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Inspector Chen Cao #6
La ragazza che danzava per Mao
La giovane Jiao, nipote di una delle favorite di Mao, si è trasferita in un lussuoso quartiere di Shanghai e conduce una vita dispendiosa, tra locali alla moda, corsi di pittura e feste danzanti nella casa di un certo signor Xie, dove gli invitati si abbandonano al languore della musica anni Trenta, scambiandosi aneddoti sulle glorie passate. Come può Jiao finanziare questo suo costoso stile di vita? Ricatti? Prostituzione? La sicurezza interna sospetta sia in possesso di documenti compromettenti, che potrebbero danneggiare la reputazione del Grande Timoniere, e il Partito. Un nuovo caso «politicamente sensibile» per l'ispettore capo Chen Cao, che ha pochi giorni a disposizione per infiltrarsi nella mondana cerchia di Jiao, affollata di personaggi nostalgici dei tempi pre-Rivoluzione, e scoprire quali segreti la donna nasconde. La sua indagine attraverso una Shanghai piena di contrasti e contraddizioni è anche un viaggio nella sfera privata dell'uomo che per più di trent'anni decise il destino di un intero popolo, in un passato che continua a condizionare un «sistema» in cui Chen non riesce a identificarsi del tutto. Un sistema che fa sì che ancora oggi sia possibile morire all'ombra di Mao.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
52 people are currently reading
796 people want to read
About the author
Qiu Xiaolong
61 books486 followersQiu Xiaolong (裘小龙) was born in Shanghai, China. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, Death of a Red Heroine (2000), A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red Is Black (2004), A Case of Two Cities (2006), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), and The Mao Case (2009). He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.
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February 17, 2022
That should do it for me now that I have given the series a fair chance. I had expected more from this book than it delivered. I did not enjoy the action but was motivated to keep reading, hoping for things to gel. Chen is directed to do a job related to Mao's reputation on the down low. His experiences as he attempts to gather the information the authorities want gathered and protected are awkward, bizarre and often socially uncomfortable. If one sticks with it without demanding it make sense, there are some amusing scenes.
The references of cultural evolution from Mao's time of rule to present I did find interesting enough to try another of these books but there is too much that is awkward to proceed further.
Library Loan
The references of cultural evolution from Mao's time of rule to present I did find interesting enough to try another of these books but there is too much that is awkward to proceed further.
Library Loan
December 1, 2015
Warning: possible spoilers ahead
As a whodunit, the sixth Inspector Chen novel is a vast improvement on the first book. The first book already has elements that elevate it above the usual police procedural ---- vivid, at times noir-ish portrait of Shanghai and other Chinese locales; intimate, occasionally gritty observation of the daily lives of Chinese people from all walks of life; commentaries on the oppresive, self-censoring political climate under the Party ---- but the mystery plot felt tentative, and ultimately rather unsatisfactory. In this one, Qiu Xiaolong has finally succeeded in integrating those elements with a page-turning mystery plot.
A common thread that runs through the two novels is the hunt for objects or people who might embarrass the Party or its titular god, Mao Zedong. In this novel, the hunt soon becomes an exploration of Mao's personality through the poems that he wrote. Being a poet himself, Inspector Chen is uniquely suited to such an investigation, and the result reveals that the Great Helmsman was not only as full of hubris as Cao Cao, but also a monster who discarded his women like used-up tissues and betrayed his comrades for the pettiest of reasons.
At the end of the case, Chen ruminates while trying to decide whether to turn over the potentially embarrassing object to the Party authorities:
“It would also be in line with the principle of not judging Mao on his personal life, though as far as Mao was concerned, the personal might not be that personal after all. With T. S. Eliot, the personal went into a poem, into the manuscript of The Waste Land, but with Mao, the personal became a disaster for the whole nation.”
Presumably that's how men and women of Chen's generation feel after the collective madness that was the Wenhua Dageming or Cultural Revolution died off with Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four: betrayed by a demigod that turned out to have feet of clay, or even worse, abused by a father figure they have been taught to worship from kindergarten on. Both have left deep scars in the psyche of the nation, symbolized by the antagonist's pathological Mao obsession. In the end, the possibly incriminating objects remain elusive, but it doesn't matter: everybody already concluded that Mao was a monster anyway.
“After all, it was like a couplet in the Dream of the Red Chamber, “When the true is false, the false is true. Where there is nothing, there is everything.”
As a whodunit, the sixth Inspector Chen novel is a vast improvement on the first book. The first book already has elements that elevate it above the usual police procedural ---- vivid, at times noir-ish portrait of Shanghai and other Chinese locales; intimate, occasionally gritty observation of the daily lives of Chinese people from all walks of life; commentaries on the oppresive, self-censoring political climate under the Party ---- but the mystery plot felt tentative, and ultimately rather unsatisfactory. In this one, Qiu Xiaolong has finally succeeded in integrating those elements with a page-turning mystery plot.
A common thread that runs through the two novels is the hunt for objects or people who might embarrass the Party or its titular god, Mao Zedong. In this novel, the hunt soon becomes an exploration of Mao's personality through the poems that he wrote. Being a poet himself, Inspector Chen is uniquely suited to such an investigation, and the result reveals that the Great Helmsman was not only as full of hubris as Cao Cao, but also a monster who discarded his women like used-up tissues and betrayed his comrades for the pettiest of reasons.
At the end of the case, Chen ruminates while trying to decide whether to turn over the potentially embarrassing object to the Party authorities:
“It would also be in line with the principle of not judging Mao on his personal life, though as far as Mao was concerned, the personal might not be that personal after all. With T. S. Eliot, the personal went into a poem, into the manuscript of The Waste Land, but with Mao, the personal became a disaster for the whole nation.”
Presumably that's how men and women of Chen's generation feel after the collective madness that was the Wenhua Dageming or Cultural Revolution died off with Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four: betrayed by a demigod that turned out to have feet of clay, or even worse, abused by a father figure they have been taught to worship from kindergarten on. Both have left deep scars in the psyche of the nation, symbolized by the antagonist's pathological Mao obsession. In the end, the possibly incriminating objects remain elusive, but it doesn't matter: everybody already concluded that Mao was a monster anyway.
“After all, it was like a couplet in the Dream of the Red Chamber, “When the true is false, the false is true. Where there is nothing, there is everything.”
October 5, 2011
Cultural Revolution, Red guards, Triads, jaded film stars and crumbling mansions, backstreets, noodle shops, old ramshackle streets contrasting with the new Shanghai. A society that, on the surface, appears to be undergoing great changes, an apparent liberation. People relax and swim in their illusions - the yellow brick road leads to tanks on Tianaman Square and to the gulag.
