Old Town

by Lin Zhe, George A. Fowler (Translator)

Lin Zhe, one of China’s most prolific writers, paints an unforgettable picture of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China’s most recent century. Her narrative ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance and the brutal “struggle” sessions of the Cultural Revolution. But it always returns to this family’s home in Old Town, that archetypical, old-fashioned, and vanishing place steeped in the traditions of South China. Ms. Lin examines the inner strength that sustains people’s lives in their darkest hours, when religious and political faith falter. And yet, a vein of irony and droll humor runs through this powerful story. Lin Zhe’s novel may be understood as a love story, memoir, history, or allegory. For the non-Chinese reader it provides a rare and moving insight into Chinese lives in a century of fearsome upheaval. This book was originally published under the title Riddles of Belief…And Love―A Story.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, China, Asia, Literary Fiction, Asian Literature, Ebooks

600 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2010

About the author

Lin Zhe (pen name of Zhang Yonghong) was born in 1956 of Han Chinese parents then serving in the People's Liberation Army in Kashi (Kashgar), a small frontier city in what is now Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. After graduating from the Chinese Language and Literature Department of Fudan University in 1980, she worked as a reporter and editor for Women of China Magazine in Beijing. She has written fourteen novels that focus on women's issues relating to marriage and personal and family life, as well as three TV drama series. Photo by Time Out Beijing.

Reviews

[William Ramsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It's a good old-fashioned multi-generational family saga that takes place in China. It was a huge best seller in China and has been made into an even more popular TV series. It covers the years from the 1930s to the present. Obviously a lot has happened in those years in China. The history is told through everyday lives of the main characters. The narrator is a very modern Chinese business woman. The story infolds as she thinks back on the city she came from, Old Town, and recounts her grandfather's life. Ninth Brother (names follow the Chinese way) becomes a Christian early on and holds to his faith through all the tribulations that follow. Ninth Brother was a good, simple man and it is this simplicity that the narrator, who lives a thoroughly hectic modern life seems to think China has lost. I thought the book was remarkable, too, in its portrayal of the cultural upheavals of the Mao years. It often criticizes the period and the various governments while at the same time maintaining that Communism has been good for China. Well worth a read.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought there was too many gratuitous references to being Christian. It was a turn off for me.

[theresa Younce · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know about 20 and 21 century in China, this is the book. It is 500 pages and takes some research to follow it, but worth every word. Lin Zhe is author name and real name is Zhang Younghong. This is the story of a family in China, beginning with the main character, Ninth Brother, born in late 1800's and who is thrown away by the family as his parents were not available. He was found and taken into their home by Christian missionaries and the book follows him and his family until his death in mid 20th century. It is full of all kinds of people beautifully drawn out by character and very much affected by the amazing changes in China in his lifetime. You will need a map of China as you read and Timeline of China's Modern History. One thing that makes this book unusual is the affect of Christianity on this family. The characters are well drawn - you will never forget Ninth Brother and his wife Third sister. You will be convinced that Human Beings are at the bottom all alike. You will sometimes feel you are on a merry-go-round that you get on and get off as the changes in the government causes unbelieveable changes in every life within a few months over and over. I plan to read it again - THAT'S HOW GOOD!

[Dava Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a looooong time to read this book - months, even. It is unusual for a book to take more than a couple of weeks for me to finish. It took longer than normal for lots of reasons: it's a long book, I'm not familiar with Chinese history and culture, I felt ambivalent about the characters at times, it almost feels infused with sadness, and I had less reading time than usual.

Most of the time I like stories that cover several generations as this one does. I also usually enjoy historical fiction. There are lots of reasons to love this book.

One thing bugged me throughout, though. The story is told in the voice of a woman who was raised by her grandparents. She describes her grandparents' childhoods, and even a little of the history of THEIR parents lives. Her story is full of detail. I found it a little distracting, thinking about how few people really know that much about their family history.

For instance, the narrator describes thoughts, feelings, and actions of her grandfather when he was a child. Even if you pay complete attention to your family's stories, it is unlikely you will know exactly what your grandfather thought when he was 7, 12, or even 25 - and there was that level of descriptive detail for each member of the family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides.

