Te-Ping Chen's debut collection of short stories delivers a mix of commentary on China, its government, and the people at the heart of the nation.
Author: Te-Ping Chen
Released: February 2021
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 256
Audiobook Length: 7 hours (approx.)
Awards/Acclaim
A Best Book of the Year:
Barack Obama
NPR
The Washington Post
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Esquire
Kirkus Reviews
Chicago Public Library
Electric Literature
Malala Yousafzai’s Fearless Book Club Pick for Literati
Review
Te-Ping Chen wrote a small number of exceptional stories in this collection of ten short stories. However, many left me wanting. I'm comfortable with a story that includes an open ending but I felt far too many of the stories lacked too many elements that make a story great. I needed more conflict, climax, or resolution. The conflict in these stories is often alluded to but never embraced in a literary climax. Also, resolution almost never occurs in this collection.
The stories that were great were indeed worthy of applause but as a whole, I wasn't completely won over.
Plot
The book comprises ten short stories:
Lula
Hotline Girl
New Fruit
Field Notes on a Marriage
Flying Machine
On the Street Where You Live
Shanghai Murmur
Land of Big Numbers
Beautiful Country
Gubeikou Spirit
Each story is different from the previous one. The common thread is they are tales of Chinese people both in China and the diaspora.
In Lula, two twins find themselves on divergent paths. One twin embraces academics and excels in her studies. Her brother becomes a professional gamer. One will eventually find themselves involved in ousting government corruption while the other struggles with understanding their sibling and the enduring love they feel for the other.
In Hotline Girl, a government call center employee is startled to get a call from her abusive ex.
Field Notes on a Marriage is about an American woman who marries a reserved Chinese man and the lengths she will go to better understand the man she married.
In Gubeiko Spirit a group of people finds themselves stranded at a train station, for months, and unable to leave - waiting for permission from the government to do so.
Additional Comments
Te-Ping Chen discusses her career and the inspiration for her book on the Why is this Happening podcast with Chris Hayes. It is an enjoyable listen and I found the reasons behind many of the stories was as insightful as it was entertaining.
About the Author
Te-Ping Chen is an American staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal.
Her father was from Hong Kong and her mother was born in NYC. Her Chinese parents instilled in her a love of her heritage. Te-Ping Chen attended bilingual school as a child and Saturday school as well. Saturday school is a program focused on teaching the Chinese language and culture.
Te-Ping Chen became fluent in Mandarin after attending college in China. She has stated that the felt invested in better understanding her heritage. She would return to China, after college as a reporter, working both in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Content Warnings
None
Verdict
Score: 7.5/10
I'm torn. There were a small handful of really good stories in this collection.
Ultimately the collection in its entirety wasn't a home run for me, though. Thus, this one is a no for me.
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