City of Fiction

Yu (To Live) unfurls a wrenching if diffuse tragedy of a young landowner and his mysterious bride as they navigate the chaotic fall of the Qing empire in early 20th-century China. Lin Xiangfu, a kind and tolerant owner of a woodworking business, marries the mysterious Xiaomei, who has wandered into his northern village. Xiaomei then disappears along with half of his fortune. She briefly returns, heavily pregnant with Xiangfu’s child, only to flee again after giving birth to their daughter, whom she leaves behind. Xiangfu and the unnamed infant wander south in search of Xiaomei, arriving in the village of Xizhen just before a tornado. After the dust settles, Xiangfu decides to stay and raise his daughter there, having come to believe Xiaomei had hailed from Xizhen, despite having given him the name of another village. While awaiting her return, Xiangfu and the girl endure more trials, including an 18-day blizzard. The story then detours into tales of war and banditry, delivered in gratuitously gory detail and wandering far afield from Xiangfu’s story line. Xiaomei returns in the novel’s second half, and the reader learns the sad story of what initially led her to Xiangfu and the tragedy surrounding her absence. The revelations are staggering, but the narrative loses momentum during its long and meandering middle stretch. It doesn’t quite scale the heights of Yu’s best work. (Apr.)