A Case of Two Cities, Qiu Xiaolong

This is the fourth book from Qiu Xiaolong involving his star character, Chief Inspector Chen Cao. I have greatly enjoyed the series. There are a few things that bothered me about this volume. In perhaps the first 1/3-1/2 of the novel, I was bothered by bad grammar and bad grammar choices. By bad grammar, I mean run on sentences and sentence fragments. Bad grammar choices involved far too many commas creating a jerky narrative. Together, these two issues almost made me hit the delete on my Kindle. One of the style choices I didn't like in the first three books was the inclusion of poetry lines jammed together like prose, separated by the forward slash /. I suppose he might have saved a few pages and a few trees by doing so. But in an electronic copy, what's the point? In any case, that was improved upon perhaps 50%+ of the time. That is to say, in volume four, maybe greater than 50% of the time the lines of poetry were on their own lines as poetry ought to be displayed.

The story itself is otherwise fairly well told. But, while not really an issue I guess, I didn't get a very good look into China. Most of the story takes place in the US. There was the issue of corrupt people stealing Chinese public funds or taking advantage of Chinese laws meant to stimulate the economy to give themselves leverage they needed to create vast sums of personal wealth, in order to build luxurious lives for themselves in the US before their corruption caught up with them.

Chen is given 'the emperor's sword' to deal with going after Xiao. But he doesn't get far, and there is a great deal of risk to him. One detective who may have been assigned to the same file was killed. The first person he questions has information about Chen before Chen has had a chance to question him. The target becomes too dangerous for him, so the next person he goes after for questioning he gets the leverage of some pornographic photos with another official, Jiang. She ends up dead in short order. Then, Chen is sent to the US to get him out of the way or to make it possible to get a roundabout inroad towards the defecting Xiao. But he goes not for the investigation, but as a special envoy. Perhaps a kind of undercover operation where everyone knows who he is, but not exactly why he is there. This includes himself. Someone tries to kill him, but gets someone else instead.

In the end, he attempts to thwart Jiang's escape to Canada, but the outcome is left out. The end of the narrative has many loose strings. I don't object to that entirely. But I suspect many readers might. Loose strings are easier to pick up later than a narrative which is carefully and surgically sutured to have no loose ends.

I'm sure I'll get into book 5. My theory is that this book had a different editor than the first four. I tried to find out by looking up the book on Amazon and Goodreads. But getting that information isn't so easy. I'm sure if I spent more time I could eventually figure it out. But how important is it? I'll just leave my guess here.

Goodreads first three or four reviews had similar experiences to my own: enjoyed the first three novels. This novel is of inferior quality.

Cheyanne wrote, "But this case has two many murders, with victims and killers we barely get to know. We also get barely a glimpse of several recurring characters."Shabbeer Hassan wrote, "A rather disappointing book in the Inspector Chen series, with a weak story (as usual) but much weaker character motivations and horrid pastiche of Inspector Morse by Colin Dexter.

I don't know who Inspector Morse or Colin Dexter are. 

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) wrote, "Golly I hate to say this, but I was disappointed. Four novels into the Chen Cao chronicles, I guess it's normal that the author should lose a bit of headway. The case looked promising: an older, respected cop is found dead in a fancy brothel, and Internal Security gets a "confession" from the terrified young prostitute far too quickly. What's up? Well, you won't find out here."

There were some positive reviews. Follow the links and I'm sure you'll find them at Goodreads.  

