Shanghai Baby by Zhou Wei Hui

 (Book Review)

Add this one to the long list of books that sound a lot cooler than they actually are. I was seduced by the blurb on the back cover of this book, only to be very disappointed with the actual book itself. Halfway through I found myself completely bored by this story, and, were it not for my new resolution to finish the books I start, I would have discarded this one a long time ago.

First of all I’ll quote from the book’s cover. “Banned and burned in China, Shanghai Baby is the story of a young urban woman, Coco, who waits tables by day and explores Shanghai’s intoxicating underbelly by night. While trying desperately to write a novel so that she might ‘burst upon the city like fireworks’ Coco falls in love with an impotent and drug-addicted artists, but begins a wistful affair with a married Western businessman with a penchant for seduction. Her candid yet poetic exploration of a woman’s sexuality, Wei Hui reads like a modern day Anais Nin. Her provocative portrayal of men and women in cultural transition astonishes, with its exposure of the unacknowledged new China and of a generation determined to burst free.”

Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? The cover also contains blurbs from reviewers who call Wei Hui the female version of Kerouac. Wei Hui also encourages this comparison by referencing Kerouac and Henry Miller several times in her book.

And yet, this book is not so much “On the Road” as it is “Sex in the City”. It’s not so much about pushing the cultural boundaries as it is just fundamentally a love story about a woman caught between two men, and her inability to choose between them. In other words, it’s “Chic Lit”. I’d say most guys could safely give this book a pass.

On the other hand, I’ve talked to a couple friends of the female persuasion, and they seemed to hate this book just as much as I did. As one friend put it, “All she does is talk about herself the whole time, and how beautiful and smart she is, and how all the guys love her. I just wanted to reach across the book and slap her.”

This was often at times the feeling I had reading the book. The main love story seems to be between the author and herself. Had she been sitting across from me while I read this, I might have gotten the urge to shake her and say, “Nobody cares! We all have our own problems! Nobody cares about how many guys like you or how brilliant an artist you are.”

Obviously the big question is how much “Coco” is “Wei Hui” and how much this book is autobiographical. Last time I checked out this book’s page on Amazon.com, there was a debate going on that point. It certainly feels like its autobiographical, and Coco’s life parallels Wei Hui’s at a number of points, including publishing the same books in the past.

Although this book was banned in China, by Western standards it doesn’t break any new ground. When its compared to “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (which was prosecuted for obscenity in 1934) it shows how times have changed. But it’s no more sexual explicit than say “I am Charlotte Simmons” or “The Stand”.

Also, this book contains what I would like to submit as possibly the worst published metaphor, “The Shanghai winter is wet and disgusting, like a woman’s period.”

Useless Wikipedia Fact
The "end of the world" tape which is broadcast in "Gremlins 2" was inspired upon a visit that director Joe Dante made to CNN, who actually have a tape ready for such event

Link of the Day
Boy, is that Colbert video making the rounds or what? It seems like every blog I read, link to, follow or lurk on has posted about it now.
Roll Call: Phil, Jana, Meg, Pastor Mary, Mr. Guam, Dave Blakeslee, Jenn, Peter, and I'm sorry if I've missed anyone.

If you haven't already seen it, what the hell are you waiting for? Check it out here.

Assuming most of you have already seen it though, here are some related links I thought were of interest.
Act for Change: Mainstream Media, Why the Blackout on Stephen Colbert?

And if you have time for a radio program, or are at work and can plug in headphones, here's a show debating how effective the routine was, and why the people inside didn't seem to get it.

Shanghai Baby by Zhou Wei Hui: Book Review (Scripted)