Lotus is the nom de
guerre of a young woman from rural China, who left the village to seek
better employment in the factories. On her deathbed, her mother had told her to
take care of her younger brother; she intends to make money to support the
family and send her brother to high school and university. After her cousin
dies in a factory fire- the building locked to prevent workers from escaping-
she moves on to the city. Here she soon finds herself working as a ji- a sex worker- in a low rent massage
parlor. She sends virtually all her money home, telling her family she is
waiting tables and earning big tips.
Bing is a photographer. He’s a middle class, middle aged man
who couldn’t hack the business world of modern China. He wants to both make a
difference in the world, and do something creative. He finds his calling in
photojournalism, taking photos of the ji,
especially Lotus, and telling their stories, which are not pretty stories. One
of Lotus’s co-workers is not even 14; one is supporting her developmentally
disabled son; another is supporting a low-life boyfriend who takes her for one
abortion after another.
While the main focus is on Lotus and the development of her
character as she navigates the perils of her life, it’s Bing’s coming of age,
too, despite his age. I enjoyed watching them evolve and grow- and not end up
in the place I thought they would. The descriptions of people and place are
vivid and the divide between the privileged middle class and the poor is
achingly exposed. The writing is a bit rough at times, but the reader has to
remember that English is not Zhang’s first language and she wrote directly in
it- this is not a translation. Four stars out of five- I’d give four and a half
if Amazon would let me!
The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anything- from Amazon, they will give me a few cents.
I received this book free from the Amazon Vine program in return for a fair review.
Neither of these things influenced my review.
Thats a high rating. Since I trust your reviews this will go on my reading list
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