风声 － 麦家

[Basil]

I think 麦家’s the name of the author, I’ve already lent the book out, so I can’t double check. Lending out a book is of course a rare occurrence as even the most respectable person seems to think that there is nobility in folio-thievery. My Chinese books are rarely worth stealing though, as they are usually pretty battered by the time I’ve finished with them, so I’m fairly certain this one will return to its proud place on the bookshelf of linguistic shame.

 

I highly recommend this book. Comprised of two stories, the telling of a true story about events over a couple of weeks in Hangzhou during the Japanese occupation, initially from the perspective of the occupiers as they try and root out a communist spy. 

 

It’s a thriller, but it’s thoroughly researched and the author tries hard to accurately represent a faithful reconstruction of that time. That’s the first part.

 

The second part, which is to some extent interwoven with the first, is the author’s quest to verify the facts and also prevent the story from being blocked from publication.

 

I don’t normally read thrillers, as I feel they are just a question of whether I can outwit the author in unpicking the strands before he reveals them, and I'm too lazy to dedicate braincells to that task..

But this one is worth reading. 

 

It has its weak points, when recounting events from the spy’s perspective the author is sloppy, writing 他／她 is one that stays in my mind. I’m sure there is a better work around than that. I think there were other small niggles as well.

 

But it was a good book. After the initial starting hump, I read with interest, and looked forward to my reading sessions, and lamented that I couldn’t read more than I did in a single session.

 

I liked his language, on the Basil continuum of difficulty (constantly updated) it’s above 路遥 and below 莫言, and will definitely read another of his books at some point.

 

This kind of book has low re-readibility, if it was a work of fiction I might score it lower, but as it is a strong retelling of a past incident, I give it

 

5/5

[Anica]

Thanks for sharing. I have just finished my first adult novel (许三观卖血记）and am aiming to start 平凡的世界 pretty soon. The Economist once recommended "Decoded" (密码）by 麦家 and I have since imagined myself reading it in Chinese. It will still be a long way, but your post made me realize that it may actually happen one day and that 麦家 seems indeed to be an interesting read. Now I will also pay closer attention to which of his novels I will order:-)