY – Besides telling a poignant, compelling love story, I also wanted to show that love, passion and desire can flourish with the Buddhist ideals of wisdom and compassion. For these are necessary if love is to conquer all. Love must include compassion, but also needs wisdom, without which so many situations can turn into disasters.

Petals from the Sky is also about the mysterious, yet inevitable, working of karmic connections. At thirteen, the protagonist Meng Ning fell into a well but instead of being severely injured was enlightened to the strong presence of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion. This experience led her to befriend nuns from a prominent temple. Seventeen years later, when she was about to be ordained as a nun, a fire broke out in her temple retreat and fate again took her onto a different path: falling in love with a man.

CS – Who is your favorite character in the book?

MY – The protagonist Meng Ning, since I put so much of myself in her, for better or worse. Also her feisty, illogical, opinionated, yet endearing mother who, though giving her daughter endless headaches, loved her unconditionally. And of course the mysterious scarred nun and Michael, who’d do anything for Meng Ning. What women wouldn’t want a man like that?

CS – So true, Michael would make a great catch for anyone! So Meng Ning has a lot of you in her character – how did you further develop her?

MY – While much is based on my own life, and the lives of others I have known, Meng Ning began as an innocent thirteen year old whose fall into a well enlightened her to the mysterious, yet comforting, world of Buddhist Goddess. Ten years later, we find her studying art history in Paris and planning to return to Hong Kong to one day rejoin her nun mentor in the most prominent nunnery in Hong Kong. Her life was completely and perfectly mapped out – or so she thought. Until a fire broke out in a retreat she attended and a young, handsome American doctor rescued her.

This unexpected, drastic encounter completely derailed her plan. She was thrust onto a sensuous, even dangerous, path she had never imagined she would tread.

CS – I personally thought the book was beautifully written, with a story unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Describe some of the reactions that you’ve encountered about Petals from the Sky from other people? What was the most surprising?

MY – The character of Meng Ning’s mother seems to win the affection of most readers. She is difficult, nagging but, ultimately loving. And she has her own secret to reveal but you have to read the novel to find out what it is.

Some are surprised I would write with such knowledge about the lives of prostitutes in Peach Blossom Pavilion but then write a novel about Buddhist nuns. Yet I have been fascinated by the very different courses women’s lives can take. With both prostitutes and nuns, though in quite different ways, sexuality complicates their lives immensely.

CS – I can see why people appreciate Meng Ning’s mother – I thought she was a great character and her own secret added an extra layer to the novel that was intriguing to read. Have there been any misconceptions about the book that you’d like to clear up?

MY – One reader said Michael is too needy as a character. But men are needy, just as women are.

CS – Are you working on anything else at the moment?

MY – Yes, I am now finishing my third novel Song of the Silk Road, a love story between a woman of twenty-nine and a younger man of twenty-one on the famously dangerous Silk Road. An adventurer, the young woman attracts danger as much as she does men — like bees to honey.

I am also writing and illustrating another children’s book for Tuttle to follow my Chinese Children’s Favorite Stories.

CS – I’m so glad to hear that there is a third novel in the works; I’ll look out for that one as soon as I’ve read Peach Blossom Pavilion! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MY – Only that I hope everyone enjoys Petals from the Sky! For more information on my books and art, please visit www.mingmeiyip.com

CS – Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer some questions about Petals from the Sky Mingmei, I’m sure my readers will enjoy the book as much as I did.

Giveaway Alert!

Mingmei has kindly offered to send a copy of this wonderful book to one of my lucky readers. There are a number of ways that you can enter the giveaway; Petals from the Sky has just been released and I want to help Mingmei spread the word about this great book as far and wide as possible – so I need your help.

To have your name entered into the giveaway simply Tweet about this giveaway to your friends, or post it on your Facebook wall, and then come back here and leave a comment to let me know which one you did.

The closing date for entries is 11.59 GMT on Saturday April 3, 2010 and I’ll announce the lucky winner as part of the Sunday Salon on April 4.

This post was brought to you today as part of the Sunday Salon. Sign up yourself or just visit other book loving bloggers at http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/

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