Scribe UK The Good Women of Fudi.

by Liu Hong

Imperial China meets Edwardian England in this epic story of loves lost and gained, set during the aftermath of the Opium Wars.

Best friends Jiali and Wu Fang know that no man is a match for them. In their small harbour town of Fudi, they practise sword fighting, write couplets to one another, and strut around dressed as men. Jiali is a renowned poet and Wu Fang is going to be China’s first female surgeon. But when Wu Fang returns from medical training in Japan, she is horrified to hear of Jiali’s marriage to a man who cannot even match her couplets, and confused by her intense feelings of jealousy towards her friend’s new husband, Yanbu.

Ocean man Charles has arrived in Fudi to start a new life. He eschews the company of his fellow foreigners, preferring to spend time with new colleague Yanbu, his wife, Jiali, and her friend, Wu Fang. Over the course of several months, he grows close to them all, in increasingly confusing ways, but what will happen when he is forced to choose between his country and his friends?

As tensions between the Manchu rulers and the people rise, and foreign battleships gather out at sea, loyalties will be tested in more ways than Jiali, Wu Fang, Yanbu, and Charles can possibly imagine.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Lesbian, Historical, Queer

336 pages, Paperback

Published January 11, 2024

About the author

Liu Hong was born in 1965 and grew up in Liaoning, near the Chinese-North Korean border. She studied English, before going to Beijing, to work as a teacher and translator. She came to Britain in 1989, and took an MA in social anthropology at London. Since then she has worked as a Chinese teacher, and as a translator.
Liu Hong now lives in Wiltshire with her husband and their young daughter.

Reviews

[charlotte, · Rating 1 out of 5]

On my blog.

Rep: Chinese cast & setting, lesbian mc, bi mc

Galley provided by publisher

The Good Women of Fudi is a character-driven historical novel which, ultimately, fails to have characters compelling enough to drive it at all. Neither, therefore, does it have much of a plot. In fact, does it have much of anything going for it? Hard to say.

The central issue here I think is that this is a book that wants to rely on a love square for its plot, with nothing to really cement why you should care about that. The characters are flimsy, with only glimpses of something that could be depth. Relationships and events come out of seemingly nowhere, with little to no basis. This is a book that feels shallow in every aspect.

That should probably be evident from the fact that I wrote in my notes that it’s a book which barely feels grounded in the era it’s supposedly set in. The blurb says that it’s set in China during the aftermath of the Opium Wars and, sure, you can mostly tell that, but (and YMMV here!) it’s not a book with a lot of depth to the worldbuilding. It’s more light-touch, the odd nudge in a certain direction. Now I’m willing to accept this one is a me thing because I want my historical fiction to be dense. Especially if it’s character-driven. The more plot there is, the less I’m concerned about that, but character-driven pairs best with dense worldbuilding to me and this did not deliver.

That lack of depth was clearly catching, as I mentioned a little earlier. See, this is why I think character-driven plus dense worlds works best because building a world that thoroughly almost forces you to build the characters equally thoroughly. So they become compelling and captivating simply by association (Francis Spufford is a good example of this for me, but he’s also helped by a very distinctive narrative voice — another thing this book lacked). I wouldn’t say these characters were all of them flat and uninspiring, because I did actually like Wu Fang and Charles’s narratives somewhat. Jiali, on the other hand, whom all of the other characters found themselves in love with at some point or other, was just… so bland. If I’m meant to believe that all of this love square mess comes about because of a single girl, she has got to be more interesting than this. I’m begging you.

There’s also another reason the love square didn’t work for me (beyond my desire to have Wu Fang pair off with Jiali and Charles with Yanbu) and that was this: firstly, Charles’s attraction for Jiali comes out of nowhere as I said, but secondly, there’s its juxtaposition with the same gender relationships (or, let’s call them simply attraction, since nothing really comes of them). Jiali and Charles get to kiss and have sex. The same gender dyads get to have vagueness and the idea that it’s something more pure than just physical attraction. As in: “It is nothing physical, Charles is assured of that, indeed any thought of physical intimacy almost degrades it. It is above physical, it is something pure and lofty.” Now, sure, this may have been a period typical attitude (for multiple reasons, not least the illegality of the act in the case of Charles and Yanbu), but this is a modern book. This is a book that’s relegated the same gender attraction to yearning from afar that’ll never go anywhere, but don’t worry! It’s pure! It’s not dirty! (Hey, maybe I’m reading too much into it! Probably this was nowhere near its intention, but this is how it came across.) Not to mention, by the end, Yanbu has died and Wu Fang has sacrificed herself so that Charles and Jiali can ride off into the sunset for a happy ending. I wouldn’t call this bury your gays because obviously a. Charles is still alive, and b. Wu Fang is technically alive at the end still (even if Yanbu isn’t). But the sacrifice of any gay possibility in service of a “heterosexual” ending (yes, again, Charles is not, that’s why the scare quotes), didn’t feel great.