When Red is Black, Qiu Xiaolong

   This is the third novel in a series about Chief Police Inspector Chen. Chen is on holiday for most of this book, and only marginally involved with it as he's on a holiday. He leaves the case mostly to his sidekick, Sergeant Yu.
   The takeaway for me from this book is the fact that Mao had a way of betraying his most ardent followers. The Red Guard which is created by him becomes politically incorrect. So, all those people that the Red Guard identified as being anti-Mao, or something to that effect, themselves become persecuted.
   Another issue that becomes apparent is that an honest policeman in the 90s quickly got left behind the economic boom which came after the government, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, decided to open up the country to capitalism. He was a victim of that Reagonomics trickle down theory whereby if people are allowed to become very rich, the money that they make will trickle down to the poor and everyone gets richer. I think that's BS now. Clearly that's not what's happening today. But, millions of people were able to live themselves above poverty. But I think that this is the result of opportunity rather than trickle down effects.
   What I really like about Qiu Xiaolong's books is reading a lot of the backstories that build up the present who-dun-nit. The meeting of the murdered woman and a poet in a reeducation facility makes these politically black people into greater astigmatism. For refusing to end the relationship, half of her head is shaved, and she has to wear an old shoe around her neck. While he is forced to wear a tiny chalkboard around his neck.
   Publisher's Weekly writes, "Only a banal solution to the mystery spoils an otherwise engrossing read." I agree that the ending is a bit banal. But I don't think that's a problem. The ending is a bit simplistic and a bit of an oddball, nothing fancy. But I don't think that that's really a problem with my reading of the novel. The more important story is how major historical events which become little more than notes on timelines create an endless tapestry of events which lead to an unfortunate end for an unfortunate victim.
   I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

A Loyal Character Dancer, Qiu Xiaolong

   This is the second in a series of novels about Chief Inspector Chen by Qiu Xiaolong. I was very pleased with the first novel in this series. Qiu Xiaolong is a remarkable writer. Consider that he did not spend the first 40 years of his life in the US. Further, he teaches English in the US. These novels of his were written in English, not translated from his native Mandarin into English. That is quite respectable alone. But it is not enough to make me want to read these stories. Yet, here I am, fascinated and addicted to the characters, the setting, the romance built into these.
    This book surrounds a murder and a disappearance. One man is mysteriously murdered and his corpse left in a park. The woman who has disappeared, the loyal character dancer, is of intense interest by both the underground mafia, and the American government, who has sent a special marshal, Catherine Rohn, to retrieve the woman, Wen Liping, who has disappeared.
   The Americans want her because she is a part of an agreement which is contingent for a man, her husband, in the US, to testify against some major mafia figures. But the whole affair is much more complex than it appears.
   The book is set in the late 80s, but it is affected by events that had happened in the 60s. In the 60s, Mao sent China's educated youth to the countryside to learn how to work like peasants. Wen, being a young woman in this period, is particularly beautiful, and becomes a victim to a local magistrate's influence. He wants her, so he takes her against her will. He marries her. He beats her. He cheats on her. She is subjected to debilitating work. Her life was one of misery. So, when the call came for her to go to the US to rejoin him, she could hardly be blamed for not wanting to go to him. But, the politics of the situation is too great for her to ignore.
   She had managed to find a place to hide. But, eventually Chen is able to unravel her whereabouts. He eventually convinces her that the mafia has connections everywhere, and that eventually they will find his report which identifies where she is located. When she is located, her benefactor will suffer the consequences for having harbored her. So, eventually she agrees, though Catherine is able to promise to her that she will not be forced to stay with her husband.
   Chen is very wary. Despite being romantic, he is also quite paranoid. He pays attention and is savvy. He knows he is being watched, and that he has enemies. He doesn't really trust anyone except his trusty sidekick and his sidekick's father, referred to as Old Hunter.
   I really enjoyed this novel. I recommend it. I will be reading the third in this series probably within a month.

