From Publishers Weekly
"How difficult it is to be a woman," thinks a character in one of these stories by a writer of mainland China. Although the culture and the political system are sometimes remote, the plight of these intelligent, sensible women speaks to universal problems. Divorcees and single mothers, their struggle for rewarding lives and careers flies in the face of pervasive social prejudice embodied in a massive bureaucracy and gossips who act as thought police. If even the best of the stories, the long tales "Emerald" and "The Ark," sometimes seem a litany of complaint, loss, persecution and misery, the fervor and resilience of the women come through strongly. The protagonist of "Emerald" muses that "ardent" is a "beautiful word." This is an auspicious debut for the publisher's New Chinese Fiction series.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This collection of five stories and a novella offers a fascinating peek at contemporary Chinese culture. Considered by many to be China's foremost woman writer and first feminist novelist, Zhang Jie gives us an after-the-Cultural-Revolution perspective of women's uncertain lives in a changing civilization. The novella, "The Ark," concerns three women, former schoolmates now divorced or alone and sharing a flat, who struggle with ex-husbands, petty bureaucrats, and men who use power in corrupt ways. Although many of her characters lead bleak, unsatisfied lives, there's a curiously romantic flavor to the collection, as the women yearn for gentler times while appreciating their new, less restrictive roles. Very interesting cross-cultural reading. Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
