Customer Reviews

The Last Communist Virgin

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Wang Ping really captures the essence of her characters. Her stories paint a realistic and believable journey where the reader can relate and feel touched by the trials and tribulations of the characters involved. Her writing is poetic in the way that she can really grab hold of your heart and make you feel the emotions. Believable, realistic and really Wang is an author worth investing your time in.

This recent collection of short stories by Ping Wang is a revealing glimpse into the tumultuous current state of the Chinese people, although largely from the perspective of those who have immigrated to the USA, and occasionally featuring flashbacks to the strife-torn China of the 1960s.

Most European Americans have rather one-dimensional views of Chinese immigrants, mostly seeing them as meek and polite "model immigrants" without perceiving the reality of these complex people. Ping unwraps them so we see, perhaps for the first time, their humanity, which naturally is not always flattering - there is coarseness, arrogance, duplicity, and xenophobia, but also playful rambunctiousness, sophistication, warmheartedness, a sense of honor, yearning, fears, ambition, a rich tapestry of ancient tales, and much more. Atop this is a whole additional layer because, after thousands of years of a society rooted in tradition and position, Chinese society has recently been picked up and shaken violently, and we see these people adrift, each trying in his or her way to find their bearings, a home, and happiness. Although the syntax in this slender collection of stories is at times a bit rough, this only adds to the immediacy and authenticity of the storytelling, which is wonderful. Highly recommended.