Now, I may be overdressing the cake a bit too much but I cannot help the thoughts this book inspired. It is full of people going about their lives in what looks like a degree of freedom and normality but the truth is that their stomachs are clenched in anxiety as they dance round each other. The shadows hang over them - unnoticed but present and no cliché.
A society full of fear, caution, of looking over your shoulder, talking in whispers in the dark. A society where one bit of information gleaned from reliable sources can still lead to your destruction. And then you have to think about the hero, the policeman who has to carry out his task, his investigation, trapped between Charybdis and Scylla; what is permitted and what is necessary.
Inspector Chen is instructed to investigate the granddaughter of a former film star and “dancing-partner” of Chairman Mao. There are suspicions that the girl may be in possession of something that could be compromising to his reputation and hence harmful to the State. The investigation turns up a strange group of characters; there is a sense of alienation, decadence and artificiality in their relationships as if they are suspended in honey. About halfway through there is a murder... a young girl.
And how strange a culture, so unlike our own. Where else would you get a lovely tale about a man’s food obsession with crabs tied in with an analysis of Mao’s poetry? Almost all conversations have multiple meanings as if the characters are talking in code - or rather could be talking in code. Literary quotations are used to punctuate the conversations so that it is hardly surprising that other meanings are sought in the most banal discussion.
All the lead characters are constantly analysing the situation they’re in; it’s like a game of chess where you have to consider the move your opponent has just made, then think about the possibilities before you and then the possible responses they might elicit. It is all very considered - there seems to be no spontaneity at all. In a society where once every move, every word could be interpreted in a way that would have grave ramifications for you and your family, perhaps this considered game-playing is a sound defensive tactic. I know the feeling to some extent because I had a job once that was full of internal political battles, with its spies and levels of correct behaviour that just had to be followed - to the letter! But it’s still difficult to imagine living in a whole society where you are constantly in danger of stepping on broken glass, when you are always treading on eggshells.
The thought has just struck me that if this book had been published as a Science Fiction novel set in dystopic future or on some distant planet, with its almost-corny place-names (the Glamorous Bar, the Central Yellow Sea) strange artefacts ( the clock that strikes “the East is Red”) and even stranger food (duck’s tongue...) we would totally accept it - it’s that strange. And now the thought strikes me how strange it is that the aliens are actually here amongst us, sharing our planet. Is it really like this? The word “exotic” springs to mind but not luxurious or elegant or even romantic... This is a “foreign” society made more confusing because these are human beings like us. Mankind alienates itself from the rest of humanity through its culture.
The strength of this book lies in the windows it opens onto this alien world, enabling us to glimpse it in little snatches. It is like some dysfunctional dream... If life is all there is then some people have so much to answer for - and never will. The long shadow of Chairman Mao haunts each life, having touched and tainted all involved.
Now, I may be overdressing the cake a bit too much but I cannot help the thoughts this book inspired. It is full of people going about their lives in what looks like a degree of freedom and normality but the truth is that their stomachs are clenched in anxiety as they dance round each other. The shadows hang over them - unnoticed but present and no cliché.
A society full of fear, caution, of looking over your shoulder, talking in whispers in the dark. A society where one bit of information gleaned from reliable sources can still lead to your destruction. And then you have to think about the hero, the policeman who has to carry out his task, his investigation, trapped between Charybdis and Scylla; what is permitted and what is necessary.
Inspector Chen is instructed to investigate the granddaughter of a former film star and “dancing-partner” of Chairman Mao. There are suspicions that the girl may be in possession of something that could be compromising to his reputation and hence harmful to the State. The investigation turns up a strange group of characters; there is a sense of alienation, decadence and artificiality in their relationships as if they are suspended in honey. About halfway through there is a murder... a young girl.
And how strange a culture, so unlike our own. Where else would you get a lovely tale about a man’s food obsession with crabs tied in with an analysis of Mao’s poetry? Almost all conversations have multiple meanings as if the characters are talking in code - or rather could be talking in code. Literary quotations are used to punctuate the conversations so that it is hardly surprising that other meanings are sought in the most banal discussion.
All the lead characters are constantly analysing the situation they’re in; it’s like a game of chess where you have to consider the move your opponent has just made, then think about the possibilities before you and then the possible responses they might elicit. It is all very considered - there seems to be no spontaneity at all. In a society where once every move, every word could be interpreted in a way that would have grave ramifications for you and your family, perhaps this considered game-playing is a sound defensive tactic. I know the feeling to some extent because I had a job once that was full of internal political battles, with its spies and levels of correct behaviour that just had to be followed - to the letter! But it’s still difficult to imagine living in a whole society where you are constantly in danger of stepping on broken glass, when you are always treading on eggshells.
The thought has just struck me that if this book had been published as a Science Fiction novel set in dystopic future or on some distant planet, with its almost-corny place-names (the Glamorous Bar, the Central Yellow Sea) strange artefacts ( the clock that strikes “the East is Red”) and even stranger food (duck’s tongue...) we would totally accept it - it’s that strange. And now the thought strikes me how strange it is that the aliens are actually here amongst us, sharing our planet. Is it really like this? The word “exotic” springs to mind but not luxurious or elegant or even romantic... This is a “foreign” society made more confusing because these are human beings like us. Mankind alienates itself from the rest of humanity through its culture.
The strength of this book lies in the windows it opens onto this alien world, enabling us to glimpse it in little snatches. It is like some dysfunctional dream... If life is all there is then some people have so much to answer for - and never will. The long shadow of Chairman Mao haunts each life, having touched and tainted all involved.
March 22, 2010
This feels like the heftiest of the Chen novels so far - the one with the greatest direct criticisms to make of China's history since 1949, and the most complex examination of who was being taken care of, and who was being left behind, in the upheaval of the 1990s. There was a lot here to feast on - the reminiscences of 1930s Shanghai; the details of how different groups were treated during the Cultural Revolution; the fortunes of those who rode high with Mao; the effects of his policies on China today. And, as ever, Chen's quotation of classical Chinese literature contrasted sharply with Mao's attempts to wipe away all that had come before him.
