Lin Zhe. George A. Fowler, trans. Old Town. Amazon Crossing, 2011. 704 pages.
A really good novel, even more than a film, can get the reader inside the minds of its characters. OLD TOWN is a novel that lets the reader vicariously experience three generations of life in China. Spanning much of the 20th century, the narrative covers the country’s most tumultuous period.
At first, adjusting to some of the conventions of Chinese nomenclature might take some getting used to. Most of the characters are referred to by their relationship titles rather than proper names: for example, Ninth Brother and Second Sister are the maternal grandparents of the narrator. Once the reader gets the hang of this, it feels quite natural and probably helps maintain the Chinese “feel” of the novel. Translator George Fowler made a good call there.
Although OLD TOWN deals with one family’s story, it’s really an epic about an entire era. We see the struggles of the 1930s and 1940s, culminating in the victory of the Communist Party, followed by the catastrophes of the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” ending in a modern China where status is more closely tied to money than ideological purity.
One aspect of the book that is likely to attract little notice in China but may surprise Western readers is its presentation of China as a heterogeneous country, with divisions of old and young, rich and poor, right and left, North and South, city and country. It’s not a portrayal that usually comes through in Western novels or films. Throughout the book, almost incidentally, Zhe lets the reader see just how large and varied the country is.
Outside of educating the reader about Chinese history, geography, and literature (a helpful timeline, map, and family tree, as well as footnotes for literary and cultural references, help the reader keep up with a great deal), OLD TOWN is a wonderful story about faith, family, change, and continuity. It’s a novel that truly immerses the reader, in the best sense of the word.