Paper Butterfly
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Publisher Description
In the outback of China, a political activist, arrested after the Tiananmen massacre, is judged to be a reformed character and released. But Lin is a changed man in more ways than one; haunted by memories of his time in prison, and the events (and people) that put him there, he heads for the country’s capital, where he hopes to confront his demons once and for all. Mei Wang, meanwhile, is struggling to juggle the desires and demands of her family alongside the pressures of running her detective agency, and when her sister recommends her for a new case – the disappearance of a gorgeous young starlet called Kaili – she feels obliged to accept. It’s a risky business, however, investigating the truth in a society that is still catching up with the secrets of its past.
'Mei Wang is a splendid heroine, brave and sensible. As she interviews witnesses and makes her deductions she shows her readers a fascinating glimpse of the China visitors don’t see' Literary Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two narratives drive Liang's absorbing second mystery to feature PI Wang Mei, who once worked for the ministry of public security (after 2008's The Eye of Jade): Mei's search for a missing pop singer, Kaili, and a subplot that begins nine years earlier with the imprisonment of a student, Lin, for participating in the student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Mei's investigation is slowed by the absence of her assistant, Gupin, but as she travels among many Beijing settings, including open-air markets, a big record company's offices, isolated construction areas and migrant workers' housing, the city's astonishing diversity and energy come alive. Fueled by innumerable tidbits about Chinese culture and daily life, the story is refreshingly low on Western-centric references. While the bias is clear, Liang, who left China after taking part in the Tiananmen Square protests, presents the politics with minimal dogma. A twist ending redeems a somewhat thin plot.
