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扶桑
扶桑，一个18世纪60年代的中国妓女；克里斯，一个同时代的白人少年。他们在美国的圣弗朗西斯科相遇相识，发生了恋情。因为扶桑是个20岁的中国妓女，而克里斯是个家境殷实的白人少年，这爱情不仅凄迷，而且成了命运的挑战。小说塑造了一个被迫害然而有高贵灵魂的女性，面对所有伤害、鄙视、痛恨过她的那些男人，扶桑选择用跪着的方式宽恕和原谅了他们，还有这个蒙昧的世界，还有那些在她的身体和心灵上留下伤痕的人。
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1996
31 people are currently reading
685 people want to read
About the author
Geling Yan
83 books235 followersGeling Yan (嚴歌苓) is one of the most acclaimed novelists and screenwriters writing in the Chinese language today and a well-established writer in English. Born in Shanghai, she served with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Cultural Revolution, starting at age twelve as a dancer in an entertainment troupe.
After serving for over a decade with the PLA (including tours in Tibet and as a war correspondent during the Sino-Vietnam border conflict), Ms. Yan was discharged with a rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel. She published her first novel in 1986 and ever since has produced a steady stream of novels, short stories, novellas, essays and scripts. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, published by HarperCollins; Little Aunt Crane published in the UK by Random House affiliate Harvill Secker; The Flowers of War, published in the U.S. by The Other Press and elsewhere by Random House's Harvill Secker; The Banquet Bug (The Uninvited in its UK edition - written directly in English); and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, (translated by Cathy Silber) both published by Hyperion in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. She has also published a novella and short story collection called White Snake and Other Stories, translated by Lawrence A. Walker and published by Aunt Lute Books.
Many of Geling Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, including internationally distributed films Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang; produced by Ang Lee). Chinese director Zhang Yimou made The Flowers of War, a big-budget film based on her work set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking, starring Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale; Coming Home 归来, based on her novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi 陆犯焉识, and One Second 一秒钟, also based on that novel.
Ms. Yan has also written numerous scripts based on her own and other authors' work, both in English and Chinese, including a script for a biopic on the iconic Peking opera star Mei Lanfang for director Chen Kaige (released as Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳) starring Leon Lai and Zhang Ziyi. She wrote the script for Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係, a Chinese-language film directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jang Dong Gun and Cecilia Cheung. Her novel Fang Hua 芳华 is the basis a film of the same name (English title Youth) directed by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Her novel A City Called Macau 妈阁是座城 was made into a film directed by Li Shaohong 李少红, released in 2018.
Geling Yan a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of France's Société des Gens de Lettres. She is affiliated with the Hollywood screenwriters' union, Writers' Guild of America, west, and is a former member of the Chinese Writers' Association (中国作家协会).
Geling Yan went to the United States at the end of 1989 for graduate study. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. To date she has published over 40 books in various editions in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere; has won over 30 literary and film awards; and has had her work adapted or written scripts for numerous film, TV and radio works. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Uyghur, and Vietnamese, and her English-language novel The Banquet Bug/The Uninvited was translated into Chinese. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
She has been subject to an unofficial but effective ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote and promulgated an essay on the Chinese government's initial handling of COVID-19. Her future Chinese-language work will be published by her own publishing company, New Song Media GmbH.
For non-Chinese language publishing she is represented by Agence Astier-Pécher.
After serving for over a decade with the PLA (including tours in Tibet and as a war correspondent during the Sino-Vietnam border conflict), Ms. Yan was discharged with a rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel. She published her first novel in 1986 and ever since has produced a steady stream of novels, short stories, novellas, essays and scripts. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, published by HarperCollins; Little Aunt Crane published in the UK by Random House affiliate Harvill Secker; The Flowers of War, published in the U.S. by The Other Press and elsewhere by Random House's Harvill Secker; The Banquet Bug (The Uninvited in its UK edition - written directly in English); and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, (translated by Cathy Silber) both published by Hyperion in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. She has also published a novella and short story collection called White Snake and Other Stories, translated by Lawrence A. Walker and published by Aunt Lute Books.
Many of Geling Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, including internationally distributed films Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang; produced by Ang Lee). Chinese director Zhang Yimou made The Flowers of War, a big-budget film based on her work set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking, starring Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale; Coming Home 归来, based on her novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi 陆犯焉识, and One Second 一秒钟, also based on that novel.
Ms. Yan has also written numerous scripts based on her own and other authors' work, both in English and Chinese, including a script for a biopic on the iconic Peking opera star Mei Lanfang for director Chen Kaige (released as Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳) starring Leon Lai and Zhang Ziyi. She wrote the script for Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係, a Chinese-language film directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jang Dong Gun and Cecilia Cheung. Her novel Fang Hua 芳华 is the basis a film of the same name (English title Youth) directed by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Her novel A City Called Macau 妈阁是座城 was made into a film directed by Li Shaohong 李少红, released in 2018.
