KINDER THAN SOLITUDE
by Yiyun Li | Publication: March 27, 2014HarperPress | Genre: Literature & Fiction, Mystery
Rating: ★★★
"Li is a masterful storyteller. The prose is brilliant, very quotable even."
____________________________________________________________________
The new novel from Yiyun Li, author of The Vagrants and the Guardian First Book Award-winning A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
When Moran, Ruyu, and Boyang were young, they were involved in a mysterious ‘accident’ in which a young woman was poisoned. Now grown up, the three friends are separated by this incident, and by time and distance. Boyang stayed in China, while Moran and Ruyu emigrated to the United States. All three remain haunted by what really happened.
A breathtaking page-turner, Kinder Than Solitude resonates with provocative observations about human nature and the virtues of loyalty. In mesmerizing prose, and with profound philosophical insight, Yiyun Li unfolds this remarkable story, even as she explores the impact of personality and the past on the shape of a person’s present and future.
When Moran, Ruyu, and Boyang were young, they were involved in a mysterious ‘accident’ in which a young woman was poisoned. Now grown up, the three friends are separated by this incident, and by time and distance. Boyang stayed in China, while Moran and Ruyu emigrated to the United States. All three remain haunted by what really happened.
A breathtaking page-turner, Kinder Than Solitude resonates with provocative observations about human nature and the virtues of loyalty. In mesmerizing prose, and with profound philosophical insight, Yiyun Li unfolds this remarkable story, even as she explores the impact of personality and the past on the shape of a person’s present and future.
____________________________________________________________________
The story moves back and forth, from the present and back to a melancholic past of 20 years. It began right after the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, in Beijing. It would seem that no matter how much teeth and horns China shows to prohibit its people from remembering and discussing the said event, history cannot be erased. And perhaps, this is Yiyun Li’s simple way of remembering.
The book follows the lives of three young people from Beijing, who, after Shaoai’s poisoning and leaving her brain-damaged, drifted apart and grew estranged from each other over the years. Moran and Ruyu are both currently underachievers in America, while Boyang is a celebrated businessman in new Beijing. All three were leading a single life, having failed to keep relationships together.
Could he explain to Sizhuo that sometimes death was a mercy
-that it was worse for the dead to go on living?
In an ideal world, death should be the end of the story,
but in this world, where they had to make do with muddles,
death never ended anything neatly.
KINDER THAN SOLITUDE, despite its title, is not a happy read, nor an uplifting one. The premise is not just sad or heartbreaking, it is unsettling, in a manner of speaking. The core mystery was never resolved in a significant manner. It was not given enough heaviness if indeed it is the core of the story. Neither was the sexual violation before the poisoning. It seems to me, they were conveniently wrapped up when all the while the book is full of psychological discourse.
Li is a masterful storyteller. I had no trouble turning each page. The prose is brilliant, no doubt, very quotable even. Hence, the 3 stars. But prose alone cannot save the entirety of a book. I’m afraid that I cannot agree with its philosophy. Being remorseless because it is 20 years too late, or believing that being repentant will serve no purpose in an already done deed is not merely emotionally cold, it is morally wrong. Choosing solitude because of previous tragedy, lack of self-confidence or self-preservation seems reasonable enough. However, settling with the knowledge that it is far kinder to be with someone who will tolerate your impertinence or inadequacy than being alone is definitely twisted in my vocabulary, especially, if that someone happens to be a murderer.
I've read A SHELTERED WOMAN, so I will not readily give up on Yiyun Li. Perhaps THE VAGRANTS will offer vindication.
The book follows the lives of three young people from Beijing, who, after Shaoai’s poisoning and leaving her brain-damaged, drifted apart and grew estranged from each other over the years. Moran and Ruyu are both currently underachievers in America, while Boyang is a celebrated businessman in new Beijing. All three were leading a single life, having failed to keep relationships together.
-that it was worse for the dead to go on living?
In an ideal world, death should be the end of the story,
but in this world, where they had to make do with muddles,
death never ended anything neatly.
KINDER THAN SOLITUDE, despite its title, is not a happy read, nor an uplifting one. The premise is not just sad or heartbreaking, it is unsettling, in a manner of speaking. The core mystery was never resolved in a significant manner. It was not given enough heaviness if indeed it is the core of the story. Neither was the sexual violation before the poisoning. It seems to me, they were conveniently wrapped up when all the while the book is full of psychological discourse.
Li is a masterful storyteller. I had no trouble turning each page. The prose is brilliant, no doubt, very quotable even. Hence, the 3 stars. But prose alone cannot save the entirety of a book. I’m afraid that I cannot agree with its philosophy. Being remorseless because it is 20 years too late, or believing that being repentant will serve no purpose in an already done deed is not merely emotionally cold, it is morally wrong. Choosing solitude because of previous tragedy, lack of self-confidence or self-preservation seems reasonable enough. However, settling with the knowledge that it is far kinder to be with someone who will tolerate your impertinence or inadequacy than being alone is definitely twisted in my vocabulary, especially, if that someone happens to be a murderer.
I've read A SHELTERED WOMAN, so I will not readily give up on Yiyun Li. Perhaps THE VAGRANTS will offer vindication.
TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | BLOGLOVIN | GOODREADS
About the Author:
Yiyun Li is the author of seven books, including Where Reasons End, which received the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award; the essay collection Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life; and the novels The Vagrants and Must I Go. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Windham-Campbell Prize, among other honors. A contributing editor to A Public Space, she teaches at Princeton University.
Author's image from HarperCollins. No infringement was intended.
*HarperPress/4th Estate provided the eARC
in exchange for this unbiased review.
This is a free ad.
in exchange for this unbiased review.
This is a free ad.
Posts
0 Comments:
Post a Comment