Ling Zhang

What a magical book. Told through the memories of 3 men who have reunited in the afterlife where they had agreed to meet after death decades before, Ling lets each of them explore the history and culture of 20th century China and the US through their shared love of the same woman - a woman they each call by a different name. She is the strongest of them all, perhaps representing what each of them lacks, and carries the story forward most powerfully.

In 1976, a 7.6-scale earthquake rocked the region around Tangshan, China. Hundreds of thousands died, and hundreds of thousands more struggled for survival after houses, essential services, and bridges were leveled. Thirty years later, one survivor Xiaodeng is an acclaimed writer in Toronto, Canada, but is still haunted by the events of that day, when she was just a child. She tries to piece together her personal life, now falling apart. In reconstructing her life by reliving its historical show more course, she rediscovers herself and reconnects with her Chinese roots.

Author Zhang Ling’s mastery of language and storytelling is profound. She relates this story in non-linear fashion, yet each piece seems well-connected with the prior piece and never awkward. She enmeshes the reader with the complex story of this one family, which comes to involve multiple family units. She draws out the protagonist’s deep-seated emotional wounds that, even decades later, still haven’t healed into livable scars. Ling doesn’t merely expose these hurts, however, by showing them the light of day; she brings the characters – and empathetic readers – towards a healthier emotional place in the end.

The original Chinese version of this tale was adapted into an award-winning movie in China. Although Zhang Ling has tried her hand at writing in the English language more recently, it was left to Shelly Bryant to translate this book for the English-speaking world. The translations is fluid and clear. Ling is clearly comfortable with both Canadian and Chinese cultures and moves readers seamlessly across both settings. She reminds us that despite our differences, all too amplified by politicians and journalists, our common humanity unites us in the most important ways.

Lovers of literary fiction will love this complicated, ornate story whose pieces form a beautiful whole. Many English speakers who appreciate Chinese culture will also fancy this tale. The Chinese community in Toronto, large in number and featured in this book, will especially relate to this book’s marriage of their two rich heritages. I find all of Zhang Ling’s writings evoke sentiments deep in my heart, and Aftershock is no exception. It draws on many foundational human themes in an artful way that bring me to a therapeutic place. show less

Where Waters Meet is Zhang Ling's second novel to be translated into English. It follows A Single Swallow. It is a heartwrenching story about a daughter and her journey to discovering the truth about her mother's life after her death.

The publisher's summary:

There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when Phoenix got married, Rain, who followed her from China to Toronto, came to share Phoenix’s life. Now at the age of eighty-three, show more Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation.

Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase—a memory box Rain had brought from home. Inside, Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her auntie Mei tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. What at first seems like a daughter’s quest to uncover a mother’s secrets becomes a startling journey of self-discovery.

Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel is a tale of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets we keep and those we share, and the driving forces it takes to survive.

I loved this story enough to immediately reread it after finishing it. There is alot of nuance to the story and I wasn't sure whether I picked them all up during the first read. It's such a lovely story which also made me want to read it again. It reminded me of last year's Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu.

Women are the main characters in the book. Phoenix Yuan-Whyller is the narrator. She took care of her mother Rain, born Chunyu, during her entire life including during her marriage to George Whyller. Rain’s sister Mei is another strong character. Rain and Mei's mother is also featured in a few chapters and the reader gets the sense that strength runs in the women of the family. They overcome everything. It was interesting that they chose weak men as husbands. For Rain and Phoenix it was a matter of wanting to take care of someone. Mei is still a mystery to me as she was to both her sister and her niece.

The family originated in China. Rain and Mei lived through three wars there: WWII, the Japanese War and the Civil War between the nationalists and the communists. They suffered severe hunger and bombing raids, as did everyone else in China. Rain and Mei's parents died in a bombing of their village East End. The sisters were captured by Japanese soldiers and forced to be prostitutes. Rain handled it better than Mei who was unable to eat or even get up off her mattress. With her sister's help Mei escaped and joined the communists and fought alongside Mao's warriors. Rain eventually made her way to Hong Kong and then Toronto where she and her daughter lived with Phoenix’s husband George. I see George as weak compared to his wife. He was American and refused to fight in the Vietnam War. He fled to Canada. Rain’s husband was a war hero who was disabled from war wounds and needed a wife to provide for his needs.

While the book begins in Toronto most of the action takes place in China. This family saga is definitely the exquisite tale that it is advertised to be and it has captured my heart. I am rating it way, way over 5 out of 5 stars. show less

This book opens with Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother “Rain” dying in Toronto at the ripe old age of eighty-three. Rain had lived a full life spanning two countries on two continents. Phoenix spent most of her life caring for her mother, yet her mother’s early life remained buried in mystery even to her daughter. Having recently married a Anglo-Canadian, Phoenix spent most of her life tethered to her mother. Grief and curiosity combined, and Phoenix flies to China to talk to her Aunt show more Mei to learn more about her mother. What she unearths causes her to see her mother’s life – and her own – much differently.

To Phoenix, her mother always seemed simple and uncomplicated – even boring. Yet the mind-spinning dramas that conversations with Aunt Mei uncover would each be enough for one person’s life. These dramas, comprising large chapters in this book, intersect in nuanced ways and each uncover further mysteries. They tie together as one beautiful tapestry that comprises the artwork of this book. And as with any good novel, the plot continues to unravel until the last page.

Rain’s early life is set in China during the time of World War II until the Korean War. This was a time of constant fighting in Chinese history, yet it was also a time of focused turbulence. The “good” characters and the “bad” characters were yet to be sorted out by history. Zhang Ling, a Chinese immigrant to Canada, vividly depicts these scenes in southern China as only someone who grew up in the area could. She clearly appeals to those interested in Chinese history with the motif that there’s more here than first meets the eye! Just as so, human emotions like love, grief, sorrow, guilt, and gratitude intersect more than we’d like to admit.

This book is Ling’s first work written first in English. Her previous works, which have been smashing successes on both sides of the Pacific, were translated from the original Chinese. The quality of English is excellent, either way, and tells of many hours of hard study learning a new language and culture. Ling’s strong storytelling skills remain, regardless of language. I can’t wait to read the results of her next project. show less