Geling Yan a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of France's Société des Gens de Lettres. She is affiliated with the Hollywood screenwriters' union, Writers' Guild of America, west, and is a former member of the Chinese Writers' Association (中国作家协会).
Geling Yan went to the United States at the end of 1989 for graduate study. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. To date she has published over 40 books in various editions in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere; has won over 30 literary and film awards; and has had her work adapted or written scripts for numerous film, TV and radio works. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Uyghur, and Vietnamese, and her English-language novel The Banquet Bug/The Uninvited was translated into Chinese. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
She has been subject to an unofficial but effective ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote and promulgated an essay on the Chinese government's initial handling of COVID-19. Her future Chinese-language work will be published by her own publishing company, New Song Media GmbH.
For non-Chinese language publishing she is represented by Agence Astier-Pécher.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
July 16, 2024
The Lost Daughter of Happiness' beautifully portrays the tragic and intense life of Fusang, a young Chinese woman sold off to live as a prostitute. Fusang encounters Chris, a young boy who becomes addicted to Fusang’s beauty and mannerisms. Their infatuation grows and stretches throughout the years as Chris weaves in and out of Fusang’s life—a life that would have left anyone else completely broken.
There is something in the way Geling Yan writes that seized me, and even after finishing the book, I find there is no release. The elegance with which she describes disturbingly rough situations and violent acts made it almost poetic. I really enjoyed this book—the ups and downs, the back and forth. I appreciated the narrator speaking directly to Fusang. I would say it was thought-provoking. Fusang’s strength kept me reading; her ability to endure each situation was remarkable.
There is something in the way Geling Yan writes that seized me, and even after finishing the book, I find there is no release. The elegance with which she describes disturbingly rough situations and violent acts made it almost poetic. I really enjoyed this book—the ups and downs, the back and forth. I appreciated the narrator speaking directly to Fusang. I would say it was thought-provoking. Fusang’s strength kept me reading; her ability to endure each situation was remarkable.
November 20, 2009
Geling Yan offers a complicated disturbance to stereotypical notions of East Asians in this novel, with her historical heroine Fusang and with her own narrative presence as a "fifth-wave" Chinese woman teasing out the details of Fusang's life. Her refusal to shy away from or soften the ugly, distressing truths about the suffering of Chinese women at the hands of white Americans and sometimes Chinese men reminded me very much of the same forthright manner of Sky Lee's "Disappearing Moon Cafe", which deals with westcoast Canadian Chinese of the same era.
On the surface, Fusang is all of the things that are used to (mis)characterize her race — inscrutable, implacable, mysterious, always either smiling or serene. But Yan goes deeper than that to uncover Fusang's extraordinary tenacity and strength, her skills in negotiating a world in which she is simultaneously valued and worthless, and her incredible desire to survive.
Many of the pro reviews I've read complain that Fusang never becomes "fully realized" and that her motives are unclear. I strongly, passionately, insistently disagree. Fusang has a distinct, layered personality while embodying a powerful critique of perceptions of Chinese women, and her motives, although not made explicit, were never in question or doubt. I wonder if these reviewers expected a fairy-tale ending with Chris, the white man who pays for his turn with her as a teenager but also convinces himself that he loves her? Were they expecting a Pretty Woman result?
I don't think Yan's intent for this book was to spell out a neat, packaged story of exploitation, brutalization, and salvation of Chinese women to satisfy a voyeuristic audience hungry for tales of "exotic" pain and suffering (with a happy ending). I think her intent was to testify to the legacy of oppression that Chinese Americans faced and still feel the influences of. Fusang is not an easy heroine, with stirring speeches or epic true loves. She is, however, exactly that lost daughter that Yan and many other Asians and diasporans are trying to tell stories about, and for.
On the surface, Fusang is all of the things that are used to (mis)characterize her race — inscrutable, implacable, mysterious, always either smiling or serene. But Yan goes deeper than that to uncover Fusang's extraordinary tenacity and strength, her skills in negotiating a world in which she is simultaneously valued and worthless, and her incredible desire to survive.
Many of the pro reviews I've read complain that Fusang never becomes "fully realized" and that her motives are unclear. I strongly, passionately, insistently disagree. Fusang has a distinct, layered personality while embodying a powerful critique of perceptions of Chinese women, and her motives, although not made explicit, were never in question or doubt. I wonder if these reviewers expected a fairy-tale ending with Chris, the white man who pays for his turn with her as a teenager but also convinces himself that he loves her? Were they expecting a Pretty Woman result?
I don't think Yan's intent for this book was to spell out a neat, packaged story of exploitation, brutalization, and salvation of Chinese women to satisfy a voyeuristic audience hungry for tales of "exotic" pain and suffering (with a happy ending). I think her intent was to testify to the legacy of oppression that Chinese Americans faced and still feel the influences of. Fusang is not an easy heroine, with stirring speeches or epic true loves. She is, however, exactly that lost daughter that Yan and many other Asians and diasporans are trying to tell stories about, and for.
