Rice - ironically not for the weak stomached. (Rice - Su Tong)

Member Name: flodombey

Product:	Rice - Su Tong
Date:	13/02/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful prose

Disadvantages: Hateful characters, graphic, unsettling violence and depravity

I was given this book as a birthday present by somebody who knew that I was a massive fan of Emile Zola. They had read this novel and seen parallels in the style of writing, I agree - there are similarities, but I found this book, if anything, even more disturbing and without the crumbs of comfort which I have always felt are the balancing out of Zola's work.

I can't put my finger on how exactly I feel about this book, unsettled I suppose is the best word, I think it needs to be read again but I will do my best to give you an overview here. It is hard to find redeeming qualities - despite the fact it is beautifully written.

Rice is Su Tong's second novel (I have not read the first 'Raise the Red Lantern' as yet), published in 2004 and is set in China in the 1930's. The story follows central character Five Dragons as he leaves his home town of Maple-Poplar Village in a rural area to head for a large (never identified) city in South China. He is half staved and a desperate urchin when he arrives in this entirely foreign environment and from the moment he arrives he is subjected to bullying, violence and the harsh reality of back breaking work in a rice emporium to earn his keep.

I think the central problem with Rice as a novel for me is that absolutely none of the characters are in any way likeable. Five Dragons is shaped by the brutality of his environment (mafia type gang 'The Wharf Rats', local drug lord Six Masters and the Feng family who own the rice emporium), he quickly becomes violent, full of hate, a sexual sadist and a cruel, unlovable thug.

The other characters are equally difficult; the Feng sisters (both of whom Five Dragons marries) are petty, whinging, materialistic and arrogant, they are more irritating for the first third of the novel when they live together and fight on a daily basis under the completely useless parental figure of Proprieter Feng (their father) who has no control over his wayward elder daughter Cloud Weave or his bossy, sharp tongued younger daughter Cloud Silk.

There is much horrific violence and desperation in this novel, turf wars between the local gangs are commonplace and towards the end of the novel the Japanese are slowly taking over and committing random acts of violence, which just adds a further layer of unnecessary nastiness to my mind.

I think that the reason I found it so unrewarding was that despite the chillingly beautiful prose, I just could not bring myself to feel any kind of sympathy or empathy for these characters to whom such horrific events and injuries occur. At times the graphic brutality was enough to make me just want to stop reading for a while, but because I am someone who cannot give up with a novel I had to get to the end; it began to feel like an endurance challenge and I was relieved to get to the final page.

The story itself is actually interesting to follow, as it charts the rise and fall of Five Dragons and the rice emporium that he inherits through marriage. The way that the dialogue is written (with no seperating punctuation at all) is innovative and for some reason it just works for this novel - I don't doubt Su Tong's skills as a writer and I am left unsure whether this residual feeling of unease which remains is, perhaps, deliberate.

I think I will re-read this at some point to see if my feelings change, in some ways I guess it has done it's job as a novel in moving me enough to make me write about it - but I will not be picking it back up in a hurry or chasing down Su Tong's other work. This is a shame when I set out delighted that I may have found an author akin to the great Zola, in my opinion, based on this novel, Su Tong does not even hold a candle to him.

Summary: Not an enjoyable read, hard to find anything redeeming