Death of a Red Heroine, Qiu Xiaolong

   I have been wanting to read some Chinese fiction for awhile. I wanted something a bit seedy and underground. Maybe something a bit spicy. Qiu Xiaolong came up as a candidate on a list somewhere about a year ago. So, I got some of his books and they have been on my Kindle idling for a bit. At last, I started reading this first in a series of detective fiction novels.
   Qiu Xiaolong, I had originally thought, would be a Chinese writer whose works are translated into English. That thought was only half correct. He is Chinese, but he moved to the US and continues to live there since the early 90s. For his work, Death of a Red Heroine, he was awarded "the 2001 Anthony Award for Best First Novel by a mystery writer and The Wall Street Journal ranked it as the third best political novel of all time. It was based in part on an actual sex and drug scandal from the early 1990s." (from Wikipedia.org)
   It's been awhile since I have been gripped so tightly by a great narrative. There are many aspects that make this book endearing to me.
   First, the setting. I work in China these days. It's 2018 and I've been in China since 2016. I don't really have a solid picture of what China was like in the past aside from what my ex-girlfriend used to tell me. I can certainly see elements of similarity between her memories and the descriptions rendered by Xiaolong. So, in a lot of ways, I feel like Xiaolong is really putting me in touch with the country that has tolerated me to work at a second tier public university.
   Second, I really love his main character, Chen. Chen and I have a few things in common: our love for poetry and a bachelor's degree in English literature. I will say that my love for poetry has mostly gone to sleep for quite some time. I appreciate to an extent, but consider it a bit of an anachronism these days. Perhaps a part of the problem is mine. Perhaps it's the quality of the work. Once upon a time, the greatest writers wrought their full wit on metered, rhythmic, and otherworldly poetry. Today, it is largely left in the laps of those who either like to feel sorry for themselves in some kind of sloppy prose or splatter words on the page much like certain abstract painters abuse canvas. Whatever the case, I love how poetry often helps Chen visualize the world, his interactions with others, and how he ultimately defines himself.
   The plot is fairly simple: a man kills a Chinese model. Chen, the lead detective, is sent to find out who killed her. Eventually he discovers that the killer was a child of a high ranking inner party member. As he gets close to unraveling the case, and the killer, Wu, becomes aware that he's being investigated, Chen very nearly loses his ability to pursue Wu. Through some help from high places, he manages to finish the case. In the end, Wu is tried and executed through the late hours of the night. It's quite a brutal finish.
   Some things that are interesting and stood out for me: the victim, the model named Guan, was famous enough that many people all over China could recognize her. Yet, she lived in a shabby apartment. She is not afforded special privileges despite her fame. There was no economic benefit for what she did. In fact, she had to be the perfect person at all times. She is compromised by Wu who drugs her than photographs her in sexual poses. Yet, she could see the neighbors below her through the holes in her floor. She was treated differently by her neighbors, but not in any kind of positive way. For the entire building she lived in, there were four phones that could be used with some payment. They all had to share a common kitchen area.
   Some things Xiaolong wrote stuck out for me:
   "Political correctness was a shell. It should not, could not, spell an absence of personal life."
   On how China treated its higher education professors, "The poorest is a Ph.D., and the dumbest is a professor."
   "A room's like a woman, he reflected. It also possesses you. Besides, you have to spend a fortune to make it love you." I don't know if this is true about women, but it does seem to be true about a room.
   "It is not people that make interpretations, but interpretations that make people."

   I really enjoyed reading this book and would easily say it's among the best 3-5 novels I've read this year.

The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone (1868) is another classic detective story of fame that I have chosen to read. It's written by the acclaimed Wilkie Collins (1824-1889). According to Wikipedia, among other sources, this is the first English detective novel.

The Moonstone is a diamond which was looted from a holy Indian site by the English, which eventually falls into the hands of Colonel Herncastle. It's a flawed diamond of significant size and quality. There are several Indians who are looking to retrieve it for their temple. The Colonel Herncastle is ostracized by his family. The diamond is considered to bring with it a kind of curse. Therefore, as the Colonel is dying, he bequeaths it to she, Rachel Verinder, whom he considers the original instigator of the ostracism on the date of her first birthday after his death.

The story is divided into several parts. Part one follows the narrative of an elderly servant, Gabriel Betteredge, who has served Lady Verinder's family for pretty much his entire life. He's an honest man with a few interesting traits that stand out. First, he loves Robinson Crusoe, a book which is his favorite literary retreat which he mentions several times throughout the narrative. Initially he served as a grounds keeper. But in his older age, he is turned into a well respected servant. It's hard to imagine working into your 70s with never a retirement in sight.

