A review by ramseyhootman
Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackman, Lisa Brackmann
5.0
Can't afford airfare to China? Tag along with Ellie McEnroe... you'll see everything the "authentic traveler" dreams of: the back alleys, local dives, and idyllic off-the-beaten-path towns where natives still gawk at Westerners. And since this is fiction, you also get to experience the visceral thrills of Chinese intrigue, from lowlife thugs to high rollers with so much clout in the CCP that they're untouchable.
Hour of the Rat is a weird, cool hybrid - travel narrative plus mystery. Brackmann is amazing at providing just the right little details to conjure up authentic Chinese life. Having lived there for a year myself, reading Brackmann's books is just like taking a quick trip back... except Ellie is the one who gets to deal with smoke-filled trains and annoying backpackers, not me.
I enjoyed Hour of the Rat as much as I did Rock Paper Tiger - which, by the way, yes you do need to read first. This is a direct sequel and you'll miss a lot of character setup and background if you skip RPT.
Let's see, stuff I didn't like... well, okay, this is more of a suggestion: This book could really use a map. Ellie travels all over the place, hopping on a train or plane in every other chapter. Brackmann makes each locale feel different and unique (while still patently Chinese), but my very visual brain wanted a layout of the geography. Ideally, I'd have a map graphic at the beginning of each chapter with Ellie's position updated. I think it would have been a cool, helpful addition.
Also, I know it's customary for novels to skip over bodily functions, but I'll admit to wondering about how Ellie was getting around bathroom-wise.She injures her leg pretty badly at one point in the narrative, and after that rides a number of trains. About 3/4 of the way through the book she does finally use a squatty and has issues with it - but I kept wondering, what was she doing on train rides?! Especially drinking all that beer??? My bad... Apparently soft sleepers have western-style toilets. I preferred squatties, so I never noticed!
Okay, back to the good stuff. The plot is awesome because it tackles a ton of current issues with China, stuff you may or may not have seen in the news. GMOs, poisoned food, China's empty cities, pollution, etc. etc. I stay pretty current on Chinese stuff, and Brackmann has totally done her research. Even stuff that's not central to the plot gets mentioned along the way. Altogether, it makes the book feel utterly authentic.
In short: if you want to experience the shady underbelly of Chinese life, Hour of the Rat is your read.
Hour of the Rat is a weird, cool hybrid - travel narrative plus mystery. Brackmann is amazing at providing just the right little details to conjure up authentic Chinese life. Having lived there for a year myself, reading Brackmann's books is just like taking a quick trip back... except Ellie is the one who gets to deal with smoke-filled trains and annoying backpackers, not me.
I enjoyed Hour of the Rat as much as I did Rock Paper Tiger - which, by the way, yes you do need to read first. This is a direct sequel and you'll miss a lot of character setup and background if you skip RPT.
Let's see, stuff I didn't like... well, okay, this is more of a suggestion: This book could really use a map. Ellie travels all over the place, hopping on a train or plane in every other chapter. Brackmann makes each locale feel different and unique (while still patently Chinese), but my very visual brain wanted a layout of the geography. Ideally, I'd have a map graphic at the beginning of each chapter with Ellie's position updated. I think it would have been a cool, helpful addition.
Also, I know it's customary for novels to skip over bodily functions, but I'll admit to wondering about how Ellie was getting around bathroom-wise.
Okay, back to the good stuff. The plot is awesome because it tackles a ton of current issues with China, stuff you may or may not have seen in the news. GMOs, poisoned food, China's empty cities, pollution, etc. etc. I stay pretty current on Chinese stuff, and Brackmann has totally done her research. Even stuff that's not central to the plot gets mentioned along the way. Altogether, it makes the book feel utterly authentic.
In short: if you want to experience the shady underbelly of Chinese life, Hour of the Rat is your read.