China: The Novel - Edward Rutherfurd

Written by Edward Rutherfurd
Read by Daniel York Loh, Zheng Xi Yong, Andrew Wincott
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Release date: May 11, 2021
Duration: 34:50:00

Edward Rutherfurd has enthralled millions of readers with his grand, sweeping historical sagas that tell the history of a famous place over multiple generations. Now, in China: The Novel, Rutherfurd takes readers into the rich and fascinating milieu of the Middle Kingdom.

The story begins in 1839, at the dawn of the First Opium War, and follows Chinese history through Mao’s Cultural Revolution and up to the present day. Rutherfurd chronicles the rising and falling fortunes of members of Chinese, British, and American families, as they negotiate the tides of history. Along the way, in his signature style, Rutherfurd provides a deeply researched portrait of Chinese history and society, its ancient traditions and great upheavals, and China’s emergence as a rising global power. As always, we are treated to romance and adventure, heroines and scoundrels, grinding struggle and incredible fortunes.

China: The Novel brings to life the rich terrain of this vast and constantly evolving country. From Shanghai to Nanking to the Great Wall, Rutherfurd chronicles the turbulent rise and fall of empires as the colonial West meets the opulent and complex East in a dramatic struggle between cultures and people.

Extraordinarily researched and majestically told, Edward Rutherfurd paints a thrilling portrait of one of the most singular and remarkable countries in the world.

Booklist….March 15, 2021
”For his newest epic about an intriguing world locale, Rutherfurd (Paris, 2013) dives into seven decades of Chinese history, beginning in 1839, as circumstances lead to the First Opium War, the Boxer Rebellion, and more. The novel has a tighter scope, time-wise, than his usual big-canvas approach, which allows for in-depth exploration of an overarching theme, China’s subjugation by Western powers, particularly Britain. Taking the long view, Rutherfurd adeptly dramatizes the impact of and fallout from major events, including the Taiping Rebellion and the destruction of Beijing’s Summer Palace. His characters, among them British merchants, missionaries, Chinese government officials, peasants, pirates, and an artisan who rises high in service at the imperial palace through unusual means, assert their individuality while embodying beliefs on different sides of China’s internal and external conflicts. The protagonists are predominantly men, but many fascinating women also feature in the story. Though the first third feels overly drawn-out, the novel takes an entertaining, educational journey through China’s rich and complex history, geography, art, and diverse cultures during a tumultuous epoch.”

Many reviews didn’t think China: The Novel was up to the level of his earlier novels. One said that the narrator was “the most interesting character in a book full of stick figures,”

The book’s chapters or parts:
Red Sun, Yellow River
Opium
Macao
Hong Kong
The Window
Nemesis
Zhapu
The Palace
Taiping
Moment of Truth
Summer Palace
In Duty Bound
The Missionary
Jingdezhen
West Lake
Yellow River
Boxers
The Mandate of Heaven