After the first detective investigates the puzzle but cannot solve the case. He therefore sends for a Detective Cuff, who is renowned for his reputation. He seems to have been able to solve the mystery of the case, but the resolution is never come to. The theory is that it was never stolen, but rather that Rachel stole her own jewel to sell it for some unknown reason.

Roseanne kills herself over Mr. Franklin. She had fallen in love with him, apparently, and he ignored her. It's unknown why she might have felt that she had some kind of possible relationship with him. She is referred to as 'ugly.' The narrator does not know, either, why she fell in love with him.

At the end of part one there are several mysteries left unsolved.

Thus far (I am at the title of part two), I am quite impressed by the book. I really love how authentically British the narrator's voice is. He has this charm and method of throwing together a phrase that has a real charm to it.

Part two is narrated by the character of Miss Jane Ann Stamper. However, she is more often referred to as Miss Clack or Drusilla. The character is a fanatical Christian. As such, she is a nuisance. Her favourite thing to do is to distribute books and pamphlets promoting her Christian cause. She does everything she can to coerce people to read it. She goes so far to say that Rachel's mother had not properly converted to Christianity, and therefore would not have achieved a position in heaven. By doing so she burns her bridges.

The mother, Julie Verinder, dies a few days after she makes her will. She had something for Miss Stamper. But rather than talk about the something she had set aside for her, Stamper insists on the subject of her views on how life should go.

There is little about the Moonstone in this part. It is more about the situation Rachel Herncastle gets into. Godfrey, her cousin, wants to marry her. He and she both change their minds. His father is most upset by this. He is the brother-in-law of Julie. Julie had named him as the person as her executor. In revenge for the breakup between her and his son, he forces her to leave the home she grew up in. The house 'was hired in his name', so I am not sure if that means it is rented or exactly what it is. In any case, her lawyer invites her to stay in his home.

It is here that the narrative of Miss Drusilla Clack, aka Miss Jane Ann Stamper, comes to an end. It wasn't nearly as charming as part one because of the voice of the narrator. Now, this is an excellent accomplishment on the part of Wilkie Collins. He manages to create two very distinct voices within the novel. I haven't yet read another novel that has done the same (although, to be sure, there must be another).

I found part two to be a bit dreary, although it was in the last scene quite good.

On to part three. Part three is narrated by Mathew Bruff, an honest lawyer who works on behalf of Rachel. The voice in this case is different again from parts one and two. Part one had a lot of sentimentality. Part two a kind of crazed well meaningness. While part three is a cold and brief accounting of his perspective on the mystery of the Moonstone. He has the theory that the Moonstone is pawned for a sum of money to be repaid in a year, or the diamond defaults to the lender. The lender is one Mr. Luker who "stand(s) at the top of the prosperous and ancient profession of usury..." If this is the case, it casts my glance on Godfrey, since he has been the one shown to require a large sum great enough that he voided his pending marriage to Rachel.

It truly is remarkable how adept Wilkie Collins is in adopting a variety of voices.

Part 4: Third Narrative Contributed by Franklin Blake. It is through this narrative that we discover that Rachel saw Franklin Blake steal the Moonstone. However, if his narrative is to be the truth (which I think is Collins' intent), then he never meant to steal it at all.

It is revealed in this part that the evidence against him held by Roseanne was in fact his sleeping clothes with the paint stain on it. She buried it in quicksand in a strong box attached to a metal chain. She leaves the information on how to find it with her trusted friend.

Franklin learns from Rachel that she witnessed him taking it, but his narrative shows that he did not know what he was doing. Nor was the diamond in his possession following the theft. So, this was the reason that Rachel hated him, but not enough to give that information to the police.

A kind of practical joke was played on Blake that night by the Doctor (Dr. Candy) who had given him a dose of opium. While under the deep drugged sleep, he had stolen the diamond. Dr. Candy suffered an illness that ruined his mind, so it is from his recorded ramblings that reveals the joke played on him. His assitant, Ezra Jennings, informs Blake of the joke when Blake tries to interview Dr. Candy for whatever information he had. Dr. Candy's illness stole the large part of his memory, and therefore he was unable to extract the confession directly.

