jabberwock's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
2.0
There is a genre of Japanese anime that loosely translates to 'slice of life'. That is to say there are no fantastical creatures, no quests for heroes to fulfil, no dark prophecies that threaten to come true — nothing. The entire narrative is based around a-day-in-the-life of the protagonist as he/she goes about her day — and that is basically what China Mountain Zhang is.
China Mountain Zhang reads like a season of Black Mirror with no climaxes, dark twists and no commentary on the state of humanity. Set in a future world where Communist China is dominant, we see a small cast of characters going about their day, going to work, coming home from work and dealing with minor mundane challenges in life. The stories don't necessarily have a thematic relationship with one another, which means that, as readers, the individual vignettes feel very isolated from one another. The characters in this book are also incredibly flat, which shouldn't come as a surprise in most science fiction books anyway.
My biggest issue with the book are the inaccuracies in the Chinese translations. In this universe, with Communist China as the dominant ideology, Mandarin Chinese is the first or second language of most of the characters. Even Singapore-English makes an appearance, literally, on the first page of the book. As a Singaporean, I am keenly aware of how different Singapore-English is, so it annoyed me even more when the author fails to capture the minor nuances of what makes Singapore-English — or Singlish — unique. And while most of the Chinese-to-English translations are accurate, the inaccurate ones do leap out of the page like sore thumbs. Maybe you can fool non-Chinese speakers into thinking that this is a fully realised, well researched world, but these inaccuracies became real distractions for me as a reader.
In the end, China Mountain Zhang feels more like a failed short story collection, with peeks into the working lives of characters living in a future world. It's not unlike a behind-the-scenes look at, say, the life of a salesman in our current universe. It's just not very interesting.
China Mountain Zhang reads like a season of Black Mirror with no climaxes, dark twists and no commentary on the state of humanity. Set in a future world where Communist China is dominant, we see a small cast of characters going about their day, going to work, coming home from work and dealing with minor mundane challenges in life. The stories don't necessarily have a thematic relationship with one another, which means that, as readers, the individual vignettes feel very isolated from one another. The characters in this book are also incredibly flat, which shouldn't come as a surprise in most science fiction books anyway.
My biggest issue with the book are the inaccuracies in the Chinese translations. In this universe, with Communist China as the dominant ideology, Mandarin Chinese is the first or second language of most of the characters. Even Singapore-English makes an appearance, literally, on the first page of the book. As a Singaporean, I am keenly aware of how different Singapore-English is, so it annoyed me even more when the author fails to capture the minor nuances of what makes Singapore-English — or Singlish — unique. And while most of the Chinese-to-English translations are accurate, the inaccurate ones do leap out of the page like sore thumbs. Maybe you can fool non-Chinese speakers into thinking that this is a fully realised, well researched world, but these inaccuracies became real distractions for me as a reader.
In the end, China Mountain Zhang feels more like a failed short story collection, with peeks into the working lives of characters living in a future world. It's not unlike a behind-the-scenes look at, say, the life of a salesman in our current universe. It's just not very interesting.
binstonbirchill's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off great, with the author giving a good description of an interesting world and a character with an interesting dilemma. Much of the book is about people who for one reason or another just don’t fit, don’t fit into society, into jobs, or into relationships. I can roll with that. Aside from an uninteresting race scene I liked the journey this book was taking me on... and then I didn’t. A few scenes really held no interest. I like the concepts explored in the book but some of the specifics of what the author focused on dulled my enthusiasm. It’s hard to say if this is a high 3 or low 4, maybe I’m just feeling generous today.
finlaaaay's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is written in what's apparently called a "Mosaic" style - it seems to be a collection of short stories, but they're ordered and they interlock in various ways. Actually it's pretty similar to "Trainspotting" in that structure, but I was a little confused by it at first.
The book shows great imagination about a possible future in which China is by far the dominant culture, influencing a Maoist socialist revolution in the US. And most of it rings true - it is still a possible future, despite the intervening twenty-something years since the writing of the book. I was struck how the various experiences of being a minority are depicted realistically - especially that of being gay in an authoritarian society.