So, in the end, I get the distinct feeling I could have missed out on this one and not actually missed out on much at all.

[bri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh how this book frustrated me. Set in China after the Opium Wars and during the occupation of the Manchus, The Good Women of Fudi follows two women in their pursuit individual of happiness and success. Having grown up together and nurtured from a young age to be capable, passionate and independent women, Jiali and Wu Fang swear to one another that they will never marry for they believe it to be “an intrusion that oppresses woman the pagoda that traps passionate, rebellious snakes.” (p.12).

However, enter Yanbu and Charles, and all this seemingly changes. For despite being so steadfast in her convictions in her youth, Jiali readily betroths herself to Yanbu’s family. Herein lies the crux of my issue with this book: its terrible inconsistency in characterisation. It seems that every character, regardless of how dedicated they are to their cause and values, at some point abandons their convictions in such odd, unfathomable ways. Is it an attempt to drive the story? To add tension and conflict to the story? I’m unsure. But what I am sure in is how frustrated this book made me.

Furthermore, I can’t help but feel baited by the queer aspects of this story. While both Wu Fang and, to a lesser extent, Charles harbour same-sex love for other characters in the story, these experiences seemed like footnotes to the primary (heterosexual) romance of the book. Not to mention, the lesbian falls victim to the ‘bury your gays’ trope at the novel’s conclusion, a sacrificial lamb sent out as a decoy while the heterosexual couple make their escape to safety.

There were many times I considered DNFing this book. It was my desperate hope to see a requited lesbian romance in 19th century China that kept me delusional.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up this book from the library's new acquisitions. In The Good Women of Fudi, Wu Fang is inseparable from her dearest friend Jiali, and devasted to find upon her return from medical training in Japan that Jiali has married a man. In a tumultuous time, the loyalties between Wu Fang, Jiali and her husband, and Englishman Charles will be sorely tested.

A good rule of thumb is to always judge a book on what it is trying to do, not on what you expect it to be. However!! I came into this book after reading the bit in the cover copy about Wu Fang and Jiali dressing in men's clothes, swordfighting, and trading couplets (inseparably), and not unreasonably presumed that this would be a book on the lesbian subculture of post-Opium Wars China. An impression which inevitably colored my reactions to the book when the lesbians fail to appear. It's very clear subtext that Wu Fang has an unrequited love for Jiali, but the majority of the book is focused on Jiali's relationships with her husband and Charles, which I found frustrating. Something about queer relationships being doomed to be tragic and unspoken while straight relationships are lavishly textual. There was a scene midway through the book where Jiali confesses to Wu Fang that her husband is unable to please her in bed. Wu Fang promises to show Jiali how--and then whips out a piece of paper and starts doing anatomy drawings. If I hadn't been reading an ebook, I would have flung the book across the room.

The plot, such as it is, tends towards unsatisfying. Most of the plot is bogged down in detailing the frustrations of the love square, with the majority of the attention on the m/f sides. The author also has a tendency to leave critical scenes which would normally be major plot moments off page. The establishment of the girls' school, Wu Fang's involvement with Chinese nationalist rebels, and most baffling, a major love confession, are referred back to but not depicted by the book. These omissions left the unsatisfying, thin romance struggling to carry the plot.

I loved the cover copy but found the actual novel didn't live up to my expectations. A pass for me.

[Jules · Rating 1 out of 5]

I nearly abandoned this book at 88%. The book has 3 narrators- Wu Fang, Jiali and Charles. Wu Fang trained as a surgeon in Japan before she returned to China because her BFF Jiali was getting married. Jiali, a poetess and swordswoman, marries wet blanket Yanbu out of a feeling of obligation and some appreciation for his okay poems, even though she knows he's a wet blanket. Finally, there's Charles an "Ocean Man" aka Englishman whose whole personality is 'omg China is so cool. So much better than Britain and the British.' There's even a deeply cringe scene where he thinks he's starting to look more Chinese.
During their childhoods, Wu Fang and Jiali promise to never marry a man, because men suck and by the end of the novel I was in full agreement. The book could've been good with a better editor, but instead leaned into weak storytelling, commitment to 'authentic' language like "Ocean Man" and "coolie" and misogynistic tropes about women (women being traded by powerful men as lacking agency, wives/concubines being in competition and unable to form relationships with each other, controlling mother in laws, absent mothers, etc).

[tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5

pros:
- Veel nieuwe dingen geleerd over China en de cultuur. Really liked it
- De pijnlijke lesbian ervaring (i like emotional pain)
- De hoeveelheid liefde die iedereen voor elkaar had
- Wu Fang is een geweldige vrouw, maar ook flawed and i like it.
- Jiali is a queen i love her
- I ALSO LIKE CHARLES

cons:
- Het was zo fk messy. Je switcht van pov naar pov in 1 zin. Had nooit door vanuit wie ik nou las.
- T boek heeft nieteens een duidelijk plot. Er gebeuren hier en daar wat dingen en dan aan t einde heb je die aanval op China en dat wordt nieteens volledig afgemaakt? Dat voelde juist als het moment waar naartoe is gewerkt en t was zo raar gedaan.
- Het was gewoon een messy boek zonder plot okee doei

[Charlotte]

THE INTRIGUE THE BETRAYAL THE POLITICS

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I know the author and I was actually invited to this book’s launch, though I couldn’t make it, unfortunately.
I loved it and found it really interesting in that it gave me details of a China I knew nothing about

[Milly Gladstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that takes you to a completely different time. The world-building is excellent, at times I felt as if I was in a pagoda myself. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the different characters, each with their own story to tell and distinctive personalities. After reading and learning about lives that are so different to mine, this book has probably made me a more empathetic person. I would highly recommend to anyone to give this book a go.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed every minute spent reading this book! It was beautifully written, and the characters were all well fleshed out and believable. My favourite was Wu Fang, though I think I would have loved Jiali just as much before her marriage. The story was understated but dramatic, and it kept me so gripped that I was shocked when it ended! It is a wonderful piece of writing and a joy to read.

[books4chess · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW: death of a child, death, xenophobia, foot binding

“I won’t take unnecessary risks. As to being safe, who can be safe nowadays? Besides, safe is boring, safe is not doing anything and that’s not me. You cannot ask me to be less than who I am”.

What an incredibly beautiful historical fiction centred around China-England dynamics during a time of contention and distrust. Whilst the politics are front and centre, the true action is around the questions of morality and the varied treatment of men vs women - explored in part by the two protagonists regular of dressing across genders.

“How can we call ours a civilised country when we only educate our boys? It is surely a crime that only the rich can afford for their women to learn to read and write”.

For me though, the messy, entwined love peppered throughout the story, between several people of various genders, status and race spoke volumes. The way each relationship, or lack thereof, were fleshed out, whilst simultaneously never explored through to completion, allowing the reader to contemplate the end result at story end. The sheer depth and variety of complex emotions explored by the characters quickly through the light read, against the backdrop of impending war, a changing world and the pressures of society can not be understated, and the portrayal of the various types of love a person can experience are underrated.

“The Chinese word for soul mate: zhi yin - someone who knows truly the other’s voice”

Thank you to Netgalley for the Arc.

[Hikari · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the early twentieth century in China and there’s change afoot. The western nations are sometimes helpful, such as building hospitals and educational facilities, and sometimes not such as firing cannons on said educational facilities. In this confused world, our two female protagonists must make their way.

The China they find themselves in has very rigid ideas about what women can and can’t do. Wu Fang wants to be a surgeon - this is a male only thing so she dresses as a western man and carries the act off so convincingly that she can train in medicine in Japan and be mistaken for a man.

Whilst Wu Fang’s been away in Japan, her best friend, Jiali, has gone and done the thing they swore they would never do - marry.

Also while in Japan, Wu Fang’s got involved in some radical politics aimed at rapidly modernising China. The ideas seemed noble when in Japan. The on-the-ground actions in China are rather murkier.

How will the friendship between these two women cope with the addition of Jiali’s husband? And what will happen when the new colleague of Jiali’s husband meets both Jiali and Wu Fang? And how will the swiftly changing politics of the era impact their lives?

An interesting read as to how some women may have navigated the strict gender roles in the past. The ending is a cliff-hanger. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sarah Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book explores the lives and loves of two women in Fudi, China in the early 20th century. Though this was an interesting premise, and there were some engaging scenes dotted throughout the story, the overall execution fell flat for me.

I think my main issue is with the writing style. The narrative jumps around a lot, often feeling like it abruptly cuts from one scene to the other, and the swaps in POV sometimes felt like head hopping. There was also a strange habit of mentioning events that had happened inbetween scenes like the reader should know what was being referenced, despite not being told yet.

All of this made it difficult for me to actually get a good sense of any of the main characters. It also felt like we were often held at arm's length from them, never truly being shown what drove them or their actions. For example, Wu Fang is involved with revolutionary action, but we are never shown nor told what it is she is doing or why. Another example is Jiala and Charles' relationship - I never felt their connection, we weren't shown them becoming closer or falling for each other, it felt like the book had declared they were in love so they were. .