May 19, 2012
I can't quite make up my mind about this book. It was either really good or really bad. The protagonist was either bland and boring or too complex and foreign for me to understand. And this second person narrative when the narrator/author is having a private conversation with the main character and I, as a reader, get no love. Was this a brilliant idea or was or was it a reckless experiment?
I admire Geling Yan for writing this book with bravado and making her heroine virtually mute. I can't say it worked for me all the way through but I give credit where credit is due. And it is the first time I feel that the second person narrative is at least partly justified. It emphasized that our heroine is so elusive that even the narrator hasn't got a clue.
Other than that, it was the second book about Chinese prostitutes I have read. In this one they didn't quote Confucius so I was slightly disappointed.
I admire Geling Yan for writing this book with bravado and making her heroine virtually mute. I can't say it worked for me all the way through but I give credit where credit is due. And it is the first time I feel that the second person narrative is at least partly justified. It emphasized that our heroine is so elusive that even the narrator hasn't got a clue.
Other than that, it was the second book about Chinese prostitutes I have read. In this one they didn't quote Confucius so I was slightly disappointed.
November 6, 2019
The beautiful Fusang is brought to the city of 1860's San Francisco as a prostitute after being kidnapped from her home in China. There, she is sold from brothel to brothel, continually crossing paths with Chris, a young American boy who falls in love with her.
I did not care for this book, and one of the main reasons was the way that it was written. The style was, above all, detached and bland. There were no quotation marks, something I always dislike (I always wonder why an author would choose to write this way?), and there were no chapters. It made the book feel even more like a droning narrative.
But more importantly, there was an omniscient sort of narrator, who wrote in 2nd person, addressing Fusang as "you," as if perhaps they are reminding Fusang of her own memories. Often, the narrator would tell Fusang to do things, or give her little bits of advice, such as "Look at the customer, now, that's it..." But later on, the narrator reveals herself to be a modern-day woman who was born 128 years after Fusang. So it just didn't make any sense.
Then, it would sometimes switch to Fusang's story being told quite regularly, in 3rd person (much better). The problem was that these two different styles would often overlap and go over the same things. The narrator might say: "You walk down the street - watch where you're going, now!"
And then the other form of the story will pick that up a few pages later and say "Fusang walked down the street."
It was confusing, pointless, and annoying.
The second thing I did not like about this book was our heroine, Fusang, herself. She appeared to have few feelings about any of the events in her life. When she is married by proxy to a man whom she may never meet (he is in America, sending money back to his family), we cannot exactly tell what she thinks about this change. When she is kidnapped and sold into prostitution, she never betrays any emotion, either. Though it is always stated quite certainly that Chris loves her, it is never clear if Fusang cares for Chris at all.
Perhaps a lot of this could be blamed on Fusang's stupidity - the second reason I disliked her. Bricks have been known to exhibit more intelligent.
When she is kidnapped, Fusang lets herself be lured away by a strange man onto his boat. When he has her tied up, he assures her that it is because "women crossing the sea aren't allowed to have two legs, it's a violation of ocean law." Fusang accepts this without question, and when she sees a member of her family running to the shore in an attempt to save her, she simply waves goodbye, smiling ignorantly.
She seems not to understand what being a prostitute actually is, even after she has been one for years, later in the story.
She forgets every man she has ever slept with, and when they remind her of their nights together, she simply smiles stupidly at them. Whenever she met Chris again, sometimes I would wonder if she even remembered who he was.
On the other hand, I did find tiny glimpses into the character I think Yan was trying to write. Fusang can at times a simplistically charming girl who remains unaffected by her tragic life, a girl who is too good to be ruined by it. She puts on lipstick not because she is trying to lure customers, but for the simple reason that she likes how it tastes. As many times as her madames beat her, she never makes any attempt to interest potential customers, letting them approach her instead.
But even with these occasional little bits of a personality, she was a heroine I found it very hard to side with.
The only thing that I found interesting about this book was the distinctly Asian feel to it, despite it being set in an American city. It was easy to forget that I was in San Francisco, as it seemed so Chinese. It is fascinating that there are so many Chinatowns all over the world, where the Chinese people have managed to retain their culture and set up a town within a city, just for themselves.
This sounded like such a good premise for a story - a rich young American boy falling in love with a Chinese prostitute. But Chris appeared only a few times, and their romance never seemed convincing. That combined with the bland heroine and awkward writing style ruined the book for me.
I did not care for this book, and one of the main reasons was the way that it was written. The style was, above all, detached and bland. There were no quotation marks, something I always dislike (I always wonder why an author would choose to write this way?), and there were no chapters. It made the book feel even more like a droning narrative.
