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A review by lizzillia
Cocoon by Zhang Yueran
4.0
This book is not an easy read- it challenges you – but the quality of the writing keeps you reading
This is described as a literary thriller, but in my opinion it is not a thriller in the way that I understand a thriller. In the present time, our two main characters, Li Jiaqi and Cheng Gong meet after an eighteen year separation. Li Jiaqi has returned to be with her grandfather – a renowned doctor and member of the establishment – who is dying and seeks out Cheng Gong. What then follows is each character taking alternate 'chapters' to tell their story in first person narration. What we discover is that there is a mystery going back to China's Cultural Revolution and an event in 1967 that left a man in a vegetative state and connects both families. Both characters are members of dysfunctional families and both are seeking parental love as well as an answer to this mystery. Li Jiagi's quest is more to do with her father while Cheng Gong's is more about seeking answers to the mystery. The recounts reveal how the legacy of the Cultural Revolution affects generations. and also show how each character is trying to find love and belonging. Neither has an easy time growing up and their friendship was frowned upon because of their difference in class but they gravitated towards each other and to the tower where body parts lay randomly on the ground, a grim legacy of the times when ordinary people lived in fear.
This is not a novel with joy and laughter although it does show the value of friendship. Some beautiful writing.
This is described as a literary thriller, but in my opinion it is not a thriller in the way that I understand a thriller. In the present time, our two main characters, Li Jiaqi and Cheng Gong meet after an eighteen year separation. Li Jiaqi has returned to be with her grandfather – a renowned doctor and member of the establishment – who is dying and seeks out Cheng Gong. What then follows is each character taking alternate 'chapters' to tell their story in first person narration. What we discover is that there is a mystery going back to China's Cultural Revolution and an event in 1967 that left a man in a vegetative state and connects both families. Both characters are members of dysfunctional families and both are seeking parental love as well as an answer to this mystery. Li Jiagi's quest is more to do with her father while Cheng Gong's is more about seeking answers to the mystery. The recounts reveal how the legacy of the Cultural Revolution affects generations. and also show how each character is trying to find love and belonging. Neither has an easy time growing up and their friendship was frowned upon because of their difference in class but they gravitated towards each other and to the tower where body parts lay randomly on the ground, a grim legacy of the times when ordinary people lived in fear.
This is not a novel with joy and laughter although it does show the value of friendship. Some beautiful writing.