Interested in Chinese poetry and Confucian thought? Fascinated with mysteries set in China? Love a poetry-writing detective? Check out the latest in the Inspector Chen series by Qiu Xiaolong, Becoming Inspector Chen!
Becoming Inspector Chen by Qiu Xiaolong
Inspector Chen #10
Publication: Severn House, March 2021
Inspector Chen is excluded from a poetry case as he awaits possible disciplinary action, leaving him to reflect on his career . . . but does his past hold a clue to the poetry case?
After a number of grueling cases Chief Inspector Chen is facing mounting pressure from his superiors, many of whom are concerned with where his loyalties lie. What’s more, he is excluded from an investigation into an incendiary poem posted on an online forum.
Wracked with self-doubt and facing an anxious wait to discover the fate of his career, Chen is left to reflect on the events that have led to where he is now – from his amateur investigations as a child during the Cultural Revolution, to his very first case on the Shanghai Police Force.
Has fighting for the Chinese people and the morals he believes in put him in conflict with the Party? Why is he being kept away from the new case? As well as his career, is his life now also at risk? (From Amazon)
My thoughts
This is number eleven in the Inspector Chen series. Set in China, the series revolves around Chen (imagine that!), who came of age during the Cultural Revolution and now works for the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau. This is the first book I’ve read in the series. That, I think, was a disadvantage. I felt like I missed some of the significance with references to previous cases, especially in the opening chapters. That’s not the author’s fault; I’m only making notes of it. For those interested in the series, it might be best to start with book one, Death of a Red Heroine.
More literary than mystery
It took me a very long time to get into the story’s rhythms. But once I did, the book grew on me. It definitely felt more literary in tone and focus than a typical mystery.
The stories are a jumbled assortment of two kinds. First, there are memories inspired by Chen’s dreams. Second, there are fragments of seemingly unrelated stories about other people, all revolving around the community of Red Dust Lane.
The stories often felt unresolved. After one particularly long story about Chen’s first unofficial case, the ending dissatisfied me. I wanted more resolution. It was difficult to piece together how all the stories related. (I suspect I might’ve done a better job with putting the pieces together if I’d read previous titles in this series.)
To me, this book read more like a collection of related stories with a tenuous continuous storyline than a “typical” novel. That is, you define “typical” as a white, Western-worldview novel with a three act structure and the hook-conflict-climax-resolution pattern that our well-meaning English teacher shoved down our throats in middle school. I’ve noticed that stories from non-Western cultures have a higher level of ambiguity and a higher tolerance for ambiguous endings. (I noticed this while reading Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda. It must be a difference in cultural mindset. Neither is right or wrong. It’s simply a difference that exists.
The present-day storyline is Chen wrestling with whether or not to return to Red Dust Lane for another investigation even as his investigative career is slowly draining away. That case didn’t sound terribly interesting to me, at least from the description given here; however, I would read the next book to see how Qiu Xiaolong develops the case.
Characterization
What was far more interesting is watching young Chen develop over the years. He goes from being a youth dogged by his family’s black status to a student obsessed with T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, then to a frustrated police translator who strikes out on his own to investigate a case that isn’t his. Then he uses his newly-gained position to rectify old wrongs.
He’s a sympathetic character in the flashback stories. I had a hard time sympathizing with his present-day self, who spends his night tossing and turning, musing on poetry and trying to make the decision and analyzing his dreams. I never cared for the dream sequences–eventually I skimmed them–and I expect that many mystery readers would, too. Literary readers might be more patient.
How people survive a dictatorship
It was truly fascinating to read about the inner workings of the Party and see the adaptability of the people under the rigidity of Chairman Mao’s regime. The ordinary people wiggle and squirm their way around the Party rules, often (always) with collective (though unspoken) consent. When put under enough pressure, the people who survive are those who are both adaptable and creative. The residents of Red Dust Lane gather for their evening gossip under the guise of “political studies class,” always keeping a copy of Chairman Mao’s red book in hand as a prop.
Their ingenuity opens young Chen’s eyes. In this space, no one sees him as a “black puppy” (his nickname after the government brands his father as a black dissenter). For the first time, he has a vision beyond the confines of the dictatorship. From them, he learns how to become himself in a system determined to exploit him as a piece in a political game. For me, this is eye-opening and inspiring.
Recommended
Ultimately, this is a book that has its fascinating aspects. Will it appeal to all mystery readers? No. Will it appeal to some? Yes. Do I recommend it? Absolutely, and I will be looking for more of the work of Qiu Xiaolong in the future.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Facing a career disaster, Inspector Chen recalls how he became a detective during the Cultural Revolution. Becoming Inspector Chen by Qiu Xiaolong