The Year of the Rat [Paperback]

Lucille Bellucci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2000

Too soon after the second Big War and occupation by the Japanese army, Shanghai in 1948 faces occupation by Mao Tse-tung's army. The affluent foreigners believe business will continue as before; hasn't it always, after every conflict? But the Russians, the stateless ones, who fled the Bolsheviks believe the Communists will kill them.For Maria Conti and her family, the executioner wears a different countenance. They could die of starvation. Their only income is the little she earns from her share of a saloon catering to American and British servicemen. When they leave China, the business will go with them. The Contis get no rents from their tenants. Nor can Mr. Conti sell, for in these uncertain times no one will buy. Maria's little sister, Nola, helps her father manufacture ersatz liquor in their dining room. Her mother, Ming Chu, knows her family's Italian citizenship is useless; the Contis are trapped.On April 20th, 1949, the Communists shell the British frigate HMS Amethyst on the Yangtze River. The Woosung forts are in flames. Maria's lover, American Army Captain Thaddeus Huell, must evacuate with his unit before he can get the Contis out. Love, a killing, survival--these are Maria's story.http://www.SnakeHse.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lucille Bellucci was born in Shanghai, China, of an Italian-Dutch-Indonesian father and Chinese mother. She has lived in Italy and Brazil. Her other novels are The Snake Woman of Ipanema and A Rare Passion. Her short stories and essays have appeared in national periodicals and literary journals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (December 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595148956
• ISBN-13: 978-0595148950
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,605,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reality of civil war, April 3, 2001

By 

Gilbert C. Brown (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year of the Rat (Paperback)

Lucille Bellucci captures the desperation of all ages of people caught up in the terror of the unknown of living in war. Families become the only support system, until someone from outside, immune to the war, an American officer, comes to save them. Bellucci has captured the need of people for love in a time of hate, and the response to hopelessness by seeking some small pleasure, some small accomplishment each day. Life was close to unbearable as 12-year-old Nola tries to keep her silkworm eggs alive while the adults around her struggle to keep themselves alive, to exploit others, and to escape their own exploitation by others who can only survive by using them. A great adventure, a great love story, a great view of what was Shanghai among the 'old China hands' at the time of the arrival of Mao Tze Tung. Will make one great motion picture, too! A must read!

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost an epic, April 2, 2002

By 

David Leonhardt "The Happy Guy" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Year of the Rat (Paperback)

There's a fine line between an epic and a very long story, and The Year of the Rat has one foot firmly planted on each side. At 440 pages, I almost gave up before I started, but the book is engaging enough that I read all the way to the 440th page.

Why did Lucille Bellucci write such a long novel? Two reasons. First, she spread the story over a long period, well before the Communist invasion of Shanghai, just before, during the take-over, and after the Communist victory was complete. The effect is like a boat that cruises gently on the lake at some points, then speeds up and bounces on the water at others. There are large gaps that span several months, particularly in the final third of the book, which gives it that epic feel.

The second reason the novel is so long is because of the minute detail Bellucci describes, both about her characters and about Shanghai of 1948-49. If her research into the lifestyle and implements are accurate (and I know some are) she has done a fabulous job of bringing that era to life. She describes in equal detail the tribulations of her many tragic characters, who also come to life on the pages.

Typical of Bellucci's decriptions is this passage about the West Lake Crab: "The West Lake crab, the doo zah har, is so famous throughout the land that rich men as far away as Hong Kong will contrive to have quantities shipped to them. Its consumption always engenders merriment and messiness, for one has to roll up sleeves and wear aprons, and there is much teasing about who ate the most and who took more than his share of the females."

What I liked best about the novel is how Bellucci treats a touchy political issue through the disinterested eyes of a foreign national in Shanghai. Mary Conti, her semi-autobiographical principle character, is part Chinese, part Italian, tied by fate to the proverbial railroad tracks as an unstoppable train slowly rolls her way. The train is not good, nor is it bad, it is just getting ominously closer as each character faces her personal fears.

What doesn't work well are the few passages that recount history on the larger plane. The Year of The Rat is a very intimate story of the day-to-day lives of a small enclave of resident foreigners in Shanghai. To be suddenly transported to the world stage elsewhere in China feels very much out of place, breaking up the story the way a commercial breaks up a movie on television.

Overall, the book is well-written, but it is long, and in places seems out of place. If China or Chinese history fascinates you and you enjoy epic tragedy, this is the book for you.

The reviewer is David Leonhardt, author of Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness