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A Loyal Character Dancer | 
 enlarge | Author: Qiu Xiaolong
Publisher: Soho Crime
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 149974
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 1569473412
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781569473412
ASIN: 1569473412
Publication Date: September 1, 2003
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Praise for Qiu Xiaolong: "A sequel [to Death of a Red Heroine] that in many ways is even more impressive. . . . [Qiu] has moved from the poetic, exotic milieu of his first book (although plenty of elements remain) into a tougher, wider, probably more commercial and modern version of China as seen by America."-Chicago Tribune "Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau . . . [for] Sinophiles like myself, who fantasize about taking an insider's tour of Shanghai."-Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "The travelogue aspects of the novel don't overwhelm it's critical intelligence. As in all hard-boiled [mysteries], the murder and mayhem provide a cover story for a larger investigation of social mysteries."-Chicago Sun-Times Inspector Chen's mentor in the Shanghai Police Bureau has assigned him to escort U.S. Marshal Catherine Rohn. Her mission is to bring Wen, the wife of a witness in an important criminal trial, to the United States. Inspector Rohn is already en route when Chen learns that Wen has unaccountably vanished from her village in Fujian. Or is this just what he is supposed to believe? Chen resents his role; he would rather investigate the triad killing in Shanghai's beauteous Bund Park. But his boss insists that saving face with Inspector Rohn has priority. So Chen Cao, the ambitious son of a father who imbued him with Confucian precepts, must tread warily as he tries once again to be a good cop, a good man, and also a loyal Party member. Qiu Xiaolong, a prize-winning poet and critic in China, now teaches at Washington University in St. Louis, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 An interesting detective story set in the Shanghai in the early 1990s April 4, 2008
This is the first book by Qiu Xiaolong I have read. I was interested in him because I had heard that he was a Chinese who had emigrated to the US, and had written his Inspector Chen detective novels in English. That, in itself, sounded like quite an accomplishment and impressed me.
The first thing about Qiu is that his stories ring true. Shanghai in 2008 is vastly different from Shanghai in 1993, but the characters, places and customs are still recognizable. This is not someone with a passing interest in China writing a detective story in China; this is the real thing.
The story is about a young woman, whose idealistic youth was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, where she was raped by a man who later married her when she became pregnant. Eventually, she rebuilt her life slowly after leaving her husband, but now had become caught up in a criminal case. Because she was pregnant with a son, her husband, who had made her life a misery during the Cultural Revolution, had asked the US Federal authorities bring to her to the US, where he was now living under the Witness Protection Program.
Inspector Chen, the Chinese poet detective and US Federal Marshal Catherine Rohm, were forced by circumstance to deliver her to the man who tormented her so that they could capture members of a Chinese gang.
The theme is that justice is not always good, and people are often victims of circumstances beyond their control, and are forced to do things they would rather not do, if only to survive. This is a common Chinese theme.
For Americans, this is a theme which frequently makes no sense since being American is all about realizing one's own individual dreams through a combination of hard work, luck and perseverance.
For students of modern Chinese history, the Cultural Revolution is often presented as an aberration. But after reading this book, one realizes that the modern prosperous China of today is a product of that period in Chinese history, and that the scar runs very deep among the people even though the people in the cities live very comfortably by modern standards.
I look forward to reading Qiu's other detective novels.
 Too much Poesy and not enough mystery February 23, 2008
This is Xiaolong Qiu's second novel starring Chief Inspector Chen Cao. Chen is an up and coming member of the new Cadre and has been hand picked by Party Secretary Li and senior members of the Politburo to handle a very sensitive case. This case is the first joint liaison with the American US Marshalls related to people smuggling. Of course the 'man' the US sends is a woman who speaks a very servicable mandarin chinese. An of course being an American, she is attractive, well spoke, and blond.
The sections of the book that deal with Triads and people smuggling are good, as is the sections on the lingering effects of the "Cultural Revolution" and the re-education of the 'educated-ones'. But when he gets into the culture of poetry and the meanings of the old sayings I was looking for 'number one son to jump out and say, What do you think Pop?'