But more importantly, there was an omniscient sort of narrator, who wrote in 2nd person, addressing Fusang as "you," as if perhaps they are reminding Fusang of her own memories. Often, the narrator would tell Fusang to do things, or give her little bits of advice, such as "Look at the customer, now, that's it..." But later on, the narrator reveals herself to be a modern-day woman who was born 128 years after Fusang. So it just didn't make any sense.
Then, it would sometimes switch to Fusang's story being told quite regularly, in 3rd person (much better). The problem was that these two different styles would often overlap and go over the same things. The narrator might say: "You walk down the street - watch where you're going, now!"
And then the other form of the story will pick that up a few pages later and say "Fusang walked down the street."
It was confusing, pointless, and annoying.
The second thing I did not like about this book was our heroine, Fusang, herself. She appeared to have few feelings about any of the events in her life. When she is married by proxy to a man whom she may never meet (he is in America, sending money back to his family), we cannot exactly tell what she thinks about this change. When she is kidnapped and sold into prostitution, she never betrays any emotion, either. Though it is always stated quite certainly that Chris loves her, it is never clear if Fusang cares for Chris at all.
Perhaps a lot of this could be blamed on Fusang's stupidity - the second reason I disliked her. Bricks have been known to exhibit more intelligent.
When she is kidnapped, Fusang lets herself be lured away by a strange man onto his boat. When he has her tied up, he assures her that it is because "women crossing the sea aren't allowed to have two legs, it's a violation of ocean law." Fusang accepts this without question, and when she sees a member of her family running to the shore in an attempt to save her, she simply waves goodbye, smiling ignorantly.
She seems not to understand what being a prostitute actually is, even after she has been one for years, later in the story.
She forgets every man she has ever slept with, and when they remind her of their nights together, she simply smiles stupidly at them. Whenever she met Chris again, sometimes I would wonder if she even remembered who he was.
On the other hand, I did find tiny glimpses into the character I think Yan was trying to write. Fusang can at times a simplistically charming girl who remains unaffected by her tragic life, a girl who is too good to be ruined by it. She puts on lipstick not because she is trying to lure customers, but for the simple reason that she likes how it tastes. As many times as her madames beat her, she never makes any attempt to interest potential customers, letting them approach her instead.
But even with these occasional little bits of a personality, she was a heroine I found it very hard to side with.
The only thing that I found interesting about this book was the distinctly Asian feel to it, despite it being set in an American city. It was easy to forget that I was in San Francisco, as it seemed so Chinese. It is fascinating that there are so many Chinatowns all over the world, where the Chinese people have managed to retain their culture and set up a town within a city, just for themselves.
This sounded like such a good premise for a story - a rich young American boy falling in love with a Chinese prostitute. But Chris appeared only a few times, and their romance never seemed convincing. That combined with the bland heroine and awkward writing style ruined the book for me.
September 19, 2023
‘You see? Anger can turn to hatred just like that.
Hatred is amazing. It makes people self-righteous; it drives them with a sense of mission. I’m not talking about revenge; that’s too simple. People are born with a higher form of hatred, so immense it doesn’t even need a target. Like love so vast no object is necessary. This kind of hatred can lie dormant for years, like a swell of darkness, and people are never even conscious of it. But once the darkness is breached, all rationality drowns and the things people do out of hatred serve only the purpose of fulfilling an overwhelming emotional need. Burning, smashing, killing, rape – they’re all just channels. It doesn’t even matter what started it, because people quickly become intoxicated by the sheer spectacle of destruction. Like love in the earth-shattering stage, hatred by this point feeds on itself, simply for its own sake. The pleasure of watching some person or thing destroyed by one’s own hand is virtually orgasmic.’ (p.204-5)
‘What does it mean, anyway, to sell oneself? People think you sold yourself. But what about all these women around me? Times have changed. Look at all these women setting prices for themselves: a house, a car, an income of so many thousands per year. Okay, it’s a deal. They just call it something else: marriage. Wives sell themselves nightly, their bodies mute and aloof as merchandise. In return they get three meals a day and closets and drawers full of clothes and jewellery. And this isn’t the only way it’s done. Some sell out of power, others for fame. Some sell themselves for a city residence permit in China or a green card in the U.S. Are there any women out there who aren’t selling themselves?
Aren’t I? How many times have I lain unwillingly beneath a man, like a pile of merchandise?’ (p.224)
‘When his brother brought him back from Chinatown, Chris tried to be as childish as possible, to take cover in childhood from a conscience that was already growing up.
Chris now thought to himself, being a child is so safe. Anything a child does wrong, no matter how terrible, is just a mistake, a prank that went too far. A child has a whole lifetime ahead of him in which to change, plenty of chances for a fresh start. No matter what crimes a child commits, the length of the future ahead of him allows them to just be dismissed as mistakes. A child can do anything and then step back, back into childhood again.
Adults brag about the mistakes of their youth. They’ll even admit with indulgent smiles their illicit loves or acts of theft. Even if they continue to do these things as adults, they have only enough courage to cover the selves of their youth.’ (p.230)
‘Who could believe there was enough hatred in the world to engulf anyone, to draw anyone into a crowd that was driven solely by its own momentum? Each person became a mindless body, just hands and feet realising the will of the crowd. None could escape the control the crowd had over him.
Fifteen-year-old Chris hadn’t. And so he’d just done what everyone else was doing to her.’ (p.231)
A book full of cross-cultural and cross-gender difference; how these differences impact both our temperament, decisions and attitudes. The author plays into racial stereotypes to create a main character that from the offset appears passive and indifferent to the trauma surrounding her life. Although some may find this frustrating, I think it reflects a hard truth; that most will do anything to survive. Explores love and hate and how they interact, and I like to think it explores elements of toxic masculinity and how men feel threatened by promiscuous women. The translation was great, felt it did this book justice, and I was engaged the entire way through. I will have to find more of her books to read now.
Hatred is amazing. It makes people self-righteous; it drives them with a sense of mission. I’m not talking about revenge; that’s too simple. People are born with a higher form of hatred, so immense it doesn’t even need a target. Like love so vast no object is necessary. This kind of hatred can lie dormant for years, like a swell of darkness, and people are never even conscious of it. But once the darkness is breached, all rationality drowns and the things people do out of hatred serve only the purpose of fulfilling an overwhelming emotional need. Burning, smashing, killing, rape – they’re all just channels. It doesn’t even matter what started it, because people quickly become intoxicated by the sheer spectacle of destruction. Like love in the earth-shattering stage, hatred by this point feeds on itself, simply for its own sake. The pleasure of watching some person or thing destroyed by one’s own hand is virtually orgasmic.’ (p.204-5)
‘What does it mean, anyway, to sell oneself? People think you sold yourself. But what about all these women around me? Times have changed. Look at all these women setting prices for themselves: a house, a car, an income of so many thousands per year. Okay, it’s a deal. They just call it something else: marriage. Wives sell themselves nightly, their bodies mute and aloof as merchandise. In return they get three meals a day and closets and drawers full of clothes and jewellery. And this isn’t the only way it’s done. Some sell out of power, others for fame. Some sell themselves for a city residence permit in China or a green card in the U.S. Are there any women out there who aren’t selling themselves?
Aren’t I? How many times have I lain unwillingly beneath a man, like a pile of merchandise?’ (p.224)
‘When his brother brought him back from Chinatown, Chris tried to be as childish as possible, to take cover in childhood from a conscience that was already growing up.
Chris now thought to himself, being a child is so safe. Anything a child does wrong, no matter how terrible, is just a mistake, a prank that went too far. A child has a whole lifetime ahead of him in which to change, plenty of chances for a fresh start. No matter what crimes a child commits, the length of the future ahead of him allows them to just be dismissed as mistakes. A child can do anything and then step back, back into childhood again.
Adults brag about the mistakes of their youth. They’ll even admit with indulgent smiles their illicit loves or acts of theft. Even if they continue to do these things as adults, they have only enough courage to cover the selves of their youth.’ (p.230)
‘Who could believe there was enough hatred in the world to engulf anyone, to draw anyone into a crowd that was driven solely by its own momentum? Each person became a mindless body, just hands and feet realising the will of the crowd. None could escape the control the crowd had over him.
Fifteen-year-old Chris hadn’t. And so he’d just done what everyone else was doing to her.’ (p.231)
A book full of cross-cultural and cross-gender difference; how these differences impact both our temperament, decisions and attitudes. The author plays into racial stereotypes to create a main character that from the offset appears passive and indifferent to the trauma surrounding her life. Although some may find this frustrating, I think it reflects a hard truth; that most will do anything to survive. Explores love and hate and how they interact, and I like to think it explores elements of toxic masculinity and how men feel threatened by promiscuous women. The translation was great, felt it did this book justice, and I was engaged the entire way through. I will have to find more of her books to read now.
October 29, 2009
parts of the beauty of this book is its simplicity yet complexity. some passages never fail to go directly to my core, recalling a history that is too often forgotten and too easily ignored.
September 7, 2016
Fusang, the name of the central female figure in Geling Yan’s most celebrated novel, The Lost Daughter of Happiness, also happens to be the name of the land in western North America where the Chinese are reported to have landed long before Columbus. Is there a correlation? Given the myriad strands of social commentary, history, and east-meets-west romanticism that underlie the simple love tale in this marvelous book, I like to think so.
Centered around three main characters, Fusang, a young American boy named Chris, and the menacing pimp Da Yong, the story is interspersed with a one-sided conversation between the author and Fusang. Representing we the audience and thus blinded and frustrated by our own modern viewpoints, the author tries to sort through the mythology and get to the truth behind the veil.
