After struggling through Soul Mountain, I was more than ready for a slightly easier Chinese novel to read. So when Warren suggested Qiu Xiaolong (thanks again, Warren!), I immediately went to the library and borrowed one of the books that sounded interesting. Enigma of China isn’t the first book in the series, so I’m probably missing something out, but it was an interesting read that made me want to start from the beginning.
In Enigma of China, Chief Inspector Chen risks his career by going after justice. What starts off as a routine investigation into the murder of a shuanggui-ed official soon turns personal when the officer in charge, Wei, is killed. Despite the unspoken signs that the case should be written off as a suicide as quickly as possible, Chief Inspector Chen, with the help of a young journalist named Lianping, starts poking around and quickly discover that this death has deep ties to the CCP.
This was a fascinating read. Chief Inspector Chen is an interesting person: an honourable cop who manages to rise through the ranks in a world where corruption and power are second nature to practically everyone. It makes me wonder how he managed to solve the previous cases without harming himself.
The China depicted in the book was very interesting too. It’s a world that’s very much looking back to ‘simpler’ times, discontented with the materialistic nature but unable to stop itself. Although I’ve not lived in China, there was something about it that felt different from what I recognised (as a Chinese living in another part of Asia) – it’s a little hard to place the time. If it weren’t for the repeated mentions of the internet, I would have thought this book was just after the cultural revolution; I’m not sure why but that was the vibe I got. I did google the author and it turns out he left China just before the cultural revolution, so I think that would explain the atmosphere of the book.
A lot of the mystery didn’t really make sense until the end of the book. Chief Inspector Chen definitely keeps his cards close to his chest, but everything made sense when he explained it. For me, the atmosphere in the book and the depiction (and criticism) of modern Chinese society caught my attention more and although the two themes were mostly balanced, it felt like the mystery took a backseat at times.
Overall, this was a very great read. I am now extremely curious about how Chief Inspector Chen fares, as well as how he got into the position he was in, and I’ll be going back to the beginning to start the series.
Hi Eustacia–Inspector Chen is an interesting character! I know a few Chinese people who have come to the US and I’ve been surprised by their almost universal determination not to return to China except to visit relatives. Of course, I am referring to only a small universe of people, but it is food for thought and suggests the criticisms raised by the author’s characters may have some basis in fact. Of course, I say this from the perspective of someone who is highly critical of the US. We are not what we used to be, if, in fact, we ever were!
Yes, he is such an interesting character! I know quite a few people from China who came to Japan and don’t want to go back. They are, sadly, not quite as critical as Inspector Chen!
Glad this was good overall!
Thank you! It was pretty cool!
I am glad you enjoyed this one, Eustacia. I have long been interested in giving this series a try.
I hope you get to try it soon!