The Books That Caught Our Eye & Stoked Our Imaginations in 2019

原创 Anna PH theBeijinger

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Getting to the end of a year in Beijing tends to leave you with more questions than answers, and when you're not searching in vain for that long-gone jianbing seller, you're dealing with quiet closures, noisy neighbors, and if you're really lucky, surprise laduzi. One thing's for sure: there's never a dull day in China's capital, and we hope for nothing less from 2020. For now, however, let's take a look back at the year that was 2019.

The biggest Beijing book news this year was arguably the closure of our beloved Sanlitun bookstore and hangout, The Bookworm. Yet while this certainly left a big hole in our community, when it comes to actual books, 2019 still offered plenty to be happy about. We look back on a selection of the Beijing and China-related books that caught our eye this year, and made waves both here and abroad.

Long Peace Street: A Walk in Modern China by Jonathan Chatwin

Over two long, hot August days, British journalist Jonathan Chatwin walked the breadth of Beijing with a seemingly simple mission: follow Chang'an Jie, or as he translates it (and from which the book title comes), Long Peace Street, all the way from the old steel factory of Shougang in the far west to the Sihui subway station in the east before the road peters out into suburbia. Describing the sites that he encounters on his way (as well as those long gone, and a few slight detours), Chatwin is able to weave together a compelling history of modern China, in the proud tradition of the 'flâneur,' a narrative technique that dates back to the work of French writer Charles Baudelaire. The book is interwoven with personal observations as Chatwin trudges onwards in the oppressive heat, yet this is not memoir: Chatwin is no slouch when it comes to history, and his thorough research combined with skillful storytelling makes this a compelling read and a great place to start for anybody interested in the way Chinese history has shaped the capital, and vice versa.

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Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

One of the biggest publishing stories of this year hit very close to home: first-time author Amélie Wen Zhao grew up in Beijing, and attended the International School of Beijing (ISB). Unfortunately for the Young Adult (YA) fiction writer, her debut novel Blood Heir made headlines around the world this year for the wrong reasons. Before the work was even published, it was accused of including racist themes, and Zhao suffered a huge backlash from the YA community online which led her to eventually suspend its release. As beijingkids editor Drew Pittock reported in his interview with Zhao (read it via QR code below), following much soul-searching (both among the YA community and Zhao herself), the book underwent some revisions and has since been released worldwide.

As for the book itself, Blood Heir is a fantasy novel that tells the story of Anastacya, the Crown Princess of Cyrilia, who is charged with the murder of her father and presumed dead herself. Intent on clearing her name, Anastacya seeks help from criminal mastermind Ramson Quicktongue, who is on his own mission to reclaim his status in the mysterious criminal organization the Order of Lily. With a strong female lead, plenty of political intrigue and plotting, and above all, lots of bloodshed, Blood Heir makes for a very strong debut novel.

Recipes From the Garden of Contentment by Yuan Mei, translated into English by Sean J.S. Chen

While the original Recipes From the Garden of Contentment missed the 'new releases in 2019' list by about two centuries, this new English translation by Canadian Chinese biomedical engineer Sean J.S. Chen caught the eye of our dining expert Robynne Tindall early in the year. Known in Chinese as Suiyuan Shidan (隨園食單 suíyuán shídān), at its core is a treatise and cookbook written in the late 18th century by the Qing dynasty poet, official, and old-school foodie Yuan Mei. This new edition is broken into several chapters ranging from gastronomic principles, recipes, and different categories of ingredients, as well as a biography of Yuan Mei himself. The book is also accompanied by beautiful illustrations throughout. Read our interview with Chen here.

The Complete Beginner's Guide to China-Africa Relations by Lina Getachew Ayenew

Author and social entrepreneur Lina Getachew Ayenew, who was born in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, has spent the past five years documenting China's emergence as a key player in Africa's economic development, distilling her findings into her new book The Complete Beginner's Guide to China-Africa Relations. Reflecting specifically on the period between 2014-2018, during which time China's Belt and Road Initiative was kickstarted and implemented, the book covers topics like China’s role in Africa’s debt, how Trump’s America and China are battling for influence in Africa, China’s impact on African wildlife, Africa-China race relations, and China's continuing expansion of artificial intelligence in the continent. As such, this wide-ranging book is a must-read for anybody interested in relations between these two global titans. Read our interview here.

The Penguin Zhejiang series

This collection of Penguin shorts was released in collaboration with the Zhejiang Writers Association of China, and presents five works by Chinese authors from the 20th and 21st centuries that were recently translated into English. In Professor Su Jing’an in His Later Years by Dong Ju, an aging scholar struggles with the realities of growing old; in The Road Home by Ai Wei a young schoolboy becomes fascinated with gunpowder; and in The Postman by Bi Yu brings to life a brutal 1936 Shanghai murder and investigation. That criminal theme continues with the story of a conman who can't outrun his past in Fleeing Xinhe Street by Zhe Gui, and a man struggling with the morality of debt-collection in The Debt Collector. Diverse stories indeed, but one thing unites all of them: they're all about men. Whether this was by design or due to an unfortunate oversight, the books still represent a nice collection of modern Chinese fiction.

Under Red Skies: Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China by Karoline Kan

Under Red Skies is a multi-generational memoir by Chinese writer and former New York Times researcher Karoline Kan. Born in Tianjin in 1989 as an illegal second child under the one-child policy, Kan went on to pursue higher education in Beijing before scoring a job as an English language journalist for That's Beijing. Kan then represents the generation of young Chinese who have grown up with great economic growth and upheaval, while her parents and grandparents represent the past from which China is in many ways, continuing to distance itself. Including conversations and anecdotes from her childhood friends and family members, Kan's memoir skillfully highlights the great changes that China has experienced in just a few short decades, and the even-larger cultural gap that has emerged between the great cities like Beijing and the rest of China.

An American Bum in China by Tom Carter

Just sneaking onto this year's release list, An American Bum in China is about, well, an American bum in China. Author Tom Carter uses real-life laowai-Iowan transplant Matthew Evans as the protagonist for his narrative non-fiction as he bounces around between China, Myanmar, and Hong Kong at the time of the Umbrella Movement as he is – in the words of reviewer Mike McCormack – "ambling through scenes of historical significance without realizing what the hell is going on." American Bum is a fun read, but if you already hold an unfavorable opinion of low-skilled Americans teaching English in China, this book is unlikely to do much to change that. Read the full review here.

Beijing Pictoral History: Beijing Ordinary Life in 70 Years by Beijing Publishing Group

Released to coincide in the 70th year of the CCP, Beijing Pictoral History is less a book than a collection of photographs, which in the words of Qu Zhong, general manager of Beijing Publishing Group, is intended to show "ordinary people's perspective and stories ... [as well as] the vivid process of the people in the capital moving towards a happy life under the leadership of the party."

Despite the obvious propaganda, the large tome's focus is on the 'ordinary people' and should therefore provide an interesting, albeit manicured, insight into the great changes this city and daily life has undergone over seven decades. A selection of 100 of the photographs is currently being displayed at the Beijing Local Chronicles Museum until Dec 31.