Still, I disliked the murders of young women (again) - especially murders with explicit sexualized components. I especially disliked that one, in particular, could have been prevented. In concert, I wish Chen would fully break down or fully recover - this in-between state he's existed in for the last couple of books is deeply perplexing. Perhaps that's as much because I don't know how the Chinese would process problems of mental illness, or handle stress within a familiar cultural paradigm. (Chen's previously talked about how there's no therapy in China.) But therapy aside - there are surely traditional practices to restore balance? And is that the point - that as a modern Chinese man who doesn't believe in Buddhism or Confucionism or much else, to tell the truth, he has no means to negotiate his modern life?
Still, I disliked the murders of young women (again) - especially murders with explicit sexualized components. I especially disliked that one, in particular, could have been prevented. In concert, I wish Chen would fully break down or fully recover - this in-between state he's existed in for the last couple of books is deeply perplexing. Perhaps that's as much because I don't know how the Chinese would process problems of mental illness, or handle stress within a familiar cultural paradigm. (Chen's previously talked about how there's no therapy in China.) But therapy aside - there are surely traditional practices to restore balance? And is that the point - that as a modern Chinese man who doesn't believe in Buddhism or Confucionism or much else, to tell the truth, he has no means to negotiate his modern life?
February 17, 2018
A solid effort in the excellent Chen series! Qiu Xiaolong explores the complexities of modern China with the deftness and nuance it deserves. His explorations of the Cultural Revolution and the atrocities that Mao & his entourage wreaked are gut-wrenching. As is the sinking feeling that judging history through hindsight is the prerogative of the well-fed and secure. The mystery itself progresses nicely through Chen's brooding persona and the finale is satisfying. My guess is that the Chinese State treat Qiu as a pariah and enemy of the state for his frank narrative, but we are lucky to have a tour guide of his quality. Highly recommended!
March 28, 2017
El Caso Mao es un libro que llegué a conocer por un grupo de lectura, fue una lectura inesperada pero satisfactoria. Chen es el protagonista de esta historia que se desarrolla en China (este detective es el protagonista de esta serie de libros, de los que creo no hay que seguir necesariamente un orden). La historia comienza con Chen en una reunión del partido discutiendo sobre el materialismo que se ha propagado. Chen recibe una llamada de una amiga que le informa que su novia (una pareja con la que no ha hablado en mucho tiempo) se ha casado, además recibe la llamada del ministro de seguridad publica que le asigna un caso especial que gira sobre Mao.
Shang, una estrella que se suicidó durante la revolución cultural, era compañera de baile de Mao (aunque también su amante), tuvo una hija llamada Qiang, una chica marcada por la reputación de su madre y que en una ocasión intenta abandonar China junto a su enamorado Tan, pero son retenidos por la policía, Tan se suicida y Qian da a luz a Jiao. Un tiempo después, Qiang conoce a un chico llamado Peng y este es acusado de perversión sexual (mantener relaciones sexuales sin permiso era castigado en China) y Qiang muere en un accidente.
Jiao crece en un orfanato, sin terminar la escuela y teniendo algunos trabajos donde no ganaba mucho dinero, cae en la mira de seguridad publica porque de repente ella deja de trabajar y se muda a un apartamento lujoso, empieza a asistir a unas fiestas que rememoran la década del 30, creen que ella tiene algún material que puede manchar el nombre de Mao, un material que perteneció a su abuela Shang, Chen debe conseguirlo antes de que ella lo exponga o lo venda.
Esta es una novela fácil de leer y que se lee rápido a pesar de que es una novela lenta en la que no sucede mucho (cerca del final vemos toda la acción y giros que cambian lo que conocemos), se podría decir que no es una novela ágil pero tampoco es complicada, aunque para ser una novela policíaca le faltan elementos de acción y donde el detective se vea más comprometido.
La narración se hace en tercera persona, y aunque me gustaron los personajes, sentí que no logré conocerlos, me faltaron sus descripciones, saber que pensaban y sentían, de hecho Chen era un personaje que a pesar de tener esta llamada donde su exnovia se había casado, él no demuestra ningún tipo de sentimiento.
Este libro nos introduce en la historia de China, sobre la figura de Mao, la cual tiene una importancia notable de principio a fin, siento que Mao era un personaje más. El autor nos va narrando la vida de Mao (y logra hacerlo sin parecer un libro de historia) que se entrelaza con el caso, y de esta manera vemos un personaje histórico muy detalladamente.
Disfruté la novela.
Shang, una estrella que se suicidó durante la revolución cultural, era compañera de baile de Mao (aunque también su amante), tuvo una hija llamada Qiang, una chica marcada por la reputación de su madre y que en una ocasión intenta abandonar China junto a su enamorado Tan, pero son retenidos por la policía, Tan se suicida y Qian da a luz a Jiao. Un tiempo después, Qiang conoce a un chico llamado Peng y este es acusado de perversión sexual (mantener relaciones sexuales sin permiso era castigado en China) y Qiang muere en un accidente.
Jiao crece en un orfanato, sin terminar la escuela y teniendo algunos trabajos donde no ganaba mucho dinero, cae en la mira de seguridad publica porque de repente ella deja de trabajar y se muda a un apartamento lujoso, empieza a asistir a unas fiestas que rememoran la década del 30, creen que ella tiene algún material que puede manchar el nombre de Mao, un material que perteneció a su abuela Shang, Chen debe conseguirlo antes de que ella lo exponga o lo venda.
Esta es una novela fácil de leer y que se lee rápido a pesar de que es una novela lenta en la que no sucede mucho (cerca del final vemos toda la acción y giros que cambian lo que conocemos), se podría decir que no es una novela ágil pero tampoco es complicada, aunque para ser una novela policíaca le faltan elementos de acción y donde el detective se vea más comprometido.
La narración se hace en tercera persona, y aunque me gustaron los personajes, sentí que no logré conocerlos, me faltaron sus descripciones, saber que pensaban y sentían, de hecho Chen era un personaje que a pesar de tener esta llamada donde su exnovia se había casado, él no demuestra ningún tipo de sentimiento.
Este libro nos introduce en la historia de China, sobre la figura de Mao, la cual tiene una importancia notable de principio a fin, siento que Mao era un personaje más. El autor nos va narrando la vida de Mao (y logra hacerlo sin parecer un libro de historia) que se entrelaza con el caso, y de esta manera vemos un personaje histórico muy detalladamente.
Disfruté la novela.
March 26, 2017
Un autor nuevo para mi, una recomendación.
Un libro con varios datos y descripciones sobre lugares, comidas, poesías, menciones a una época de la china guiada por el presidente Mao, la representación de este en la vida de la chian, para el momento vivo y ese imaginario que se mantiene en la actualidad, donde aun existen miles de referencias a él y su legado, o su ilusión de cambio.
