The cook instead of laughing simply gaped. Well, wonders never cease. Reading the little red book, singing and reciting quotations from the Chairman's works every day, overthrowing everything old, smashing Buddhas, razing temples, raiding homes, and now this "devil's dance"...were these the new culture, new ideology and new customs of the great Cultural Revolution? That cook must have failed to harden his heart and think like a proletarian, for when he filled Qin Shutian's bowl his hands trembled and tears started to his eyes.Gu Hua's treatment of the Cultural Revolution in Hibiscus is perhaps one of the most damning condemnations I have ever read, and yet, it is surprisingly lacking in strong language and fiery outbursts against Communism. Instead, Gu Hua uses a startlingly humorous language to recite tragedy and terror--this style disarms you. Often the full force of what you read does not hit you until several pages after.
The story itself is well told. Gu Hua creates characters which are as real as any I've read, and yet which follow a well crafted plot without seeming to be dragged along by the author's leash. Particularly interesting is Gu Hua's style of tossing all his characters into the same boat. They all have their risings and fallings, even those characters who enter magnificently and require applause--in moments they become despicable people, and later return to your good graces. I have read few books which treated so many characters with such fairness. The villain, if there is one, does seem to be a person of more despicable light than is acceptable, but Gu Hua does not overdo it (well maybe once, but this is forgivable). I'm tempted to say that the story has more twists than the most popular movie in Hollywood, but the characters' changes of fortune are no more "twists" than are the everyday moments of elation and depression of any person.
Read this book if you want a light, but deep, commentary on the Cultural Revolution, specifically from a Chinese perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment