qiu xiaolong, mysteries set in shanghai

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There are 3 available so far: Death of a Red Heroine, A Loyal Character Dancer, and his latest (still in hardback) When Red Is Black. I recently read the first two, and got to wondering if anyone else has as well. I enjoyed them, they're real page-turners with intricate plots, although I think the characterization in Death of a Red Heroine--especially of the murder victim and the parallels drawn between her and the investigators--is superior.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

This is part of a larger question too, how these novels may compare to other literature set in Shanghai. There is a lot of food mentioned in the course of the events--meals described in detail (made me hungry!) and I remember an interview with Wong Kar-Wai where he talked about the importance of certain kinds of food and meals to indicate the seasons and shifts in time etc. within Shanghainese communities in his films, which made me think I was missing some of the subtlety of all the eatin' the main characters do.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

I haven't heard of these books but they sound v interesting - are they old/historical or new/contemporary?

I'm reminded that the vast majority of the conversations I've had with Chinese student-friends here (one of whom is from Shanghai) have been about food. (Generally incomprehension regarding the appeal of potatoes and sandwiches.) But it does seem to be important.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

Hm, potatoes and sandwiches sound particularly unappealing after reading these books--I ate a PB&J for lunch while reading one and it disappointed mightily. My craving for dim sum has yet to be satisfied. It sounds weird to write it, but there was quite an affecting scene in the first novel involving crabs.

I think they were published in 2000 and 2002 in the US, and quite possibly written in English (?). The first (Death of a Red Heroine) is set in 1990, and the repercussions of Tiananmen Square etc cast a shadow over much of the political atmosphere that the detectives must negotiate. Some of the main tension arises from the participants simply not knowing how those with greater power will spin any of the political angles of the case.

I liked the 1990-ness of it as it emerged subtly in other ways though--the fashions, the construction boom, cars as status symbol. The main detective is also a poet, so Chinese poetry from various dynasties crops up quite often--something I know nothing about--although luckily for me he generally meditates on the meaning of each poem and why it occurred to him. It made me want to know more about the history of Chinese poetry.

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 11:33 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

Almost done with Death of a Red Heroine. I wouldn't read it for the prose, but the cultural aspects (and the food) are really compelling, and non-didactic (a murder investigation is such a great device to explore how all of these different people live).

― lil urbane (Jordan), Monday, 2 March 2015 17:04 (ten years ago)

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