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Sometimes it seemed as if her parents has sprouted up in America with no past: saplings uprooted in immigrant soil…
A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing —
Alice Evelyn Yang
★★★★
25-year-old Qianze’s father has walked back into her life after eleven years, and he’s very different from the Ba she remembers. His stay in her New York City apartment also marks the return of terrifying nightmares and omens that plagued her childhood. Over several weeks, Qianze learns her family’s past – a past darkened by the Japanese occupation of China, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Throughout the novel, Qianze struggles with her father’s sudden return and the harrowing stories he tells.
Review
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing is an ambitious novel, spanning three generations of the Zhou family and the trauma that haunts them. Yang’s writing is beautiful and evocative. She uses magical realism and Chinese folklore to make the mental and emotional trauma from war and oppression more tangible. She zooms in on the Zhou family to discuss the realities of war and occupation. The novel doesn’t shy away from the violence of war, including sexual assault. Physical descriptions of injuries aren’t as detailed as a horror novel might be, but they’re still quite visceral. The characters’ mental and emotional experience is at the forefront – how they feel about what they’ve experienced and how they’ve changed in order to survive. I didn’t feel that the violence was gratuitous. It made the book more impactful and deepened my understanding of the characters.
I didn’t know much about the Japanese occupation of China or the Cultural Revolution before reading, and A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing is an emotionally-resonant portrayal of an incredibly important time in history that I never learned about in school. The characters’ personal stories are immersive and poignant, and there’s enough context to understand what the characters are going through. I finished the book wanting to know more about the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Cultural Revolution, and while I haven’t done extensive research, there are personal accounts from the time that are similar to what’s in the novel. I think this is a good introduction to the political landscape in China from the 1930s-1970s. Seeing how the characters and their daily lives changed during that period (and after) makes it easy to imagine how you might feel or react in that situation.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in historical fiction or unfamiliar with this time in China’s history. I knocked one star off because the conclusion was rushed. I would have loved to have spent more time sitting with Qianze’s and Ba’s feelings after the story’s climax. Extending the final act would also give space to bring certain elements and characters back into the story for a more satisfying conclusion. That said, it was a beautiful and thought-provoking novel that I highly recommend. It’s a stunning debut, and I’ll definitely be reading whatever Alice Evelyn Yang puts out next.
Content warnings: adultification, alcoholism, animal cruelty/death, child death, death, domestic abuse, drug use, famine, gore, graphic violence, hallucinations, infertility, malnutrition, mental illness, miscarriage, misogyny, murder, parental abandonment, racism, rape/sexual assault, war
Yu’er is a teenager when her parents leave her with her new husband, Xiaozhu. He’s uncomfortable around her but kind. Over time, they become friends before falling in love, but after receiving a curse, they’re left destitute and estranged. Taking control of her fate, Yu’er makes a deal with a jing – leave Xiaozhu forever, and she’ll never be powerless again. Her choice brings enormous power, but it may kill her humanity. As she adjusts to her new life, Yu’er must decide what matters most and what she’ll sacrifice to keep it.