The Vagrants - Yiyun Li

After I have finished reading books like The Vagrants I always find myself wondering about how such a beautiful, compelling and poetic novel can be made from such traumatic incidents and situations. What makes trauma and horror so readable?

I would never have even bought this book if not for attending The Sydney Writers Festival last year and listening to it's author, Yiyun Li, speak with such unassuming passion about her work. The description of the book just sounded so maudlin to me until I had heard Yiyun Li talk about what had inspired her to write the book and the process she had gone through to finish it - yet another example of finding reading inspiration from the source (and why I love attending writers festivals and the like whenever I can).

The Vagrants starts on March 21 1979 in a provincial town in China called Muddy River. This day is a significant one as it is the day that former Communist devotee, Gu Shan, is to be executed for dissent - an event that the whole town will turn out to watch and celebrate - all except for her parents who are separated by their grief.

The Vagrants introduces and follows many different characters - we are shown their whereabouts and activities on the day of the execution - and in some cases their connections to the young woman about to be killed.

Th execution of Gu Shan is only the beginning - the event reaches each of the main characters in a different way and causes them to take action in their lives and in their town.

The oppressive nature of the Communist regime in China at the time is explored through the characters lives - we are shown very clearly how the personal is political and it is this connection that make this book pure magic for me. I am appalled by the conditions in which the characters live but at the same time I am hopeful that there can be, there will be, change - even when all the evidence seems to indicate differently.

There are some graphic, traumatic events in this book - as to be expected - and as difficult as they were to read at times I could see how essential they were to contributing to the honesty of this book.

I fell in love with Yiyun Li's prose and the way she let her characters speak for themselves - I love books like that, when the author is invisible and you really do feel as though you are hearing the story straight from these "people" in the book.

A powerful and beautiful novel - not to be missed in my eyes.

The Painter From Shanghai - Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Painter From Shanghai is a book that was chosen by a new book club/group I have been invited to join by one of my best friends and her sister-in-law. It's been a while since I have been a part of a book club and I am looking forward to having an arena to discuss literature face-to-face again but I think my favourite part of belonging to a book club (just as in being a part of the book blogging community) is discovering books that otherwise might have completely passed me by.

The Painter From Shanghai is one such book. I had definitely heard of it and seen it's gorgeous cover before but nothing really jumped out to say "read me". The book is a fictional biography of the Chinese painter Pan Yuliang who came to prominence with her daring and creative work (especially her nude portraits of women) in the early twentieth century. The author's website displays some of Pan Yuliang's work and also goes into the story about how she came to write about the artist which I found set the tone for my reading of the book beautifully. The book covers Pan Yuliang's early life and childhood and the turning point in her young life when she is sold to a brothel by her uncle. The early parts of the book are painful to read but they also clearly demonstrate Yuliang's strong spirit and even the early development of her artistic talent.

The relationships Yuliang becomes connected in and with during her life are fleshed out - particularly her relationships with men - both the ones she is forced into and the ones that she chooses. The economic and political times of both China and the western world are inter weaved into the book with ease and the author always makes you feel informed without going into too much detail that would detract from the main focus of the book.

I loved the narrative flow of the book and the way that Yuliang's own voice is developed and strengthened throughout the novel in conjunction with her painting skills. A beautiful book that has made me want to seek out more of this artist's work.