Books: Death Of A Red Heroine By Qiu Xiaolong

 

(Drivebycuriosity) -  Do you like to learn something while having fun? If you are interested in China, her culture and her history then the novel "Death Of A Red Heroine" by Qiu Xiaolong might give you both. The plot is set in Shanghai in 1990 and follows Chief Inspector Chen Cao and his assistant Yu who investigate the death of a young woman (amazon).

The basic plot is not really new, I have seen a lot of movies based on the same basic idea, but "Death of" is much more political than the others (this is a spoiler free blog). The investigators have to deal with China`s political situation. The characters are still shaped by China`s history and by the terror and chaos which ruled the country in the years after the communist revolution in 1949. Some are still trying to recover. In the 1990s the political climate has mellowed but people have still to follow the rules  of "the party" and every action has to be political correct, a situation some "progressives" ("BernieBros") want to implement in the US. Chen acts like a chess player who not only considers the results of his movements but also the movements of his opponents.

I am fascinated by Xiaolong´s description of Shanghai in the early 1990s (today China`s per capita incomes are about 7-times). People, even chief inspectors, were still very poor and have to live in harsh conditions but the huge country has already a hybrid economy. There existed official food markets were prices were set by the state, but customers had to wait many hours in line and often things were not available. But the government allowed - and even encouraged - private food markets were goods cost more than six-times the state price - but were available and customers got a good service. I enjoyed how the author pictured psychology & sociology of 1990s China. I liked the humorous portraits of common people and indulged into his frequent & elaborate descriptions of traditional meals. 

Qiu Xiaolong was born and raised in Shanghai but he left China in 1988 and went to the US where he lives now (wikipedia). According to Wikipedia his decision not to come back to China was influenced by the  Tiananmen Square event from 1989. He couldn`t have published a political critical novel like "Death of a Red Heroine" in his home country.  The book is part one of a series and I  might read another Chen novel some day.