Es una trama lenta, las descripciones y alusiones poéticas, no logran crear un escenario para el argumento que siendo claro, no logra desarrollarse con cierta agilidad que podría suponer un tema policíaco.
Sin embargo si muestra desde la memoria colectiva, mucho sobre los miedos y sucesos del periodo de represión, la vida de ciertas mujeres, el derrumbamiento de estandartes y de personajes.
El asunto que refiere, tres generaciones de mujeres marcada por la cercanía a Mao, y la total intromisión del pensamiento de este en sus vidas.
Interesante, si me pareció, y por lo cual tiene valor, ese código secreto que se vislumbra en conversaciones, en poemas, en citas que redundan y hacen importante el desarrollo de la historia.
Si no tienes conocimiento de la historia de la china para este momento, acá hay varios datos, que te llevaran incluso si el interés lo da, a investigar, es solo un referente, como novela policíaca con su tinte de historia para fundamentar los sucesos.
Un libro con varios datos y descripciones sobre lugares, comidas, poesías, menciones a una época de la china guiada por el presidente Mao, la representación de este en la vida de la chian, para el momento vivo y ese imaginario que se mantiene en la actualidad, donde aun existen miles de referencias a él y su legado, o su ilusión de cambio.
Es una trama lenta, las descripciones y alusiones poéticas, no logran crear un escenario para el argumento que siendo claro, no logra desarrollarse con cierta agilidad que podría suponer un tema policíaco.
Sin embargo si muestra desde la memoria colectiva, mucho sobre los miedos y sucesos del periodo de represión, la vida de ciertas mujeres, el derrumbamiento de estandartes y de personajes.
El asunto que refiere, tres generaciones de mujeres marcada por la cercanía a Mao, y la total intromisión del pensamiento de este en sus vidas.
Interesante, si me pareció, y por lo cual tiene valor, ese código secreto que se vislumbra en conversaciones, en poemas, en citas que redundan y hacen importante el desarrollo de la historia.
Si no tienes conocimiento de la historia de la china para este momento, acá hay varios datos, que te llevaran incluso si el interés lo da, a investigar, es solo un referente, como novela policíaca con su tinte de historia para fundamentar los sucesos.
December 4, 2020
Una novela de detectives que es mucho más (y algunos críticos dirían que mucho menos) que una simple novela de detectives, El caso Mao es el quinto volumen de las investigaciones del inspector jefe Chen Cao, otrora estudiante de literatura, devenido en peculiar, pero efectivo detective, y nos presenta un caso que le permite al autor hacer un retrato de la China de Mao y de la China de la década de 1990. Chen recibe el encargo de investigar si la nieta de una de las legiones de amantes de Mao se encuentra en posesión de algo (¿un objeto? ¿información?) que pondría en tela de juicio la reputación y la leyenda del líder chino. En el proceso de su investigación, Chen y sus colaboradores más cercanos se enfrentan a los servicios de seguridad, a las tríadas y a un ambiente de sospecha y paranoia constante (muy cercano al cine noir), al punto que ninguno de los involucrados puede estar seguro exactamente qué están investigando y con qué propósito. La investigación pone al descubierto los derroteros, tanto de la sociedad china y las últimas décadas de historia del país, como de los sospechosos y las víctimas del supuesto crimen que se ha cometido o se cometerá. En ese sentido, el principal problema de la novela es que todos los "red herrings" que lanza terminan por ser más interesantes que la revelación del misterio inicial y muchos de los personajes y tramas más interesantes son relegadas a un segundo plano. Indudablemente, la crítica al sistema político de China era uno de los principales motivos del autor al escribir esta novela, aunque hay que darle el crédito por haber logrado entrelazar ambos niveles de la novela con gran éxito y sin perder el interés de cualquiera de sus dos públicos objetivos.
October 5, 2014
This novel started out to be one of the more daring entries in the series with Chen handed his most politically sensitive case to date - but in the final reel, almost all proved to be nothing but empty air.
Chen started out as a series where the crime was just a plot device for the political machinations necessary to satisfy Chen's sense of morality and/or justice, but as the series has progressed it has morphed into pretty much SOP detective stories - so in that light:
Qiu Xiaolong herein violates, abuses and breaks most of S.S. Van Dine's rules for writing detective stories including, but not limited to, rule #10
"The culprit must turn out to be a person who has played a more or less prominent part in the story — that is, a person with whom the reader is familiar and in whom he takes an interest"
Which actually may be besides the point since the nut to be cracked here doesn't really have a resolution, an actual meaning or any substance whatsoever.
Foul play indeed!
However, all the Mao mumble jumble is still worth a couple of mercy stars, so here they are.
Chen started out as a series where the crime was just a plot device for the political machinations necessary to satisfy Chen's sense of morality and/or justice, but as the series has progressed it has morphed into pretty much SOP detective stories - so in that light:
Qiu Xiaolong herein violates, abuses and breaks most of S.S. Van Dine's rules for writing detective stories including, but not limited to, rule #10
"The culprit must turn out to be a person who has played a more or less prominent part in the story — that is, a person with whom the reader is familiar and in whom he takes an interest"
Which actually may be besides the point since the nut to be cracked here doesn't really have a resolution, an actual meaning or any substance whatsoever.
Foul play indeed!
However, all the Mao mumble jumble is still worth a couple of mercy stars, so here they are.
September 16, 2025
Well, rats! I don't have any more Chief Inspector Chen mysteries to read, so I hope that Qiu Xiaolong soon completes another one. I love the characters Chen of course who is torn between a police inspector and an intellectual who wants to be a filial son to his mother, but seems too much of a confirmed bachelor to provide her with grandchildren.
Yu his humble partner who is canny like his father, Old Hunter also a policeman. Yu deeply loves his smart and hardworking wife Pequin who does her best to help him on cases while raising their son and working as an accountant for a state run restaurant.
And then there is Gu the Mr. Big Bucks with triad ties who helps Chen in anyway he can.
In the Mao Case, Chen is again given a case to work from those higher up in the party. The granddaughter of a woman who was a mistress to Mao seems to be living beyond her means. The party is fearful that she has something of Mao's to sell, so they send Chief Inspector Chen to investigate. The whole case could prove to be politically dangerous so Chen is reluctant to involve Yu.
Yu his humble partner who is canny like his father, Old Hunter also a policeman. Yu deeply loves his smart and hardworking wife Pequin who does her best to help him on cases while raising their son and working as an accountant for a state run restaurant.
And then there is Gu the Mr. Big Bucks with triad ties who helps Chen in anyway he can.
In the Mao Case, Chen is again given a case to work from those higher up in the party. The granddaughter of a woman who was a mistress to Mao seems to be living beyond her means. The party is fearful that she has something of Mao's to sell, so they send Chief Inspector Chen to investigate. The whole case could prove to be politically dangerous so Chen is reluctant to involve Yu.
December 5, 2017
C'è un ragazzino che un giorno cattura per strada un granchio. Bigia la scuola e si mangia il granchio. Suo nonno si arrabbia per questo. Uno scrittore in disgrazia che ama i granchi ma non può permetterseli perché costano troppo ha scritto quella storia. Un ispettore di polizia che ha ricevuto in regalo un cesto di granchi vivi li porta allo scrittore che li cucina. I due squartano e degustano perlacee ovaia di granchio disquisendo a lungo sul possibile doppio senso erotico di alcuni versi di una poesia di Mao che parla di un pino svettante e di una grotta oscura. Tutto ciò c'entra poco con l'indefinibile crimine sul quale l'ispettore sta indagando e tutto il libro è una divagazione su questo tono. Libro di una noia mortale. La discontinuità di Xiaolong è davvero notevole. A gialli interessanti soprattutto per l'ambientazione, alterna ciofeche indigeribili come questa (granchi compresi).
September 30, 2016
I enjoy the character of Chief Inspector Chen (and even more, Detective Yu, his wife Peiqin, and his father, Old Hunter). I am grateful for the insights into Chinese society that Qiu Xiaolong always gives us. In this case, however, I found the plot far-fetched and the motive unconvincing.
April 24, 2016
This time we don't start with a body; nobody dies (in the first instance) until about halfway through the book. At first I wasn't sure what it was all about, or where the story was going--but then, neither is Chen Cao when he gets handed a "cold case" that's at least 40 years old! He starts by investigating a girl's grandmother's notorious past--never mind that grandmother and mother have both been dead for decades. At the same time, Chen discovers that his old flame has finally gone out--and married someone else. Hardly surprising, he knows, but still...
Again, poetry and literature play an important role in this installment, and I personally learned a lot more about Mao the man than I ever knew before. Chen speaks of Mao as "a communist emperor" which makes a great deal of sense. Also it got me thinking: in comparison with the millenia of China's history, Mao really is just a blip on the radar. A devastating blip, yes, but a brief one.
If there was one drawback, again it was the proofreading. There are a few stylistic horrors that I don't think can be blamed on the fact that the author is writing in his second language; that's what professional proofreaders and editors are for. If a proofreader can't spot the misused prepositions that made this text judder along in spots, they need to hire somebody with a better knowledge of correct grammar. Not to mention a few sentences that made very little sense, as for example the following: At one point Chen and Xie go into a garden and sit down on plastic lawn chairs. The fact that they are plastic is mentioned at least twice. And yet Chen "picks up a brown twig from its edge of the chair." Excuse me? "From its edge of the chair"? Sheer blither. As always, there's a lot of good eating in this book, but again the editorial staff lets the author down; camels do not have "paws", but hooves, even though they are softer than horse or deer hooves. Call them "feet" if you must, but not "paws."
After a slow start, the plot picks up, twisting and turning to a double surprise ending. One of the surprises was excellent; the other made me want to throw the book across the room, but that's just me and my love of a nice, neat package. So to speak.
One of the nice things about this series is that they do stand alone; there are some references in passing to previous cases, but nothing to confuse a reader who starts here.
Again, poetry and literature play an important role in this installment, and I personally learned a lot more about Mao the man than I ever knew before. Chen speaks of Mao as "a communist emperor" which makes a great deal of sense. Also it got me thinking: in comparison with the millenia of China's history, Mao really is just a blip on the radar. A devastating blip, yes, but a brief one.
If there was one drawback, again it was the proofreading. There are a few stylistic horrors that I don't think can be blamed on the fact that the author is writing in his second language; that's what professional proofreaders and editors are for. If a proofreader can't spot the misused prepositions that made this text judder along in spots, they need to hire somebody with a better knowledge of correct grammar. Not to mention a few sentences that made very little sense, as for example the following: At one point Chen and Xie go into a garden and sit down on plastic lawn chairs. The fact that they are plastic is mentioned at least twice. And yet Chen "picks up a brown twig from its edge of the chair." Excuse me? "From its edge of the chair"? Sheer blither. As always, there's a lot of good eating in this book, but again the editorial staff lets the author down; camels do not have "paws", but hooves, even though they are softer than horse or deer hooves. Call them "feet" if you must, but not "paws."
After a slow start, the plot picks up, twisting and turning to a double surprise ending. One of the surprises was excellent; the other made me want to throw the book across the room, but that's just me and my love of a nice, neat package. So to speak.
One of the nice things about this series is that they do stand alone; there are some references in passing to previous cases, but nothing to confuse a reader who starts here.
November 11, 2011
Marvelous novel! This Inspector Chen story took me to Shanghai, and taught me so much about Chinese culture and politics. The writing is poetic and complex, not unexpected from Qiu Xiaolong, a former resident of Shanghai and also an accomplished poet in both Chinese and English. The story involves the lives of three women, mother, daughter, and granddaughter. The mother was one of Mao's "favored women" and Chinese security today believes she passed on an item or secrets that might damage Mao's reputation. Mother and daughter died suspiciously, granddaughter has recently begun living a relatively luxurious lifestyle, hence the suspicion that she has Mao secrets for sale. The highly regarded Inspector Chen is asked to learn the truth. The story moves slowly as Chen talks to many people and follows clue threads. Along the way several people die and Chen himself is attacked.
I didn't mind the slow-moving story as I was so involved in learning about an unfamiliar culture as well as following a mystery. I would recommend this beautiful book to anyone.
I didn't mind the slow-moving story as I was so involved in learning about an unfamiliar culture as well as following a mystery. I would recommend this beautiful book to anyone.
May 21, 2024
Sotto le ambigue indagini affidate all'ispettore di polizia Chen Cao si nasconde sempre qualche segreto sordido collegato alla Rivoluzione Culturale. In questo caso si va indietro nella storia per capire se la nipote di una ex attrice con cui Mao amava ballare (ma anche accompagnarsi e con cui probabilmente aveva una relazione) ogni volta che si recava a Shangai abbia qualcosa con cui poter minare il potere del governo centrale.