Don't get me wrong, the level of detail and description makes for great reading, but the fact it is told in the voice of a person who probably wouldn't know those things planted a seed of doubt in my mind that was distracting. The author provided a plausible scenario - one of the narrator's great aunts told what everyone called "fantastic" stories about the family throughout her life, that were embroidered and embellished.

It would have helped to know more about Chinese history than I do. One of the things that really interested me was reading about the period known in the US as the Great Depression in China, and reading about what happened there during World War II. If you are not from China, and/or you don't know much of anything about Chinese history, this book is very interesting from a historical perspective.

There seems to be a heavy Christian element - the main characters, the grandparents are Christian in a time and place that Christianity is unusual - and I kept worrying that it would end up being a sort of very long "alter call." But it wasn't, and I was glad. If it had been, the story would have been less real-feeling. Besides, I have ever disliked moral directives masquerading as novels.

Usually, when I finish a book, it stays on my mind for a while. I think one of the reasons it took so long to read this one was that I needed time to digest it as I read it. It's certainly not a story everyone would enjoy, but for those interested in world history, Chinese culture, or generational tales, it's a good book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some books you can't put down after you start them; this one I couldn't pick up. I thought I would like this book before I began reading, and I really, really tried. I read 67% of it (according to my Kindle), and as I fell asleep reading last night I realized that I just didn't care what happened anymore...the pace was unbearably slow, and there was so much minutae covered. And so, though I almost never do this, I quit the book. Therefore to be fair, my two-star rating applies only to the two-thirds that I read...the remaining third might be fantastic. I will never know, and I'm okay with that.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason me and this book just didn't gel. I'm not sure why, as I love books to do with China. It jumped around to much and the characters seemed very aloof. Such a shame as I was looking forward to this.

[J Lipoti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had friends describe their lives during the Cultural Revolution in China, and was impressed with their indomitable spirit, but I couldn't really understand the rebellion. What was the meaning of "struggle?" While this book is a work of fiction, it put Chinese history into an understandable context. It did so by chronicling the lives of an "ordinary" family. A doctor, revered by his patients for his accurate diagnoses and treatment, his care in treating mental health as well as physical, put him light years ahead of the medical establishment. However, this made him a member of the intellectual elite. Yet, at the same time, he was not well-off, because he treated patients regardless of their ability to pay, which was a communist attitude well before communism was popular. He didn't regard it as communist, but as Christian. The book includes the struggle to incorporate religion in life. I enjoyed reading this book, but more than enjoyment, I believe this book led me to a deeper understanding of China.

[Patrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me so long to read! I liked the historical fiction aspect and learning more about the history of China in the 20th century, told through the experiences of an ordinary family. It's a big family with lots of side stories and several generations covered. I think because it's a translation from the original Chinese, it just didn't always flow well and some of the text felt awkward. Many sections could be really slow and I found myself losing interest. I liked best when the story went back to Second Sister and Ninth Brother, they were the best characters by far. Worth it to learn more about a period and culture I was quite uninformed on, but was slow going.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

In interesting perspective on China from WWII through the 1900s. This is a long book about the history of two families from Old Town as the narrator recalls numerous events while on a train from Beijing to Old Town with a friend from the States. The stories are not told in chronological order but as they are recalled. Feelings expressed by the narrator about China and the Cultural Revolution may not be as harsh as we would expect but do appear to be quite honest.

[Michael Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

GoodRead

An interesting read. Normally, I don't read this boot genre of books. I'm not going to say that the I couldn't put the book down but I did have the need to finish it if you know what I mean.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in China and spans three generations of a family and the village they live in before, during, and after china’s conversion to communism. It’s a bit long, longer than I think it should be but it’s good. Good character development, well written. It’s amazing how traditional the country is in the small villages and how much a rumor can ruin a family, how one person’s beliefs can ruin a family. So again, it’s a very long book but it’s a good story. I’m glad I stuck it out.

[L.T. Fawkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lin Zhe $4.99 on Kindle **** This is a looong but fascinating book spanning three plus generations of several families living in a small town in southern China.

I read all the reviews of this book on Amazon (41, at the time) hoping to find at least one written by someone of Chinese heritage (there weren't any) because I wondered if the experiences of these families reflect universal Chinese truths.

Reading this book, I was struck by two main things. 1) How several wars and then numerous devastating and ugly purges affected this educated but somewhat isolated population, who seemed to be largely ignorant of the causes of the events that impacted their lives so dramatically, and 2) The basic and dramatic difference I sensed (but can't articulate) between the reactions and personalities of the Chinese characters in the book as opposed to Americans I've known all my life.

Anyone who's curious about the Chinese people and culture ought to read this book.

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another multigenerational sage of which I am so fond, this one is set in southern China during the cultural revolution and focuses on three generations. The grandparents who are extremely traditional and educated products of the era and face the effects of communism on their lives in rural China. the book follows the granddaughter of this family and flashes back to that time in China post WW II when all was in chaos.
it's a great source of historical information, I believe, of the time in in China from dynasty through the beginnings of communism to modern day China and gives the reader a look at the myriad of differences in the people of that huge country. What I liked most was the first generation...and who I liked least was the narrator. I haven't read many books about China during that time, or actually during any time, so I felt I got a good glimpse of its diversity.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Multi-generational family saga of China from before the revolution to the present day. Lovely characters I came to care about. Story was sometimes confusing with characters introduced at the beginning, then not mentioned again until near the end so that I had to do some searching to figure out who they were. The narrator tends to jump around a bit chronologically, describing a character's death and the immediate outcome and then, in the next paragraph, moving back in time so that character is among the living again. Reading about subsequent waves of Chinese revolution, reform, movements, and re-education, and the cold cruelty with which the Chinese people were treated by their own leaders during these events was dismaying.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book more than 3 stars, because at times the imagery of China over the course of the 20th century, and the family history that is portrayed is very well done. However, it just seemed to drag on at times, and it would jump around from unrelated scenes and time period with seemingly little rhyme or reason. But, if one manages to trudge through these issues, they will be rewarded with a book that provides a good glimpse into Chinese history and culture, familial obligations, as well as a story of how an individual can come to view their childhood home in a different light, and how to truly come to peace with who one is as a person requires accepting where one comes from.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book I really enjoyed and parts that just dragged. I really enjoyed the history parts of it and hearing about Ninth Brother and Second Sister. I didn't like the modern story line of the woman who was telling the Guo/Lin family history. I know it was a translation so it is difficult to make it read well and keep the original meaning, but the language was also overly descriptive at times. (from what I've observed from living in Beijing, Chinese is just a more descriptive language, or at least they value flowery language more than I do) Overall, I think it could have been edited a bit, the story did start to get long, but if you can get through the boring parts it is a good, interesting book about a very important time in China's history.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know whether to blame the author or the translator for this big dull dud. I had the impression that Chinese was an expressive language given to poetry and flights of fancy, so how is it that the word "really" shows up so often in the English translation?

Beautiful language can sometimes save an uninspiring story (see The Scar, also a wonderful example of how to translate into English and keep the poetry), but I'm not sure a good story can save dreadful writing. In this case, I found the modern-day narrator so unlikeable and offputting I didn't stick around very long to find out.

[BethEmily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even being nearly 700 pages, this book seems incomplete. Maybe it's the translation, maybe it's the structure (time jumping is so hard to execute well), or maybe the author's goal was to leave the modern story feeling incomplete to portray the continual social and cultural evolution of China. Whatever it was, I finished feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

There were vignettes I loved; long passages that left me bored; memorably developed secondary characters; and a cast of characters that required, in my opinion, a front-plate or appendix with family trees to keep them straight.

All in all, the meandering and obfuscating structure is somewhat redeemed by moments that evoke just how tumultuous, confusing, aspiring, and restricting modern China's development has been.

[Gwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long but interesting narrative of a fictional family and their journey through the history of 20th century China. The author's note commented on her desire to tell a story about Christianity during this era and it was a constant throughout the story. I expected that at some point, the family that became good Communists would meet with the loss of their faith at the hands of their party. They did struggle, as most Christians do, but the issue of religion in a Communist society never appeared. Still, a long but interesting read, one that helps to unlock some of the struggles and changes in a county little known to outsiders until recent years.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came prepared to enjoy this one: multi-generational stories whose characters are pulled along in the wake of great historical events always attract me. Since this is an era and culture of which I only have a passing knowledge --- well, that was icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, I found Old Town to be a bit of a slog. It seemed disjointed, and, in the cases where the narrator is telling her own story, even inarticulate. Maybe that was intentional.

What made it worthwhile though, was the depiction of Ninth Son, which was almost mystical, and his relationship with Second Sister, who is so not mystical.

