This Mao-Dun award-winning book is a disappointment. Retelling history is complex. But it can be done through delicate storytelling and imagination -- Sir Louis Cha was great at it. In this book, however, the story is scattered and severely lacks depth. The ethnic conflict, typical during the immersion years of two competing cultures, was described as power and economic struggle.
I am surprised that this won the Mao-Dun award, the most prestigious Chinese literature award.