La figura di Mao che ne risulta è tutt'altro che lusinghiera, visto l'esercito di amanti che esce fuori nel corso delle indagini.
La figura di Mao che ne risulta è tutt'altro che lusinghiera, visto l'esercito di amanti che esce fuori nel corso delle indagini.
May 11, 2022
Another great book in the Inspector Chen series, this installment is steeped in the recent history of Chinese politics as well as the culture, and it's one of the more powerful books I've read in the series. Perhaps more than any other, it blends in cultural elements of poetry and food beautifully so that there are no seams showing, whereas poetry has felt somewhat more forced in a few of the books, much as I always enjoy it. This brought me back to the reasons I fell in love with this series, and the gorgeous nuance that Xiaolong brings to each of his works. I do wish the ending had been allowed to breathe just a bit more, as it felt somewhat rushed for my taste, but otherwise, I loved this book and I look forward to the next in the series.
July 30, 2022
I really liked the mystery in this one. Finally! *laughs* Although I'd like that there were fewer women horribly killed. Just saying.
But still, it's the deep recount of the effects of political change in people's lives that shines for me.
Chen's state of mind is getting worse, as he is doing nothing to deal with it. And yes, I know he has told us that there is no therapy in China, but still... something!
But even with all my complaints, I really liked it *laughs*
And, as this is the last audiobook I have of this series, so I'll take the chance to take a break from it.
But still, it's the deep recount of the effects of political change in people's lives that shines for me.
Chen's state of mind is getting worse, as he is doing nothing to deal with it. And yes, I know he has told us that there is no therapy in China, but still... something!
But even with all my complaints, I really liked it *laughs*
And, as this is the last audiobook I have of this series, so I'll take the chance to take a break from it.
October 27, 2023
Sesto libro della serie dell’ispettore Chen Cao: carino, non ho letto gli altri e credo non li recupererò.
Le similitudini con il detective Heredia (serie investigativa cilena che sto leggendo in lingua originale e che ho preferito fino ad ora) sono veramente tante: credo che l’ambientazione in un periodo post-dittatoriale sia la chiave di tutte queste somiglianze.
Non mi è piaciuto il continuo citare proverbi e poesie di altri autori, va bene un po’, ma poi risulta ridondante.
3 stelle perché comunque si lascia leggere velocemente.
July 7, 2025
短篇的情节却因为作者过度向英文读者解释历史而膨胀成了长篇小说 虽然个中写作意图和伤痕文学差不多 但是把英文读着当白痴 叙述变成注释非常影响阅读节奏
September 5, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book, but ultimately I must conclude that it is far more interesting as social criticism than the whodunit that it pretends to be. Just like in nordic noir, the Inspector Chen books do not present either excentric sleuths or harb-boild private eyes, just a regular police detective intent on solving the crime that his superiors order him to do. The painful memories and consequences of the Cultural Revolution cut deeper than the actual "criminal" crimes that take place in this book. Inspector Chen's personal life (including his passion for poetry) likewise plays a key role in this story and it certainly helps to establish the social changes and conflicts that Chinese society faced in the late 1990s. All in all, this is an interesting book, if not quite for the reasons that Qui Xiaolong or his editors probably expected.
September 20, 2010
The Mao Case relates another adventure of Chief Inspector Chen, an inspector in the modern Shanghai police force. It does a great job of helping explain the complex dynamics of a society trying to be both capitalist and communist at the same time. The mystery involves a young woman whose grandmother had an illicit affair with Mao. The young woman may have inherited some damaging "Mao material" that the party wants investigated, confiscated, and suppressed. Inspector Chen has to navigate a complex political minefield. And then people start dying.
Some thoughts:
* The mystery itself works okay, but being a police procedural, it isn't structured like a puzzle game. It's more about the investigation than about the mystery; it's more about the political shenanigans than about the murder(s) itself. The conflict between the different levels of nuance throughout the society works really well.
* I read this book for my mystery book club, and we often end up reading mysteries from foreign cultures. We've read two others that took place in distinctly communist cultures--Child 44 and The Coroner's Lunch. Both were pretty good, and both turned on the challenge of trying to be an honest man in a corrupt and dishonest system. This book involves the same. I haven't read the other Inspector Chen novels, but I suspect the ones that turn on politically sensitive topics are more interesting for this very formula. Structurally, it's not much different than American noir novels that take place in the corrupt landscape of depression-era Los Angeles or San Francisco, where cops and shady businessmen are likely to have the detective tossed in jail or roughed up.
* As always, the most interesting part about detective stories that take place in other cultures is the other culture. Modern China is an interesting mix, in this book, of modern-era striving and old-Communist attitudes. Xiaolong explores the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the (seemingly to western eyes) more and more antiquated communism struggling to hold on to the power structure sitting on top of the market economy. The little details about how the trains work or how nice restaurants serve people make the story really shine.
* There are clear moments when the novel makes use of characters from previous novels, sometimes referring to people who owed Chen something from a previous investigation. Unlike some authors, who make you feel really left out when that happens, Xiaolong does a good job of introducing these characters without spending too much time rehashing the old mysteries or focusing on them. The downside, of course, is that it feels a little bit like a convenient set of tools for Chen to use. He needs a fancy car so he can look like a wealthy lothario? Just call his gangster buddy who loves him and will do anything for him. He needs someone to pose as a maid? Just call his assistant investigator and ask his plucky wife to step in. In an established series, this is fine. For a newcomer, it feels a little convenient. I don't think I would even notice this if I had read the series, though.
* A few fun facts about China I just learned from the book: Mao slept on a hard-wood mattress; big spending wealthy dudes who keep mistresses are called Big Bucks; there are 'hot-water houses' that sell, um, hot water for tea and bathing. A few things I realize I know almost nothing about: Mao's whole reign, the Cultural Revolution (and backlash against Mao? or were those separate?), the Gang of Four, the petty tyranny of Mrs. Mao.
Not a bad police procedural, and probably especially good if you like books that explore other cultures.
Some thoughts:
* The mystery itself works okay, but being a police procedural, it isn't structured like a puzzle game. It's more about the investigation than about the mystery; it's more about the political shenanigans than about the murder(s) itself. The conflict between the different levels of nuance throughout the society works really well.
* I read this book for my mystery book club, and we often end up reading mysteries from foreign cultures. We've read two others that took place in distinctly communist cultures--Child 44 and The Coroner's Lunch. Both were pretty good, and both turned on the challenge of trying to be an honest man in a corrupt and dishonest system. This book involves the same. I haven't read the other Inspector Chen novels, but I suspect the ones that turn on politically sensitive topics are more interesting for this very formula. Structurally, it's not much different than American noir novels that take place in the corrupt landscape of depression-era Los Angeles or San Francisco, where cops and shady businessmen are likely to have the detective tossed in jail or roughed up.