This also has an open ending which I didn't particularly like as it felt a bit abrupt, like it stopped halfway through the climax of the book.

Overall, whilst I think this could still potentially be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the premise, it wasn't for me.

[Lucy Cleverdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise with great historical context and political events, however the book is almost exclusively and claustrophobically focused on a strange 4 person love tangle and misses opportunities for exploring the world building more. While it was an interesting exploration of sexuality and gender identity, the characters felt quite at arms length and most of their character seemed explained in the beginning but they still remained mysterious. The two female characters are somewhat improbably fabulous and to me, the men are exceedingly weak-willed and conflicted. The story does a good job of portraying a sympathetic and difficult situation, however the emotionality of it all got a bit much for me personally, though I confess I am not usually big on exclusively romantic books. I like a bit of action as well. This did have some, those bits were good. Ends on a cliffhanger though, which is unfortunate as it feels like the book was finally building excitement and tension and getting interesting and then - it’s over. If there is a part 2 I’d probably want to know what happened but I suspect this is one of those mysterious endings books.

[Lucy Aitchison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The writing is delicate and compelling, it draws you into the life of these extraordinary young women in China, each scene deepens the understanding of the characters and of the China that formed them. The book plays with the complex issues of being a foreigner, or not belonging in some way, how our initial judgements of people can be so different from how we feel about them as we get to know them and how our feelings toward others are swayed by the art that they make and their talent or beauty, but also by something ineffable. So feelings are confusing, and the feelings that flow between the characters are both confusing and exciting. I really want to know what happens next! Where will these characters end up and who will they end up with??

[Jedi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was one of those... I really wanted to love it,.but failed to sustain my interest even though I persisted until halfway in the book. Started strong with cool lesbian vibes between the girls and loveeee it being historically contextualised to China. Started dabbling in the politics of gender and education, just so much dabbling and not enough drive. Wufang would've been risking her life to support the underground reformist groups, the intense disapproval of her cross dressing ways; all of this was a passing dint in a love square story. I love a bit of rom period drama smut, but man... This was missing the mark way too often. DNF, but really had high hopes. Feel bad i didn't love it.

[Nathalie Cashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual and interesting historical setting for this story about all different aspects of love, freedom of expression, progress and foreign presence in a country. Many fascinating topics. I became fond of all the characters that I could really picture well. The ending has a surprising twist but it calls for another story to follow as the cliffhanger prompts unanswered questions. I hope to read a sequel.

[Katy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully and evocatively written. Lui Hong builds her characters so well that I was drawn in from the start. This historical fiction exploring culture, connections and love in all its forms. Thoroughly recommend . The thrilling and cliff hanger ending makes the reader longing to read her sequel.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gifted by the publisher

A very surface level book with lack of world building and character development. I thought I was reading a children’s book. Unfortunately, this goes down as my least fav read of the year 😅

[愷怡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story drawing parallels from the myth of the white and black(/green??) snake. Filled with many complexly queer relationships. Overall a fairly easy read. Chinese lesbians what's not to love.

[an.readss · Rating 3 out of 5]

review coming soon :)

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5

Imperial China following the aftermath of the opium wars.
The story of two women Wu fang and Jiali there lives and loves lost and gained.
Really liked the idea of this book but it fell flat in places.

[Charlotte reads history · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The fate of all women does not have to be ours.’

The Good Women of Fudi is set in Imperial China after the Opium Wars and follows two friends, Jiali and Wu Fang. The two women have grown up with wealth and are both seriously accomplished. Jiali is a proclaimed poet and swordswoman, and Wu Fang is attending medical school in Japan - to potentially become the first Chinese surgeon.

At the outset of the story, we join Wu Fang on their boat journey back to Fudi from Japan where she meets English Edward, who mistakes them for a Japanese man.

Edward is travelling to join the Fudi Naval College having recently lost his wife, and his and Wu Fang's lives continue to entwine when he realises his closest Chinese colleague Yanbu is Jiali's new husband.

I was really interested in the history of the period, especially the conflict and rising tensions between the differing Chinese factions - the reformers looking outward to Japan's modernist practices and ideas or the traditionalist ruling Manchus and how spiritualism, religion and family weaves a complicated set of values and ideas. I found the suffering attitudes towards the Ocean People (foreigners like the English) really interesting too and was grateful to see things through Edward's eyes as he became more and more fascinated with Fudi's culture and inhabitants.

Wu Fang's gender identity is explored throughout the book but never directly explained, which is the same for the complicated physical and emotional relationship between Wu Fang and Jiali, Edward and Yanbu. I was really swept along with the complicated study of love, gender and sexuality in it's many fluid forms.

My only gripe is that the book ended on a massive cliffhanger - and I've no idea if the book is a series! Thank you to the publisher for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.