The Lost Garden - Ang Li

Columbia University Press, November 24, 2015.

Three Stars

The Lost Garden follows two parallel story lines that enhance one another in their description of both the political and the personal in Taiwan. The first follows the childhood of Zhu Yinghong, whose father was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-Shek’s regime for his intellectual dissent. When he is eventually released from prison, he retreats into his Lotus Garden, built to his exacting desires. The second story line takes place in modern day Taiwan, where Zhu Yinghong begins a courtship with wealthy tycoon Lin Xigeng. The Lotus Garden has been appropriated by the government, and the relationship between the two hinges on their ability to regain the paradise of the garden.

My main issue with the writing style was the abrupt shifts in perspective, from first to third. It made the story seem jumpy and was sometimes hard to follow. There were also many small stories – almost like parables – within the broader plot. I was completely drawn in by the strong and exciting prologue, but after that the pacing really slowed down and became very repetitive. Although we as readers are constantly being moved around in time, the repetition did serve to hold the story together, especially Zhu Yinghong’s insistence that she was “born in the last year of the war” – metaphorically of course, as she is referring to the First Sino-Japanese war which ended in 1895. Her father tells her that the statement is essentially true, as she is a result of the effects of this war.

The novel has a strong political theme, especially concerning Japan’s control over Taiwan and the communist regime that followed after World War II. Zhu Yinghong’s family prospered under Japanese rule, and then lost everything simply for being a part of the intellectual gentry. Zhu Yinghong performs well in her new circumstances, yet she still yearns for her family’s lost property. Her romance with Lin Xigeng distracts her for a time, until their rocky courtship leads to an unfulfilling marriage. She gives up her sense of self for her husband, then realizes it was not him that she wanted – it was always the Lotus Garden.

The Lost Garden explores issues of identity, both personal and political. Zhu Yinghong develops throughout the novel, on a journey to understand what is really important to her. The garden represents not only her family’s lost wealth, but also their lost innocence. The writing and the translation were lyrical and lovely, sometimes awkward but always interesting, with beautiful descriptions of Taiwan and its struggle for independence.

I received this book for free from Columbia University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.