Peach Blossom Paradise (2021) by Ge Fei

Book Reviewg

Peach Blossom Paradise (2020)

by Ge Fei

  Ge Fei is the pen name for Chinese author Liu Yong, well regarded as one of the preeminent writers of "experimental" writers in China for the past several decades.  Fei is little known in English- Peach Blossom Paradise, originally published in 2010, is only the second book from his bibliography to receive an English language translation.   Part of a trilogy,  Peach Blossom Paradise mostly tells the story of Xiumi, the neglected daughter of a wealthy land owner growing up in turn of the 20th century China.

Xiumi is married off, only to be kidnapped by by bandits.  Her family refuses to ransom her, and she ends up the sex slave of a coterie of bandits.  Eventually freed as a side-effect of inter-gang warfare, she makes her way back to her ancestral village and begins a program to revolutionize the people.  Xiumi is not a Communist, rather this refers to the pre-Communist revolutionary activities of a coalition of intellectuals and criminals who acted through secret societies. 

    It's hard to say why this would be considered "experimental" literature in any language, it's more like a straight forward historical novel than anything else. Like many works of Chinese fiction in translation, it can be hard to pick up on the reference points.  For example, this entire book is a reworking of the well known Peach Blossom Paradise myth, but who is going to know that in the English speaking world?  Peach Blossom Paradise is nominated for the National Book Award for Translated literature shortlist, but it would seem like a longshot to win.