A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing

Trauma - emotional, physical, psychic, historical - can’t be overcome in an instant or even in a generation. It lingers, like a ghost. It festers. But eventually it rises to the surface and announces itself in all its gory detail. There is a mountain of trauma lurking in the lives of Qianze’s ancestors, especially her father and her grandmother. The horrors that they witnessed and participated in would be enough to weigh anyone down. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what happened, what they did. She only knows that her father abandoned her and her mother on her 14th birthday and he has suddenly reappeared, out of his head, in her 25th year. It’s going to take a lot of explaining to wipe the ledger clean and her father isn’t show more making any sense and she doesn’t really want to hear him anyway.

This setup facilitates Alice Yang’s potent exploration of the generational trauma of the Cultural Revolution and the earlier invasion by Japan, two of the most fraught periods in 20th century Chinese history. Some of this history is almost beyond words. So it is understandable that the storylines keep deflecting. And yet, I wondered whether a deeper dive into just one of these stories might have been enough for a lengthy novel. By contrast the trials and tribulations of Qianze in the 21st century seems like mere annoyances. And that makes her emotional arc less interesting. It’s always a challenge when the current protagonist of a novel is emotionally and sympathetically surpassed by nearly all of her predecessors. And yet, I found the overall story sufficiently compelling to push through to the end. There is a lot to like here in this writer’s first novel, which promises much for her future efforts.

Gently recommended. show less

This was a very good read , and it's hard to believe that this is the writer's debut novel.

It deals with several generations of a family that originated in China. In the late 1920's, children Ming and Fei are betrothed to each other by their parents. However the invasion of Japanese troops in China and subsequent occupation severely disrupts their marriage. Weihung is the son of Ming and Fei. Weihung's childhood is punctuated by beatings by his father and his eventual joining of the brutal Red Guard. In 2017, in Manhattan, Weihung's daughter, Qianze lives, and is a university graduate. Her father left her and her mother eleven years prior and she has not seen him since. Suddenly he turns up on Qianze's doorstep. She discovers that he show more suffering with dementia and is not always lucid.

Weiihung slowly reveals his past. It is very dark , and Qianze finds herself troubled by strange visions and nightmares of fox spirits and a terrifying jackalope. The family suffers with inter-generational trauma and perhaps a curse. Highly recommended.

This book made me interested in reading Flashlight by Susan Choi and Pachinko by Min Min Lee in the hope that they are similar reads. show less

This is a heartbreaking and interesting story well told. For this to be a debut novel surprised me a bit, but in a good way. Based on the quality narration, my mind's eye was able to see what was happening well enough.

The book's 357 pages are divided into 37 chapters, so the average chapter moves at an acceptable pace, with some faster than others.

I am grateful to have received the book through a Goodreads giveaway. Peace be with you.