* As always, the most interesting part about detective stories that take place in other cultures is the other culture. Modern China is an interesting mix, in this book, of modern-era striving and old-Communist attitudes. Xiaolong explores the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the (seemingly to western eyes) more and more antiquated communism struggling to hold on to the power structure sitting on top of the market economy. The little details about how the trains work or how nice restaurants serve people make the story really shine.
* There are clear moments when the novel makes use of characters from previous novels, sometimes referring to people who owed Chen something from a previous investigation. Unlike some authors, who make you feel really left out when that happens, Xiaolong does a good job of introducing these characters without spending too much time rehashing the old mysteries or focusing on them. The downside, of course, is that it feels a little bit like a convenient set of tools for Chen to use. He needs a fancy car so he can look like a wealthy lothario? Just call his gangster buddy who loves him and will do anything for him. He needs someone to pose as a maid? Just call his assistant investigator and ask his plucky wife to step in. In an established series, this is fine. For a newcomer, it feels a little convenient. I don't think I would even notice this if I had read the series, though.
* A few fun facts about China I just learned from the book: Mao slept on a hard-wood mattress; big spending wealthy dudes who keep mistresses are called Big Bucks; there are 'hot-water houses' that sell, um, hot water for tea and bathing. A few things I realize I know almost nothing about: Mao's whole reign, the Cultural Revolution (and backlash against Mao? or were those separate?), the Gang of Four, the petty tyranny of Mrs. Mao.
Not a bad police procedural, and probably especially good if you like books that explore other cultures.
February 9, 2022
come giallo, mi interessa poco, ma la descrizione dlela Cina contemporanea molto. Solo i menu del ristorante sono ben diversi da quanto propongono i ristrantic inesi italiani. chissà se esiste un a biografia di Mao tipo quella di Stalin di sebag Montefiore?
May 22, 2017
Good!
In line of what you will expect from this saga about Inspector Chen and his team. The end,thought is quite interesting
In line of what you will expect from this saga about Inspector Chen and his team. The end,thought is quite interesting
May 21, 2013
I read this book because once again I needed an "X" author for a challenge. I have firmly determined that "X" will just have to be one of those letters I can't fulfill.
Amateur poet Chief Inspector Chen Cao is investigating a seemingly made up case about Chairman Mao. Apparently Mao had an affair with an actress and might have (yes might have!) given her something that would be damaging to his image. So Internal Security is harassing her granddaughter as the only living relative. Inspector Chen is supposed to get the inside track and find out what (if anything) Jiao has of Mao's that is so dangerous. All in all it sounds like a decent plot but the mystery is unbelievably thin and the connections/leads were too far-fetched. Maybe it's a cultural thing and I just didn't get it. There wasn't much mystery to be had either as it was obvious who Chen should have been talking to but he just fiddle-faddled around getting nowhere.
I had great difficulty with all the poetry and literary references. The political situation in China was also something I have no knowledge of nor want but I suffered through this novel because like I said I needed an "X" author. Had I known anything about the cultural revolution in China, perhaps I would have had an easier time comprehending.
Amateur poet Chief Inspector Chen Cao is investigating a seemingly made up case about Chairman Mao. Apparently Mao had an affair with an actress and might have (yes might have!) given her something that would be damaging to his image. So Internal Security is harassing her granddaughter as the only living relative. Inspector Chen is supposed to get the inside track and find out what (if anything) Jiao has of Mao's that is so dangerous. All in all it sounds like a decent plot but the mystery is unbelievably thin and the connections/leads were too far-fetched. Maybe it's a cultural thing and I just didn't get it. There wasn't much mystery to be had either as it was obvious who Chen should have been talking to but he just fiddle-faddled around getting nowhere.
I had great difficulty with all the poetry and literary references. The political situation in China was also something I have no knowledge of nor want but I suffered through this novel because like I said I needed an "X" author. Had I known anything about the cultural revolution in China, perhaps I would have had an easier time comprehending.
November 14, 2011
Let's see, a month since I read this, and my memory has dimmed!
There is the usual Qiu theme:
"In these days of increasingly rampant corruption and an ever-enlarging gap between the rich and poor, some were beginning to miss Mao, imagining that they had had better days under him. The utopian society of egalitarianism as advocated by Mao remained attractive to a lot of people."
In this book we hear about the darker private side of Mao - "a man of snake and spider heart" who got rid of his wife Kaihui by allowing her to be executed in 1930 by the nationalists for refusing to cut all ties with Mao. Mao had already taken a new young wife, Zhizen, and she had borne him a daughter, Shang, whose daughter Jiao may have inherited a valuable and compromising possession of Mao's.
Chen is searching for this object, and indeed finds it...and in the process realizes that the man who is keeping Jiao in her expensive apartment is more than attracted by Mao, he has gone over the edge and attempted to adopt the personality and behavior of Mao.
I think it's the creepiest of Qiu's books so far! And I'm not sure the resolution of the plot is credible. It's certainly exciting though!
There is the usual Qiu theme:
"In these days of increasingly rampant corruption and an ever-enlarging gap between the rich and poor, some were beginning to miss Mao, imagining that they had had better days under him. The utopian society of egalitarianism as advocated by Mao remained attractive to a lot of people."
In this book we hear about the darker private side of Mao - "a man of snake and spider heart" who got rid of his wife Kaihui by allowing her to be executed in 1930 by the nationalists for refusing to cut all ties with Mao. Mao had already taken a new young wife, Zhizen, and she had borne him a daughter, Shang, whose daughter Jiao may have inherited a valuable and compromising possession of Mao's.
Chen is searching for this object, and indeed finds it...and in the process realizes that the man who is keeping Jiao in her expensive apartment is more than attracted by Mao, he has gone over the edge and attempted to adopt the personality and behavior of Mao.
I think it's the creepiest of Qiu's books so far! And I'm not sure the resolution of the plot is credible. It's certainly exciting though!
February 16, 2013
A writer friend of mine, Joan Drury (she owns Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais, MN) recommended this book to me during a recent trip. She said Qiu is one of her new favorite authors. It was a great recommendation!
The book is actually sixth in a detective series set in Shanghai, China with the main character, Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau. The book’s author, Xiaolong, is a translator and poet who lives in the states now. This book includes many quotations of classic Chinese poetry, as well as some of his own.
