Songs of Willow Frost is the new novel by Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The novel is set in Seattle’s Chinatown, during the 1920’s and 30’s.

It is the Story of Liu Song, whose stage name is Willow, and her son William Eng. William is growing up in Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage along with many other children whose parents have died, or left them there because they cannot take care of them any more.

I enjoy Ford’s novels because they are filled with historical facts and rich with details. Yet I was not quite as moved by this novel as by Hotel. I loved the character of William, but didn’t connect as well with Willow.

However, this novel has much in common with Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and if you enjoyed that book, you will surely enjoy this one as well.