First Impressions

This week's competition, in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, is from a family memoir of three generations of women during a period of great social and political upheaval:

"At the age of fifteen my grandmother became the concubine of a warlord general, the police chief of a tenuous national government of China."

* Entries, including postal address, should be sent to First Impressions, The Times Higher , Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1BX, faxed to 020 7782 3300 or emailed to theschat@thes.co.uk

The winner receives a £25 book voucher. The closing date is Monday November 20.

The winner of last week's competition, who identified Henry Miller's The Tropic of Capricorn , was Shawn Pearson of Bristol.

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