Paved with hard ship
This is the heartbreakingly sad coming- of- age story of Zhu Jialing, an illegitimate “zazhong” ( the derogatory Chinese term for a foreigner) orphaned when only 7 years old. The story is told through Jialing’s eyes as she is found by the Yangs next door and taken as their bondservant.
Here she befriends their daughter Anjuin as well as Fox, a mystical animal spirit, theoretically common in China. Fox guides Jialing through the years that follow and she slowly begins to understand what it will take for her to survive in unstable 1900s’ Shanghai.
She faces loss, battles through family drama, gains an education before losing it to society, and at just 18, settles as a mistress to a wealthy man. This story is not easily read and there is a lot — a lot — of hardship. It pays to look for the positives; the determination of somebody so isolated and the relationships built on very little.
I didn’t enjoy the mystical elements to the novel, feeling they were far- fetched, and it was only towards the end of the story I understood the significance of Fox. I also felt certain elements at the end of the story were too forced and unconvincing.
But these were minor quibbles because I loved the story. I’ll go back and read more by Janie Chang to see if her other novels have as much history and colour.
This is a book not to be overlooked. It is a powerful tale of the pursuit of happiness by a young girl growing up and learning all about duty, love and discrimination.