It's always a fear of mine when reading gay male characters written by women that they won't capture the experience well enough - I've been noticing this a lot with Japanese BL manga recently. But McHugh captures it perfectly, and as the introduction points out, Zhang is a quite unapologetically gay character without that being the sum total of his character. I grew to like him in the novel despite his flaws.
The book shows great imagination about a possible future in which China is by far the dominant culture, influencing a Maoist socialist revolution in the US. And most of it rings true - it is still a possible future, despite the intervening twenty-something years since the writing of the book. I was struck how the various experiences of being a minority are depicted realistically - especially that of being gay in an authoritarian society.
It's always a fear of mine when reading gay male characters written by women that they won't capture the experience well enough - I've been noticing this a lot with Japanese BL manga recently. But McHugh captures it perfectly, and as the introduction points out, Zhang is a quite unapologetically gay character without that being the sum total of his character. I grew to like him in the novel despite his flaws.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
A travel re-read. I prefer to write my reviews the moment I finish the book. And certainly before I read most of the way through my next book. And with the book sitting next to me. So this review is a fail. But anyway.
I remember liking this one quite a bit, but not remembering anything other that at least one of the characters in it was gay.
On re-reading I found this book to be an interesting character study of the semi-near-future. The technology changes are intriguing. But the societal changes more so. And the possibility of a United States in decay and world domination by China.
Most of the book is a thru story of one young man's journey to be educated and make his mark in a world stacked against him, given his being gay and not Chinese. It is interspersed with vignettes of characters tangentially connected to our main character.
Good writing and quite readable. And not as pessimistic and dark as it could have been.
I remember liking this one quite a bit, but not remembering anything other that at least one of the characters in it was gay.
On re-reading I found this book to be an interesting character study of the semi-near-future. The technology changes are intriguing. But the societal changes more so. And the possibility of a United States in decay and world domination by China.
Most of the book is a thru story of one young man's journey to be educated and make his mark in a world stacked against him, given his being gay and not Chinese. It is interspersed with vignettes of characters tangentially connected to our main character.
Good writing and quite readable. And not as pessimistic and dark as it could have been.
siria's review against another edition
3.0
The peculiarities of the last fifteen to twenty or so years means that this novel seems simultaneously very fresh, and very dated. It seems more and more likely that the world will become increasinly sinocentric over the coming years, but I'm not certain that it would—or could—happen in the way McHugh describes here.
At least not in political terms—culturally, I think this is a great snapshot of how two very disparate cultures, Chinese and American, could mingle together. I thought there were some very nice touches which added depth to the narrative, such as the awkwardness of navigating the vagaries of Chinese instead of American etiquette and vice versa; McHugh also layers in one or two things casually (metabolic and genetic therapy, catastrophic climate change) which make it clear just how different a place this future is. Her world-building is really quite strong. That said, I don't think that the interludes from other characters—fliers, a young Chinese-born woman, some colonists on Mars—added much to the book. They certainly expanded our knowledge of the world in which the characters were living, but I don't think those chapters added anything to the story itself.
It was space she could have devoted much more to developing Zhang's character, because while I found him an interesting and mostly sympathetic protagonist, I never found him truly engaging—kind of a reflection of the book as a whole, I think.
At least not in political terms—culturally, I think this is a great snapshot of how two very disparate cultures, Chinese and American, could mingle together. I thought there were some very nice touches which added depth to the narrative, such as the awkwardness of navigating the vagaries of Chinese instead of American etiquette and vice versa; McHugh also layers in one or two things casually (metabolic and genetic therapy, catastrophic climate change) which make it clear just how different a place this future is. Her world-building is really quite strong. That said, I don't think that the interludes from other characters—fliers, a young Chinese-born woman, some colonists on Mars—added much to the book. They certainly expanded our knowledge of the world in which the characters were living, but I don't think those chapters added anything to the story itself.