This novel is at various times, a hard look in the mirror of our frightening, racist, and ignorant past, and a soft focused reflection on the timeless fascination we have for those who are not like us. For many Americans, Fusang must come across as a naïve perhaps even mentally disabled person. How else to explain the detached bemusement she maintains through her horrible life as a prostitute? Hers is not some heroic tale tainted by modern feminism nor is it a trite cultural tragedy. Rather, it falls into the realm of truth that we often find hard to swallow. That such simple, innocent, and almost pathetic people survive, find joy and love in their lives, and maintain their dignity is a jarring paradox for many. We demand that our heroes and heroines be strong, dominating, and iconoclastic, not passive, obedient, and conventional, thus Fusang might easily be written off as merely stupid, or worse, a tragic victim of misogynistic cultural norms. Herein, I believe Yan accomplishes the difficult task of making such an otherwise pitiful character not only genuine, but also smart and admirable.
There is much in this easily read novel that shines a light on racism, the clash of cultures, objectification, and the powerful attraction of the forbidden. It is a provocative story, brilliantly written in a cascading, dreamy prose. I’ve read a few of Geling Yan’s books and this is her most gorgeous and compelling.
Centered around three main characters, Fusang, a young American boy named Chris, and the menacing pimp Da Yong, the story is interspersed with a one-sided conversation between the author and Fusang. Representing we the audience and thus blinded and frustrated by our own modern viewpoints, the author tries to sort through the mythology and get to the truth behind the veil.
This novel is at various times, a hard look in the mirror of our frightening, racist, and ignorant past, and a soft focused reflection on the timeless fascination we have for those who are not like us. For many Americans, Fusang must come across as a naïve perhaps even mentally disabled person. How else to explain the detached bemusement she maintains through her horrible life as a prostitute? Hers is not some heroic tale tainted by modern feminism nor is it a trite cultural tragedy. Rather, it falls into the realm of truth that we often find hard to swallow. That such simple, innocent, and almost pathetic people survive, find joy and love in their lives, and maintain their dignity is a jarring paradox for many. We demand that our heroes and heroines be strong, dominating, and iconoclastic, not passive, obedient, and conventional, thus Fusang might easily be written off as merely stupid, or worse, a tragic victim of misogynistic cultural norms. Herein, I believe Yan accomplishes the difficult task of making such an otherwise pitiful character not only genuine, but also smart and admirable.
There is much in this easily read novel that shines a light on racism, the clash of cultures, objectification, and the powerful attraction of the forbidden. It is a provocative story, brilliantly written in a cascading, dreamy prose. I’ve read a few of Geling Yan’s books and this is her most gorgeous and compelling.
March 18, 2012
The end of this story made me shed a tear...or two. It reminded me a little of a beautiful Chinese film, resigned, restrained and fateful. But up to the last few pages I was remarkably impressed with the way Geling Yan was able to create a fine tuned perspective between East and West, man and woman, in a brutal and "barbarically civilized" time without being sentimental or cloying. She saved the emotion for the end, or the no ending. I greatly enjoyed "The Banquet Bug" however when I read the back of the paperback edition of "The Lost Daughter of Happiness" I wasn't tempted to read it because of the description and newspaper review which were presented to entice the buyer. But since my husband wanted to read another book by this author I bought him a copy. And then I read it, too curious not to pick it up. I believe it is one of the best books I have ever read about San Francisco. There are many passages that shifted to the category of my "favorite one" until the next one came along and I felt treated to the Chinese novel format (no apostrophes). I would greatly like to meet Geling Yan, or hear her speak publicly.
August 6, 2013
In the beginning of the book I couldn't believe I was reading a "sensual' story about a 19th century Chinese woman who was sold into prostitution and lusted after by a 12 year-old white boy. I thought it was racist, patriarchal bullshit. I was aghast that Amy Tan sang the author's praises. Fortunately the story is much more interesting and complex than initial impressions. The best part is the structure of the novel. The narrator is a contemporary writer who researches and writes the story of a famed Chinese prostitute, Fusang. She interacts with the characters as if she were a character in the book. Unlike most characters, this narrator is almost omniscient and offers insight to the main character and modern critiques of the historical and social context of the time period. She jumps in and out of the story helping the reader better understand the storyline. I'm glad I didn't bail on this book following my initial disgust. I found this novel more gripping as I went along.
May 12, 2007
This started off pretty well, I thought, with the writer speaking directly to her subject (a turn-of-the-century Chinese prostitute in San Francisco). Bold post-modernish device, promising setting. But then she gets more and more heavy-handed, and after a while the studiedly spare prose really starts to feel like it's trying way too hard for *something* (one is never quite sure what, alas). And then it all goes *really* bad when the writer begins to load her politics (mostly feelings about immigration & the place of Asian immigrants in the US *today*) onto a tale that just can't bear that weight.