I spent a lot of time in Shanghai during a previous job working with engineers and field associates developing, designing, constructing and starting up a manufacturing facility. The realism of Xiaolong’s scenes, his characters and their speech patterns appealed to me greatly. He created a tremendous mystery that would only work, in my evaluation, in the Chinese society. It was based on their history, honor and belief system.
Inspector Chen is a warm, human character that does his job well and I am looking forward to going back to read his previous adventures. I’ll also be checking out some of Qiu Xiaolong’s other writing from his website.
The book is actually sixth in a detective series set in Shanghai, China with the main character, Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau. The book’s author, Xiaolong, is a translator and poet who lives in the states now. This book includes many quotations of classic Chinese poetry, as well as some of his own.
I spent a lot of time in Shanghai during a previous job working with engineers and field associates developing, designing, constructing and starting up a manufacturing facility. The realism of Xiaolong’s scenes, his characters and their speech patterns appealed to me greatly. He created a tremendous mystery that would only work, in my evaluation, in the Chinese society. It was based on their history, honor and belief system.
Inspector Chen is a warm, human character that does his job well and I am looking forward to going back to read his previous adventures. I’ll also be checking out some of Qiu Xiaolong’s other writing from his website.
October 23, 2014
This time it's The Mao Case, and it drags us deeper than ever into Qiu Xiaolong's exploration of the Chinese dilemma with its Maoist history. There are the usual dilemmas here for Chen, his ambivalence about how to exist as both a cop and a poet, how to be in but not of the establishment, how to balance his contempt for the upper cadre of the party with his dependence on them both for his career and his identity.
In the case at hand, it appears that some unknown something that might discredit Mao's memory, reveal him as a hypocritical sybarite whose brutal heritage is being visited unto the third generation of one of his most famous concubines, is missing and must be recovered and hidden. Chen not only has to find it, but find out what "it" is. And he must negotiate not only his official channels but the musty decadents of the pre-Mao society which Mao tried to destroy but still exist. Namely, the old 30's luxuriants of Shanghai.
It's a task that tests his every intellectual nerve and his powerful memory for poetry of every culture and era. Much of the ground we cover here is familiar, but in a satisfying and suspenseful way. Never will get tired of this guy, I don't think.
In the case at hand, it appears that some unknown something that might discredit Mao's memory, reveal him as a hypocritical sybarite whose brutal heritage is being visited unto the third generation of one of his most famous concubines, is missing and must be recovered and hidden. Chen not only has to find it, but find out what "it" is. And he must negotiate not only his official channels but the musty decadents of the pre-Mao society which Mao tried to destroy but still exist. Namely, the old 30's luxuriants of Shanghai.
It's a task that tests his every intellectual nerve and his powerful memory for poetry of every culture and era. Much of the ground we cover here is familiar, but in a satisfying and suspenseful way. Never will get tired of this guy, I don't think.
October 25, 2009
This is my sixth Inspector Chen novel. To someone from the West who reads a lot of detective fiction, these books are a revelation. I have been fixed on them, since coming across Death of a Red Heroine, because of the fascinating insight into Chinese police procedure. Chen is an English graduate, who has published a thesis on T S Elliot. He is a policeman because he was instructed to join the police on graduation. He has risen to a position where he is specially assigned to politically sensitive cases and, under scrutiny from superiors in both the police and the Party, he has to balance the demands of political expediency and his function as an officer of the law to bring wrongdoers to justice. His methods are unorthodox but effective. In The Mao Case, it is believed that a young woman, whose grandmother was the Mistress of Chairman Mao, is about to sell some object handed down to her, with explosive political impact. Chen solves this, eventually, in his own way, producing an acceptable result, but concealing the whole truth.
November 28, 2013
2.5 *
I didn't particularly like this book and I really didn't enjoy the writing style. I don't think it was a bad book per se, but I do feel that it was clumsy and cluncky, and the end was really overwritten. As our detective finally puts the pieces together you can't help but think, well duh, having come to that conclusion a fair while earlier. The way he played with expectations of the genre was pretty interesting (to the extent that it didn't really feel like a detective novel at all) and his idea of using crime fiction as a gateway to explore the past is an interesting one, however I'm not entirely sure it worked. Moreover, the characters really fell flat, and I also found the dialogue contrived and just generally unrealistic. It was nice to have something more 'commercial' on my reading list and the discussion we had in my seminar, as I said was interesting, but I will say this book disappointed.
I didn't particularly like this book and I really didn't enjoy the writing style. I don't think it was a bad book per se, but I do feel that it was clumsy and cluncky, and the end was really overwritten. As our detective finally puts the pieces together you can't help but think, well duh, having come to that conclusion a fair while earlier. The way he played with expectations of the genre was pretty interesting (to the extent that it didn't really feel like a detective novel at all) and his idea of using crime fiction as a gateway to explore the past is an interesting one, however I'm not entirely sure it worked. Moreover, the characters really fell flat, and I also found the dialogue contrived and just generally unrealistic. It was nice to have something more 'commercial' on my reading list and the discussion we had in my seminar, as I said was interesting, but I will say this book disappointed.
September 7, 2015
Chen gets a politically important case connected to Mao to solve. This one is kind of vague at the beginning, with a classic MacGuffin and everything. Yu and Old Hunter make appearances, though regrettably there is no Overseas Chinese Lu. But the supporting characters don't seem to have all that much to do.
As usual, Chen works to solve the case with his usual combination of doggedness in the face of duty, guangxi and thinking about poetry.
Chen finds himself stuck in small rooms from time to time. Not quite sure why. Anyway, looking forward to moving on to the next entry in the series.
Revision: OK, I added one more star on further thought. My Chinese history knowledge is not very encyclopedic, but the amount of criticism of Mao in this story is pretty constant and extensive. I wish I knew more to put it in context. In that sense, you could almost say this is kind of Qiu's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in it's criticism, just without the overwriting and heavy-handed symbolism.
As usual, Chen works to solve the case with his usual combination of doggedness in the face of duty, guangxi and thinking about poetry.
Chen finds himself stuck in small rooms from time to time. Not quite sure why. Anyway, looking forward to moving on to the next entry in the series.
Revision: OK, I added one more star on further thought. My Chinese history knowledge is not very encyclopedic, but the amount of criticism of Mao in this story is pretty constant and extensive. I wish I knew more to put it in context. In that sense, you could almost say this is kind of Qiu's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in it's criticism, just without the overwriting and heavy-handed symbolism.
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