Da Chen (1962–2019)

Da Chen's "The Sword" is a small masterpiece. His prose is beautiful and spare, and utterly effective. Chen has an absolute genius for describing martial arts battles in such a way that readers will feel as though the action is happening before their very eyes. Indeed, reading this novel is the literary equivalent of watching an excellent wu xia film (think Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon if you're a reader unfamiliar with the genre).



The protagonist is gritty and determined, and not show more to be messed with; no shrinking violet relying on others to solve her problems, she. On the slim chance that her trials and adventures aren't enough to hold readers spellbound, Chen's atmospheric evocation of Tang dynasty-era China should seal the deal. Do yourself a favor and read this book. show less

This novel is set in mid-20th century China during the transition between the rule of Chairman Mao and his immediate successors. It follows the lives of two young men, the sons of a prominent Chinese general, one legitimate, raised in all the opulence of upper class Beijing, the other illegitimate and raised in peasant squalor.

MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW

The writing is very simple and the story is in no way unique. My biggest problem is with the utter absurdity of the premise and many of the show more subsequent events. For example, the illegitimate son is born as his disgraced mother is in the process of committing suicide by jumping off of a sheer cliff; literally, as in evacuating the birth canal in mid-air. The baby survives, believe it or not by becoming hung in tree branches. Okay.

Even more absurd is the fact that in a nation of one billion people, the two brothers, separated by thousands of miles, actually meet and fall in love with the same orphaned young woman. Really.

This young woman, the heroine of the novel, is brutally gang raped. Immediately thereafter, and I mean immediately, she has ardent and passionate sexual intercourse with her rescuer. I’m not joking. I don’t know who Da Chen is, but pretty clearly he is a clueless male.

Perhaps equally as absurd is the rapidity and ease by which one of the characters goes from being a penniless beggar to the richest man in China in the space of about five years, owning hundreds of businesses, all of which are wildly successful from the start.

This is a book so absurd that it was impossible for me to enjoy reading it. I actually became disgusted at the extent to which the author took his readers for clueless simpletons. Some have used the term magical realism to describe the author’s writing. This is not magical realism. It only seems like it because the author’s story lines are so absurd and ridiculous. Leave this one for the Harlequin crowd. show less

Da Chen - you added colour to the grey world of Mao.

A memoir giving fascinating insight into the changes in rural China during and after Mao's reign. The story flows well and couples with the aspects of life that appear unique to western readers but were commonplace to tens of millions of Chinese. With new and breathtaking subject matter it is difficult to be objective about the writing. The irresistible rythm seemed to drop off in the last quarter and loses the fifth star from this reviewer.

Theoretically, this is a children's book, but it is very heavy on the violence/abuse/bullying. I have no doubt that these are Da Chen's memories and that as events in the Cultural Revolution go, it is presenting a relatively mild experience. From an outside perspective, the book is confusing, the context is confusing, the narrative is a little bit rambling -- very effective at conveying a sense of the world turned upside down for no apparent reason, but also sometimes a little hard to show more follow. I found it shocking in places, but I think it is an important and very personal account. show less