January 26, 2016
The Lost Daughter of Happiness is a remarkable novel, a love story unlike any I've read. It unfolds in alternating points of view. Writing in the second person, as if she were speaking to Fusang, looking back at Fusang's life from the present day, the narrator's language is factual, unemotional, sometimes bordering on contemptuous: You are a prostitute, she says, brought to California from China, one who didn't die during the long voyage, who didn't succumb to disease or beatings after being sold into slavery. "I certainly won't let people confuse you with any of the other three thousand whores from China." Occasionally the narrator quotes histories of the California Gold Rush from which she draws her account of Fusang. Occasionally she tells Fusang tidbits about her own life as a recent Chinese immigrant, about her own perplexity understanding the ways of white people, including her husband.
In this new novel, set in the 1870s, she has borrowed a figure from history, Fusang, the most famous prostitute in San Francisco, and has imagined an unusual lover for her, a 12 year old white boy named Chris.
Approaching the issue of anti-Chinese racism through these two characters, she tells a tale of slavery, rape and murder, and, ostensibly, love. I say ostensibly because Chris and Fusang remain completely opaque throughout the novel; we can never comprehend their motivations or thought processes.
In this new novel, set in the 1870s, she has borrowed a figure from history, Fusang, the most famous prostitute in San Francisco, and has imagined an unusual lover for her, a 12 year old white boy named Chris.
Approaching the issue of anti-Chinese racism through these two characters, she tells a tale of slavery, rape and murder, and, ostensibly, love. I say ostensibly because Chris and Fusang remain completely opaque throughout the novel; we can never comprehend their motivations or thought processes.
December 24, 2009
Book starts out poetic and beautiful. The historic element is interesting, but somewhere along the line both the writer and the narrator, ostensibly the writer, lose their way. It is hard to make a story sensual that is also so overtly political and is based on the idea of female sexual slavery and prostitution. It works for a time, but the continued tone starts to wear thin, as the narrators observances gradually shift into diatribes -- ones that are all too obvious, and therefore unnecessary. The narrator herself is not very interesting, so her interruptions to the narrative begin to read as just that. Repetition of imagery and narrative elements begins to get tedious. There is lovely symmetry in the story and the characters and it is a good read, but overall, it is unsatisfying on some levels. Fusang's character is forced into becoming a representative cypher by the author - despite the fact that her actions and her manner as portrayed do add up to an intelligible personality. Da Yong never seems to be given a voice in the last third of the novel, which is also unfortunate, as he is the most interesting character in the book. Overall worth the read - it is a quick one, but there is a strong feeling a better editor could have made this a much more significant and entertaining book.
December 11, 2012
I was given this book by a friend who read it but didn't care for it so she offered it to me. At first I wasn't sure as I'm not terribly keen on modern Chinese literature (the little I've read) but saw the author was the same woman who wrote "xiu xiu the sent down girl" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115005/ which is one of my favourite films terribly disturbing and sad. So I became curious. I loved this story. The main character Fusang was a perfect embodiment of everything Laozi suggested. She was weak, yielding, unintelligent and untouchable. The book took a stark look at the history of racism against Chinese immigrants in the 19th century and with the new 5th wave. The author spent part of the book carrying out a one sided dialogue with the main character that I found rather touching. (If a little confusing at first). The style reminded me a lot of the early 20th century Chinese writers who littered their prose with descriptions of physical unpleasantness. Even translated it came across beautifully. I shall have to add this to my list of books to read in Chinese when I'm able. (Hopefully in a year or so). In the meantime I've added her other books translated into English books to my amazon wishlist. I'm very glad to have discovered this author.
October 17, 2007
It is offensive to be the particle of a nation, who was an object for discrimination for hundreds of years, unless you are really powerful. Ceiling Young is a powerful Chinese, who could analyze and judge her own nation from different perspectives with insider and outsider’s view points. Her writing style is very interesting, talking to the hero from different time; seems like she reflects her own feeling experienced while writing this novel. In general, I got the feeling that the author, through her novel, explodes her own feelings and thoughts about Chinese immigrants in US and the people, who discriminate them and main stories of the novel is just background to this.
April 14, 2012
This book was a let down for me.
I saw it on here as a book to read, and ordered it from my local library....that seemed to be the best part of the tale.
I did not like the narration of the book, as the tale was being told, the narrator would break in and begin speaking to Fusang.
Characters were flat, and they all seemed to lack the general capacity to have enough sense to know how they "felt" or were not able to recognize how they felt towards each other, (especially Chris and Fusang), in this story.
I liked the basic premise of the book, and thought it could have been better written. It was a fast read, but I am glad it is over.
I saw it on here as a book to read, and ordered it from my local library....that seemed to be the best part of the tale.
I did not like the narration of the book, as the tale was being told, the narrator would break in and begin speaking to Fusang.
Characters were flat, and they all seemed to lack the general capacity to have enough sense to know how they "felt" or were not able to recognize how they felt towards each other, (especially Chris and Fusang), in this story.
I liked the basic premise of the book, and thought it could have been better written. It was a fast read, but I am glad it is over.