[Alana Bookapillar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book and I am an avid reader of all things Chinese. In all fairness it is not a horribly written book, which is why I gave it three stars instead of two. It is just very boring and too long. I could not connect with the characters and life is too short to wade through a book I was not enjoying. I'm guessing that a lot of the boredom factor is due to a poor translation. There are some who will enjoy the historical aspects enough to outweigh the tediousness of the writing, as for me I've read a lot of history in regards to China that was presented much better, although it could have improved somewhere down the line. To me it wasn't worth the effort to find out.

[Barbara Curry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad When I Finished It

Whew. Well, this is a multi-generational saga about a Chinese family over several generations — and the type of historical novel that I generally love. But not this one. Not only does the author bounce around between generations many times even within the same chapter, because there are almost no names (just ‘second sister’, ‘third sister’, ‘ninth brother’, etc) it is VERY confusing. The only thing I actually liked was how much God and Jesus was a part of the everyday lives of several of the main characters. A nice touch. However, I still wouldn’t recommend.

[Eclectic Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Increased my understanding

For me, this was more a peek into another culture and a time in history about which I had only passing knowledge. Having been to China several times recently, I appreciate the Chinese "voice" that comes through the translation. I felt I was listening to the intimate story of one of my many Chinese colleagues and friends. To my Western mind, the analogies are strange and the expression of emotion is not at all what we Westerners expect. Old Town gave me a feel for a very different part of the world and what is revealed about that time of transition and the uniqueness of the Chinese people will live with me forever.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the comments about this book I wonder if something has been lost in the translation from Chinese to English. I personally found it a 'good read' and a fascinating insight into Chinese society. Family members being referred to as 'ninth brother' or 'second sister' did help in remembering each individual in a large cast of characters. It does ramble somewhat and as an avid reader who can devour a book from start to finish in a couple of days, this one did take a little longer. Fortunately I persevered and read the story to the end.

[Daryl Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost in Translation.

I actually loved this story. The characters are compelling and the turbulent history of China is a fascinating read. I did struggle though with who was who. Many of the characters had similar or the same names or were only referred to by their birth order. The translation left me a bit confused at times. Still, the book is a sensitive and careful look at a time and place filled with political turbulence and heavy cultural traditions. Definitely worth reading.

[Nadin Boegelsack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, the book is long and at times difficult to read, but I would attribute this to the translation. Since I started looking into Chinese myself, though, I tip my hat to the effort as it is by no means an easy task.
All in all, I think the storyline itself and the non-linear storytelling made up for the dragging bits. Personally, I have gained a lot of insight into the current Chinese culture and am looking forward to discuss some points with my colleagues and friends there on my next trip. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Amanda (musicalpoem) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t remember the last time I didn’t finish a book. I really hate doing that; I try to finish reading a book always because otherwise I feel like I’ve wasted time on the part of the book I have already read. But OLD TOWN by Lin Zhe broke me. I’m not sure if it was the story or the translation, but the pacing of this book was godawful and I could really have done away with the religious references. Maybe I’ll pick this up and give it another go at some point in the future, but I can’t see that happening while I have a lot of anticipated good books on my to read list.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read because it is written by a Chinese author, and the style is hard for a westerner to follow at times. Just the names alone were hard to figure out, since each character had a multitude of names (I finally had to make a list to keep up!)

It took me quite a while to finish as I had to reread some sections. Plus, I spent a lot of time on the internet looking up China's history so that I could better understand what the author was talking about.

It is a fascinating look at the life of a regular family throughout times of major changes. I recommend it!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read this book was! It traced the Lin & Guo families in China through three generations (20th century) and many political upheavals. Originally written in Chinese, the translation was charming because of the quirkiness in English. The translator did a good job of explaining cultural references and differences for Western readers. It was reminiscent of Pearl S. Buck with the strong, resilient women in the story. It was a good insight to Chinese culture and history.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Amazon reviews raved, and others called it a slow slog. I agree with both. I have been dragging though this book on my Kindle for a month. It covers 3 generations of a Chinese family from early 20th century to current day, and bops back and forth in time. Every once in a while when referring to past eras, it picks up and I can't put it down. Then it changes to the modern day, and I can hardly wade through it. The paper copy has 700+ pages, so it is a long one.