While many of the narratives had a strong distinct voice. However, Blakes voice in this case isn't terribly dissimilar from that of the lawyer, Mr. Bruff.

The final part is told by Ezra Jennings. The voice I referred to before isn't conferred so much by the inner vocabulary of the narrator, but by his feelings and his readings of other peoples' feelings towards him.

He is a sick man, addicted to the relief of opium. His internal motivations are selfless. He is attempting to recreate the situation, with the help of some willing and some unwilling participants, the night of the Moonstone diamond's disappearance. It is sad to read how people judge him (and other people who are physically unattractive). He reacts to Miss Verinder's positive treatment of him. His sacrifices to make this experiment work is also a result of the kindness and respect that Blake had given him. (It would appear that the gratitude of the ugly for the kindness of the beautiful has a profound effect on the victim of physical circumstance):

"I can't treat you like a stranger, Mr. Jennings," she said. "Oh, if you only knew how happy your letters have made me!"

She looked at my ugly wrinkled face with a bright gratitude so new to me in my experience of my fellow-creatures, that I was at a loss how to answer her. Nothing had prepared me for her kindness and her beauty. The misery of many years has not hardened my heart...

At this point, I have concluded the tale. As expected, Godfrey was at the bottom of the theft. Blake had been an involuntary accomplice. Godfrey's crime catches up to him. When he gets the diamond back from the loan, he attempts to run away with it. He is watched, however, and murdered by one of the Indians whose mission it was to retrieve it.

They are unable to repossess it. The Indians successfully bring it back to their temple. Their reward is a punishment for betraying their caste. The diamond is seen at the temple. I think that perhaps the diamond had been stolen from their temple in the first place, and was restored to it.

The book was quite good. Although not as intriguing or well written as that of Monsieur Lecoq, the creation of Émile Gaboriau. In other ways, in particular the numerous narrative voices which were skillfully used, it is unique and masterful.

The Sign of the Four, Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of the Four (1890) is the second book of the famous Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (It can be found for free at gutenberg.org. It is a relatively short read and easy enough to read.

The story is split into two basic parts. There's the murder, which Holmes is to solve, and the back story, which is a story of revenge. A woman asks for Holmes to help her solve the mystery of her father's disappearance. She has a letter and an invitation which leads Holmes, Watson, and herself to the scene of a freshly committed crime.

Some interesting facts about Sherlock Holmes' weakness comes to light in this case. He is addicted to cocaine, and injects himself in times of boredom. He is easily bored, and as he says, "...'there are in me the makings of a very fine loafer and also of a pretty spry sort of fellow.'"

With some clues and gross generalizations, Holmes is able to stitch together enough of the puzzle to get onto the trail of the murderer. After some frustration, they succeed in catching the criminal and getting a full confession.

There is the problem of racism in this story. The Indians from Andaman Islands are described in quite a nasty fashion:

'They are naturally hideous, having large, misshapen heads, small, fierce eyes, and distorted features. Their feet and hands, however, are remarkably small. So intractable and fierce are they that all the efforts of the British official have failed to win them over in any degree. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews, braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs, or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast.'

To be fair, however, this is from a book describing these people rather than a verifiable opinion of Doyle's on the aboriginals of this island.

I have recently read some excellent books. It wasn't really painful to read, but it wasn't particularly stimulating, either.

Monsieur Lecoq, Émile Gaboriau

Émile Gaboriau (1832-1873) was an early writer of detective fiction. My personal discovery of this character and the author comes from a passage from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet where Dr. Watson is asking about famous detectives. Sherlock Holmes dismisses Monsieur Lecoq as a buffoon. It's said that Doyle's Holmes overtook Lecoq in popularity and dwindled Lecoq's fame and popularity. Monsieur Lecoq is a two volume work of genius. Doyle is a good writer, to be sure, but his Holmes is not the equal of Gaboriau's Lecoq. Volumes 1 and 2 of this masterful literature can be found online at Gutenberg.org.  