It was space she could have devoted much more to developing Zhang's character, because while I found him an interesting and mostly sympathetic protagonist, I never found him truly engaging—kind of a reflection of the book as a whole, I think.
reasie's review against another edition
5.0
The most honest coming of age story I've ever read - this chronicles Zhang's growth from a directionless 20-year-old to the point where he takes control of his life. Maureen augments Zhang's story with a few vignettes from other lives that intersect his, including a couple on a Mars colony, a woman who races futuristic hang-gliders through the New York City landscape, and a poor girl who falls for handsome, gay Zhang.
McHugh's alternate future is realistic and interesting and Zhang's journey takes us from Manhattan to China to the Arctic Circle. The technologies are cool. The characters nuanced. Zhang's struggle with identity as a mixed-race youth in a world that derides his hispanic heritage and values his Chinese heritage is as fascinating as his struggle with concealing his homosexuality in a New York that allows but does not condone it and a China where he can be killed for "deviance".
It's a poem of a book, a quick read, and just lovely. I may have wondered why we had the story on Mars, or why the aside on kite races, but then I thought, "No, it fits." Like Zhang's Zen Engineering, the story is built out of its parts in a subtle way.
McHugh's alternate future is realistic and interesting and Zhang's journey takes us from Manhattan to China to the Arctic Circle. The technologies are cool. The characters nuanced. Zhang's struggle with identity as a mixed-race youth in a world that derides his hispanic heritage and values his Chinese heritage is as fascinating as his struggle with concealing his homosexuality in a New York that allows but does not condone it and a China where he can be killed for "deviance".
It's a poem of a book, a quick read, and just lovely. I may have wondered why we had the story on Mars, or why the aside on kite races, but then I thought, "No, it fits." Like Zhang's Zen Engineering, the story is built out of its parts in a subtle way.
essinink's review against another edition
4.0
I hesitated a bit over the rating, but I feel relatively comfortable giving this a 4 out of 5.
I'm not sure how to describe this other than to say that this is a supremely human novel.
The writing isn't always perfect, but there's something very compelling about it. And then, every so often, the author punched me in the gut with an image so vivid I had to remind myself it was fiction.
And then, of course... San-xiang's stand-alone chapter. To be fair, it's not the be-all end-all of her character arc, and she gets a very well thought-out send-off the next time she meets Zhang, but it still bugged me.
If it has one other flaw, it is that the ending feels slightly abrupt at first reading. I turned the page, expecting more, and there just... wasn't. After a few hours away, I was able to make the necessary connections back to the rest of the novel to realize how fitting it was as an ending.
And it is fitting.
The protagonist's journey is wonderfully executed, and each of the supporting characters with which his life briefly intersects also get their own treatments--some heartwarming, others tragic--but there is, throughout the novel, a sense of becoming. And maybe we don't get all the answers. Even so, we get the important ones.
4/5 recommended/would read again.
I'm not sure how to describe this other than to say that this is a supremely human novel.
The writing isn't always perfect, but there's something very compelling about it. And then, every so often, the author punched me in the gut with an image so vivid I had to remind myself it was fiction.
And then, of course... San-xiang's stand-alone chapter.
Spoiler
I knew where this was going pretty much from the moment in the bar, but was still... disappointed(?)... that the author went through with it. I will never be comfortable using rape as a plot device.If it has one other flaw, it is that the ending feels slightly abrupt at first reading. I turned the page, expecting more, and there just... wasn't. After a few hours away, I was able to make the necessary connections back to the rest of the novel to realize how fitting it was as an ending.
And it is fitting.
The protagonist's journey is wonderfully executed, and each of the supporting characters with which his life briefly intersects also get their own treatments--some heartwarming, others tragic--but there is, throughout the novel, a sense of becoming. And maybe we don't get all the answers. Even so, we get the important ones.
4/5 recommended/would read again.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
China Mountain Zhang is a debut novel? Really? This forward-thinking and groundbreaking work was released in 1992? Wow. I admit this is my first time reading Maureen F. McHugh, I had it in my TBR forever, I don't even remember where I bought, but I assumed I just saw it on the shelf at a used book store and thought it sounded good. I was pushed over the edge to read it when Luke Barrage on the Science Fiction Book Review Podcast gave it high marks.
In the time when this novel was written, the USSR had recently collapsed. In hindsight, the possibility of that country falling apart doesn't seem that weird but in 1984 no science fiction writers were imagining a future without the Soviet Union. One of the things that makes this novel so impressive in the early 90s McHugh saw a future where the United States had the same thing happen to it. This became eerie as I read this turning the coronavirus shut down and the country is on the verge of an economic collapse that this novel predicts.(p.290) Not to forget that the 21st century is often labeled "The Chinese Century" as only two superpowers remain, and Chinese influence is growing all the time. In the world of this novel shows a totally Chinese century.
The job of science fiction is not to predict, any of the greats in the field will tell you that but when you read about mass shootings in John Brunner's books from the sixties or the Chinese century in this novel from 1992 it is still impressive.
On paper, this might not seem like the kinda book I would enjoy. First of all as a storyteller I am very plot-driven, and while character and setting are important to me a book that relies almost entirely on just being a slice of life normally wouldn't be my jam. That said the world-building is some of the best I have ever read, and I really enjoy that. It is subtle and naturally done with very fine touches to make this world feel well lived in. The only thing that pulled me a little out of the story was the chapters set on Mars, but that is just the science being inaccurate. On that tangent, I am fine with a surreal Bradbury-ian or Burrough-ish surreal sci-fi Mars when the novel is consistent. The problem here is that the rest of the novel felt realistic to me. This is one minor nitpick I have.
China Mountain Zhang is a well formated for a slice of life novel that really doesn't use twists. It starts with Zhang our title character and spins out to a few different characters from there. The characters do have arcs but they are very subtle. Through the various point of view characters, we get different windows into post-revolution communist Chinese influenced America, An Arctic research station, a Chinese Mars farm colony, and a Chinese university. There are short elements of cyberpunk that is peppered through-out, people in this future be engineered to network and share data.
The Stereotype of Sci-fi is that the settings overshadow the characters, but this is not the case. Zhang, Alexi, and San-Xiang are products of this would but they are fully developed characters.To a certain degree, each of them are total subjects to the forces of their world. That is something that we who currently in quarantine thanks to a virus all relate too. San-Xiang has to get surgery to not appear what this culture deems as ugly, Zhang who is half Latino gets gene therapy to look more Chinese, both things that seem hard to understand in our largely politically sensitive 21st century, but the century in this novel is so very different. They want desperately to matter in this culture and be able to assimilate into the Chinese motherland. The main character is gay and the book was given an award for gay men's Sci-fi, but honestly, I didn't notice he was until late in the book.
The political theory of the novel is laid out very clearly in two info-dumps that happened to work for me but might come off as heavy-handed to some. This book is not pro-capitalism but it is very far from promoting communism. In that sense, I don't know if I can call this a traditional dystopia. I mean the problems with communism are best illustrated When Zhang is assigned a new apartment building that has no water above the fifth floor. This is a great critique of Mao and Soviet Style communism but In reality, the 21st-century version has enough capitalism to look more privileged than anything dystopic. Again McHugh's job was not to predict.
This novel simply explores the idea of a Chinese century dialed to 11. The second civil war of this novel might seem like outlandish a few years ago but the one thing this novel missed was how the partisan divide would drive this fight. Told through a Mosaic a style That John Brunner brought to genre in the late Sixties with Stand on Zanzibar is more common today, and maybe best used in David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Unlike the those two books, the characters are more closely tied together and this novel is not bloated. It is short and effective, perfect length around three hundred pages.
I enjoyed this book, but I think it is more of an important book than a fun one. I think it has a lot to teach about world-building and it holds a very revealing mirror to China in the late 20th century. Worthy of all the awards and as this second great depression looms I hope McHugh is not right about the collapse of this economy and how that will go down in a Chinese century.
sarvikaskas's review
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0