February 18, 2008
This is an intense book about a Chinese prostitute named Fusang. She is kidnapped from her village in China then shipped off to San Francisco and sold to a brothel. There are two central male characters as well. Chris, a white boy who becomes obessesed with Fusang but is never able to overcome the racial divide, and Da Yong, a Chinese criminal who wants to own Fusang but then his overcome with his emotions after Fusang is gang raped by white men.
This books explores racial tension in a context I hadn't seen before. Fusang is a strong and interesting woman.
This books explores racial tension in a context I hadn't seen before. Fusang is a strong and interesting woman.
January 4, 2009
Narrated in a haunting voice that mulls over painful truths of the past, this is an unflinching, erotic tale of forbidden love in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Fusang is a Chinese girl who is shanghaied from her village and brought to San Francisco, where she enters a seedy underworld. This book revealed to me a part of American history, which I had been unaware of. This book truly brought to life the often-horrific experiences of 19th Century Chinese immigrants to America. I also found the love/ lust story between Fusang and a German-American captivating.
July 7, 2011
Strange but thoughtful book about a Chinese prostitute named Fusang (based on a true story) and her complex life as a woman in violent, chaotic Gold-Rush era San Francisco. Fusang is caught between her desire for a white teenager named Chris and a malevolent Chinese man who may or may not be her husband Da Yong. The thing that drove me CRAZY through the entire book was the question: WHY doesn’t she try to escape? I felt like Fusang almost seemed kind of lazy. Also, the narrator kept interrupting with her weird self-dialogue.
April 1, 2014
I got a little over 100 pages into this book and still could not get into it. The main character was not likable and the writing style randomly switched back and forth between third to second person. The description on the back of the book made it seem as though Fusang and Chris are in love, but in actuality Chris is the only one in love. Fusang has no emotions whatsoever about anything at all, which makes it very hard to get emotionally invested in the story yourself. The plot was incredibly slow moving and having no chapters made this short book even more of a slog.
July 25, 2016
I’m not sure how to describe this beautiful novel. On one level, it is a mysterious love story between a Chinese prostitute, Fusang, in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1860’s and 1870’s and a white boy of German heritage, Chris. On another level it is an exploration of a Chinese immigrant woman at the beginning of the 21st century attempting to research Fusang as a way of understanding the history of Chinese people in San Francisco, as well as the relationship between Chinese and white people. Please see my complete review at: http://herstorynovels.com/lost-daught...
October 28, 2013
Although I enjoyed this novel and found the setting and time period interesting, it was also a frustrating novel since the author intentionally keeps the reader distant from the main protagonists throughout so you don't feel as though you ever get beneath their skin. This gives it a mythic quality and by the end of the novel Fusang is still a mystery - a series of impressions rather than a real person.
April 17, 2014
Another strong work by this writer. This one is a little slippery, wandering in between genres. It's part historical fiction, part history, part essay. It succeeds in defying boundaries in much the same way the Chinese prostitute protagonist defies being known by the writer and the reader and her clients. In many ways this is a meditation on Orientalism - its erotic foundations, and the racism that is the underbelly of the exotic attraction.
July 29, 2010
A heavy handed waste of time. I was very disappointed after having high hopes for what could have been a great piece of historical fiction regarding an era that we don't really hear much about. Instead, it seemed as if the author was always reaching further than she was able, and provided a weak protagonist to drive the narrative. I would not recommend this, even for a quick read.
December 3, 2012
Absolutely brilliant - from the style of narration, to the topics covered, this was an unputdownable novel. I was caught up in the stories of Fusang and Chris, enthralled by the depiction of San Francisco in the 1860s and wondered at the descriptions of racial tension on both sides. I thoroughly recommend reading this.
February 28, 2009
I usually love books about Chinese history but this one was just odd. Written in an odd tense and long flowery language that was tedious at times, it did not capture my interest. At least it went fast.
August 9, 2010
San Francisco's Chinatown, mid 1800's, young Chinese prostitutes... don't waste your time. The story could have been a good one, but I didn't care for the author's style of cutting in to give a modern day first person account that related to the story.
March 20, 2011
It was so depressing it was awesome! Whenever I feel overwhelmed with my problems, I think about strong women in the past and see how much they have overcome, and I get strength from it. This is one of those books. Movie?
April 22, 2012
This book started at a low tension, but it kept getting better towards the end while sucking you into its trap that ends at the last page with you still wanting for more.
There is a female and two male protagonists. What could be better?
There is a female and two male protagonists. What could be better?
May 26, 2015
Powerful book. I had a hard time getting into the story, but it did get easier to read, in one sense, as you get drawn into the story. It is very shocking to learn about the Chinese slave trade in San Francisco (gold rush era.) There is a lot of violence in this story, so beware.
November 28, 2016
Pretty slow book. It was confusing to read because of the narrators point of view. It seemed like a good story I just wish it was easier to follow. I likes how Fusang's thoughts were not clearly expressed in the book, it made the character seem secretive.
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