Someone might ask themselves why I prefer Lecoq to Holmes. Holmes, without doubt, is probably capable of solving the murder mystery more quickly than Lecoq. Holmes has the ability to solve crimes instantly, almost subconsciously. Dr. Watson, with good reason, stumbles after him trying to understand the method to his madness. On the other hand, this is Lecoq's first detective mystery. He is not even a master of himself quite yet. 

Lecoq distinguishes himself from the other policemen when he captures May, the suspected murderer, by going to the rear of the wine house and preventing May's escape. While his superior is quick to dismiss the murder as a simple affair between thugs, Lecoq heard May exclaim, "Ah, it's the Prussians who are coming; I'm lost!", he realized that May was not a common thug.

Gevrol, his chief, is ready to walk away from the crime with little more interest, but Lecoq contradicts Gevrol's theory. The police are described as a backstabbing lot who bother each other in a competition for the top. Gevrol is near the top and Lecoq is just beginning. Repeatedly, Lecoq examines evidence, concocts a theory, and teases it out. He uncovers a brilliant means of communication between May and the outside world as he sits in prison, but is foiled by Gevrol betraying him. Gevrol is protective of his position, and mocks Lecoq. As a consequence, he sabotages him as much as he can.

Lecoq shows great imagination and wit. He has a kind of sidekick as well, "Father Absinthe" (named after his favorite drink). And, while Dr. Watson is an intelligent man made seemingly unintelligent next to Holmes, Father Absinthe is not terribly intelligent, more interested in pursuing a drink than in anything else. Despite Father Absinthe's inferior intellect, sometimes he is able to help ground Lecoq in the more obvious observations. When Lecoq is deeply discouraged, Father Absinthe's attitude helps restore Lecoq's confidence and he rejoins his efforts.

At the end of volume 1, he has essentially given up. In a stunt to discover the identity of May, he releases him in the hopes of following him to his lair. He succeeds. However, when he does find him, he does not recognize him. He is in fact the duke, Martial de Sairmeuse and when he comes upon the duke in his own house, he is cleaned up and unrecognizable.

Lecoq is about to give up towards the end of volume one when he seeks out the advice of  Père Tireauclair, (lit. Father Bringer of Light, or "Old man Brings-to-light"). Père Tireauclair is able to decipher the meaning of certain mysteries which have befuddled Lecoq on the basis of Lecoq's narrations. I find this to be a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's too easy a means to assist Lecoq penetrate the mystery. On the other, Lecoq is seen as a young man who has made mistakes. That goes to the essence of why I prefer him to Holmes. He is a young man whom I can follow, I can read his errors, and ultimately he is more of a human being while Holmes is ultimately a kind of superhero with super abilities. Where with Holmes or Agatha' Christie's Poirot, I am often left scratching my head wondering how these detectives are able to deduce the mysteries. With Lecoq, the deductions are much more lucid and comprehensible. He is a good detective, stubborn, intelligent, dedicated, honest, yet fallible, at times naive but correcting himself.

Volume 2 is mostly, save the epilogue, filling out the story, taking place 20 years earlier, behind the murder. Marie-Anne is the object of three men's desire, all of whom are ready to sacrifice everything to have her as their wife. The Martial de Sairmeuse, Chanlouineau the successful farmer who sacrifices everything to help her in her happiness, and Maurice D’Escorval who is the one who marries her.

Blanche is in love with Martial, and though once Marie-Anne's friend, she ultimately murders her in order to win over the object of her affection. The murder is attributed to Father Chupin who is himself a despicable fellow who is murdered but not for this particular crime. He takes the blame, but not before informing his eldest son about who the real murderer is.

Blanche is blackmailed by several characters and suffers a very unhappy life, despite, after having moved to Paris, being most envied at the highest social echelon. She cannot escape her guilt, though she feels justified as it happens to bring Martial back to her as her husband.

At the end, in the short epilogue, Leqoc is able to deceive Martial to a confession, but does not prosecute him. He is able to rescue his reputation and secure for himself a good future as an inspector.

The story is brilliant. In truth, the two volumes I read in two days, unable to put them down until I was finished with them. I am lucky to have discovered and followed the reference from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet.