My Rating: 3.5 stars
In her third book (and second novel), journalist Vanessa Hua explores the political history of the years leading up to and during China's Cultural Revolution from an angle that is rarely brought up or written about in mainstream works that discuss China: Mao Zedong's fascination with ballroom dancing and the resulting practice of recruiting dance troupes to entertain him as well as other Communist Party elite at various gatherings. Hua states in her Author's Note that seeing documentary footage of "Chairman Mao surrounded by giggling young women in tight sweaters" intrigued her, but when she tried to find more information, there unfortunately wasn't much. By piecing together some revelations about Mao's habits and proclivities relayed by his doctor in his memoir, it was understood that these young women existed, but rarely ever mentioned or acknowledged in official records. So based on this information as well as what is publicly known about Mao's complicated relationship with his personal secretary Zhang Yufeng (who met Mao when she was 18 years old and he was in his sixties), Hua created the fictitious character of peasant girl-turned-revolutionary Mei Xiang in the hopes of giving a voice to the "impoverished women who have shaped China in their own ways yet remain absent from the country's official narrative."
Growing up as the youngest in a family of 3 daughters in an impoverished village in China, Mei Xiang dreams of becoming a model revolutionary and a patriotic heroine adored and worshipped by many. During one of the Communist Party's recruitment schemes in the villages, Mei Xiang jumps at the opportunity to leave her plight behind. Arriving at the capital, she comes to understand that the "duty" she was recruited for involves dancing with Party elite as part of a specially trained dance troupe. It is at these dances that she meets the Chairman, the head of the Party as well as the country — a man that she (as well as most of the population) has been taught to idolize ever since he come to power years ago. Soon, Mei Xiang becomes the Chairman's close confidante and paramour, and when the Chairman starts to involve her in his political missions, Mei feels she is finally on the path to achieving her dreams. But as the Cultural Revolution becomes a reality and Mei witnesses the atrocities that result from it, she begins to doubt the truth of what she had been told her entire life. It's not until she moves toward disillusionment that Mei starts to understand what this realization will ultimately cost her.
Vanessa Hua's previous novel — her debut River of Stars — covered a topic that I rarely (if ever) saw written about in fiction: birth tourism. This time around, with her second novel, Hua once again explores yet another rarely-discussed topic — one that often gets buried when it comes to discourse surrounding China and the Cultural Revolution. As familiar as I was with this time period and the historical context of China's Cultural Revolution, the angle of Mao's relationship with the women in his inner circle and him possibly using them in his political machinations was an altogether less familiar topic for me. Hua's research in this regard was meticulous, with both the historical and cultural elements especially well-rendered. Having said that though, I have to admit that I enjoyed Hua's debut so much more than this one, mostly because I found it difficult to overcome my disgust with the relationship at the center of this story (a powerful man in his sixties manipulating a disillusioned sixteen-year-old girl). Even though I understood the reality and plausibility of such an arrangement during that period historically, it was still uncomfortable to read, particularly when it came to the more graphic details of the Chairman and Mei's relationship (much of which I honestly felt was unnecessary). Structurally, while I liked the writing, I felt that the pacing overall was a bit off and he story dragged a bit too much towards the middle, with some of the plot points also a bit repetitive. I also found most of the characters difficult to like, which I guess isn't surprising given the nature of the story. With that said, I did feel empathy for Mei Xiang and her harrowing, heartbreaking story — a coming-of-age story no doubt, but also one of self-discovery as well as self-preservation.
Even though I wasn't too keen on the subject matter this time around, I'm still glad I read this, if anything, for the insights it provided. One of the things I appreciate most about Vanessa Hua's works is that she doesn't shy away from controversial topics and takes up the challenge of an uncomfortable story head-on (which probably has a lot to do with her journalist background). I look forward to seeing what Hua will write about next!
Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.
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