Rock Paper Tiger

I chose this book at the library on impulse, because I've been wanting to read more novels set in post-Cultural Revolution China, especially as my workplace prepares for a gallery of artwork by contemporary Chinese artists. Since Lisa Brackmann traveled extensively in China (according to the author's note), I trusted that her depiction wouldn't be completely fictional, and the inclusion of Chinese artists in the plot was appealing.

Unfortunately, I am not well-versed in the types of cover-blurbs that thrillers receive, so I wasn't properly prepared for that aspect of Rock Paper Tiger, though I did expect a decent mystery. I was also unprepared for the detailed depictions of the Army base in Iraq, though I expected some references and show more flashbacks, since the main character is described as having PTSD from the war in the cover blurb.

Thus, ultimately, though I found many aspects of the book appealing and interesting, it really wasn't right for me. I stopped reading halfway through, after a chapter that described the torture of Iraqi prisoners in the Army camp, which was pretty similar to the types of things I've heard happened in Abu Ghraib (I tried to avoid details, because I knew it would turn my stomach). I desperately wanted to not read any more scenes like that, so I stopped reading rather than risk anything else. But it wasn't just those scenes that made the book inappropriate for me - I was also very uncomfortable with the way Ellie is drinking heavily in almost every scene that isn't a flashback to her time in Iraq, and then there were also scenes of sexual harassment and assault that, when combined with the other uncomfortable (for me) parts, were just a bit too much.

The mystery part was compelling, and I was really interested in the way Brackmann used an Internet game to advance it - perhaps it's a cliché thing in the realm of thrillers, but it was novel for me, and kind of fun since I used to be involved with big MMORPGs myself. I also did like the descriptions of China, Beijing, and Chinese life. Although I can't say how authentic they are, it felt real enough compared to the nonfiction I have read.

Since I was unable to finish the novel, I can't say whether, as a whole, it's a good read or just mediocre, but I can say that it's not something I'd recommend to just anyone, due to the graphic depictions of the treatment of PUCs in Iraq. show less

Although this reads like a dystopian thriller set in an alternative reality, it actually takes place in the polluted big cities, scenic small villages, computer gaming communities, artist hangouts, and dissident networks of modern China, with flashbacks to Ellie McEnroe’s days as a nineteen year old medic during the Iraq War when she saw things that weren’t meant for her eyes, things that shouldn’t have happened and continue to haunt her. She has a war wound that still gives her pain and a husband who brought her to China but left her, so she’s stumbling through her days and drinking too much, but when thuggish, scary officials start pursuing her after her sometime boyfriend disappears, leaving behind only a cryptic note asking show more her to manage his artwork, Ellie has to get her act together enough to get out of Beijing and figure out what to do. The detailed, colorful, behind-the-scenes glimpses of life in modern China are both fascinating and transporting, really setting this book apart, and Ellie’s wry wit, sense of duty, and impulsive bravery in spite of her damaged body and soul make his fast-paced suspenseful novel a joy to read. show less

Ellie, the wonderfully flawed protagonist of Lisa Brackmann’s debut, is down and out in Beijing. After a disastrous tour of duty as a medic in Iraq, she moved to China with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, a damaged leg and an undiagnosed case of PTSD. She’s avoiding making her divorce official in an effort to stay in the country, because in the time she’s been there she’s managed to create a fragile life for herself, populated by young, hip artists trying to create a community in the city’s suburbs. One night before a gallery opening, her friend and sometimes-lover Lao Zhang introduces her to Hashim, a member of the Chinese Muslim Uighur minority. That night, both Lao Zhang and Hashim disappear, and suddenly Ellie finds herself show more under interrogation by American and Chinese officials searching for them both on suspicion of terrorist activity. Ellie knows she’s in over her head, but she begins a cross-country quest to help Lao Zhang and discover the truth, with the help of a secretive online community she’s not certain she can trust.

Brackmann’s descriptions of Beijing (and of Iraq, in Ellie’s flashbacks to her tour of duty) are breathlessly exhilarating, evoking a culture in the midst of tremendous social and technological upheaval. Rock Paper Tiger is fast paced, with twists and turns that keep the truth two steps ahead of you at all times. Its characters are human and flawed, and they propel the story to a very satisfying conclusion. show less

In her debut novel Rock Paper Tiger, Lisa Brackman gives us Ellie McEnroe Cooper who narrates the story which includes her time spent serving in Iraq as an Army Medic, her marriage to Trey Cooper, another soldier, and her current, somewhat drifting life in China where she's become friends (maybe more) with Lao Zhang, a painter and artist with knack for building communities, even when his government isn't fully in support of so many people gathering together.Brackman doesn't waste a lot of time on backstory. The action starts quickly when Lao Zhang hosts a "friend of a friend"in his home in Mati Village. That "friend of a friend" turns out to be a Uigher, a Chinese Muslim, with possible terrorist connections. It doesn't take long for the show more authorities to come calling, but which authorities are they?What happens next sets Ellie on a journey of both international and domestic U.S. intrigue and, more importantly, an opportunity to examine the motives, past and present, in her relationships. While she deals with a dangerous and frightening present, she must also face a disturbing past.Brackman has set out to give us a character who is very human in her weaknesses, but who also finds inner strength she didn't know she possessed. While her younger self may have been more willing to be tossed along the currents of greater forces, she eventually learns that the only person she can trust in this situation is herself. She must do the right thing not only to save herself, but also to protect those for whom she cares. Brackman has developed her characters with a keen eye for detail. She captures them visually as well as through a snappy dialog that rings true. Ellie speaks just as you'd expect her to. That makes her both believable and someone with whom I can empathize. Scattering the backstory masterfully into the present action, Brackman lets the reader see into Ellie's interior life.While I've neither studied nor visited China, I felt as though I was there. Brackman's descriptions were detailed and thorough without making me want her to hurry along with the story telling. The place is a large part of the story and Brackman's descriptions of modern day China made that part of the story come alive.The suspense built in an arc that kept me reading and while I did put the book down a few times, that was not because of the writing or the story. It was because I decided to read this book just about the time things in my own life started to shift and I had to deal with other priorities.By leaving open a couple of story threads, it seems possible that Brackman might want to write more about Ellie. She's a character that I came to like, to care about and I would happy to read what other kinds of adventures might befall her in the future. show less

One of those books where there's this supposedly huge, twisted conspiracy that is drawn out and built up and then ends up fizzling into nothing. You get the feeling that the author knew a "fast-paced" semi-YA novel about contemporary Chinese subcultures (and especially paired with a female, PTSD-suffering, Iraqi war veteran) would sell, with or without an actual satisfying, believable plot. Oh yes, let's throw in some torture committed by Americans, and we'll hit all the buzzword issues!

This book is all trappings and no substance.

Books that try to hit a number of Important Issues of the Day usually get on my nerves, but this one didn't, even thought its pages contain more of them than the average copy of the New York Times. I think the Chinese setting with a non-Chinese narrator helped out with that some, although really I can't put my finger on it. I just enjoyed the hell out of this book.

A good international crime story introduces the reader to Ellie Cooper, an Iraq vet who has moved to Beijing with her husband who is working for a military contractor. Separated from her husband who has fallen in love with a Chinese woman, Lisa survives by working in an ex-pat bar. She hangs around with the new artists often crashing at the apartment of a painter. With flashbacks to her military life and her unexpected involvement in the disappearance of her painter friend, we learn the toughness of this military medic. I didn’t particularly like the ending, but for me crime books are often contrived anyway. Still a good read with lots of action and an introduction to life in other countries.