Qiu walks a fine line between explaining chinese history, the errors of the communist party and the changes evoked by Deng Xiaoping. The 'transition period' which is mentioned a couple of times by Chen, is the time in which the old Bolsheviks are supposed to be turning power over to the next generation, but transition can be difficult.
Having gotten past the 'sophomore' novel, without to much damage to his reputation or characters, let hope the next one is better.
Crime Beat Street Blog Review September 12, 2007
I was really looking forward to the second installment in the Inspector Chen series but was quite disappointed in this book. Detective Yu, a primary character in the first novel, barely made an appearance in this one, instead too much time is devoted to the character Detective Rohn, an American working for the U.S. Marshall's office. Frankly she just isn't that interesting, she seems like a caricature of an American woman, blond, pretty, not all that smart save for an occasional comment here and there, and worst of all close minded. I didn't really get into the "what could have been" romantic suggestion the author made about her and Chen, she was too condescedning towards the Chinese, I didn't think Chen, despite his own struggles within the political system, would really find her appealing.
I also felt Qiu Xiaolong relied too heavily on plot devices he used in Death of Red Heroine, which were fabulous the first time but formulaic here. It seemed like Inspector Chen doesn't really work at all, he just ponders things until he makes a connection. That is part of detective work, but not the whole bit. Also, Chen summarizing the wrap up at the end of the novel was dull, I wanted to read about the things he discovered as he was discovering them, not later in summary. How is the reader supposed to feel like part of the story otherwise?
Despite all these criticisms there were some great moments in the book, and I hope I never have to drink snake's blood to show my gratitude to anyone!
 Poetry, food, and culture December 21, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The book contains all the ingredients that make a mystery good -- a puzzling crime, dialogs between characters whose implications are left for the reader to extract, and a plausible conclusion. However it was not for these elements alone that I enjoyed the book. In fact I had picked up the volume after hearing a review for it on NPR (National Public Radio). It was reported in that review that the book depicted the going-on in current China, in particular Shanghai very well. I found the statement to be well grounded.
The fabrics of the city are of course delivered through the book's protagonist, chief inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai police bureau. He is an intelligent 30-ish man of integrity who enjoys poetry and food. Because of his interest in poetry, readers are exposed to fragments of Chinese poetry throughout (for every 5 pages or so appears a fragment). His predilection towards food brings readers to the nooks and corners of Shanghai for gourmet Chinese food and specialties. The process of solving the case reveals snapshots of the society -- how guanxi (loosely translated as relationships or connections) dominates every aspect in life, how no one is ever free from politics (Chen Cao often times withholds information even from his own boss for political considerations), how rapid economic growth is accompanied by the growth of the triads, how Mao's cultural revolution is still affecting peoples' lives, etc. Cultural differences between US and China is also highlighted through the character US Marshal Catherine Rohn, who is Chen's US counterpart in solving the illegal immigration case and serves as his love interest in this episode (another cultural aspect -- Chen gets monitored by Internal Security for his interest in Catherine).
Except for the slight slackening of pace towards the end I enjoyed the novel very much. This was my first episode in Inspector Chen series. Immediately after finishing this book I placed an order for an older episode featuring Chen.
Disappointing June 6, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'd heard good things about Qiu's first book, Death of a Red Heroine, but was only able to get my hands on his second book, ALCD. I picked it up eagerly, not because I like mystery fiction generally, but I am interested in the political and cultural environment of China. I was surprised to find the book a bit dull. I liked the detailed descriptions about life in china, but I found the characters not particularly interesting and the story kind of pedestrian. Moreover, I found the attraction between Chen and Rohn very grating, but that's prob because I hate romantic stuff in non-romance books. Seemed very hollywood to me. In fact, wouldn't be at all surprised if the book was made into a movie. Anyway, I would still recommend reading the book because it does paint a very interesting portrait of life in china and it's always a good thing to support authors there. If you are interested in reading more chinese authors, check out Mo Yan. Cheers.
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