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A Loyal Character Dancer (Hardcover)

by Qiu Xiaolong (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Paperback £8.99 £8.99 18 used & new from £2.44

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 360 pages
  • Publisher: Soho Press Inc (1 Dec 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1569473013
  • ISBN-13: 978-1569473016
  • Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,269,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"* 'Likeable, admirable Chen makes a sturdy protagonist, but it's China in transition - always interesting, often bewildering - that gets the star turn here.' - Kirkus Reviews * 'A sequel that in many ways is even more impressive' - Chicago Tribune * 'The travelogue aspects of this novel don't overwhelm its critical intelligence. The murder and mayhem provide a cover story for a larger investigation of social mysteries - in this case the fate of educated Chinese, many of whose lives were made a waking nightmare by the cultural revolution, and the future of Chinese communism itself.' - Chicago Sun Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Review

'The travelogue aspects of this novel don't overwhelm its critical intelligence. The murder and mayhem provide a cover story for a larger investigation of social mysteries - in this case the fate of educated Chinese, many of whose lives were made a waking nightmare by the cultural revolution, and the future of Chinese communism itself.' (Chicago Sun Times )

'The combination of ancient and modern Chinese history with modern police work has produced an excellent procedural novel, filled with atmosphere and carefully illustrating life in China today. Inspector Chen is likeable, thoughtful, and appealing.' (Dallas Morning News )

'Likeable, admirable Chen makes a sturdy protagonist, but it's China in transition - always interesting, often bewildering - that gets the star turn here.' (Kirkus Reviews )

‘A sequel that in many ways is even more impressive’

(Chicago Tribune )

'The miracle is that, while he provides good suspense, Qui Xiaolong has transcended his genre [while] fulfilling all genre expectations by solving and linking two triad-related crime cases.' (Persimmon )

'Intriguing...Gang wars, rampant prostitution (even in Karaoke clubs!), and the slavish greed and trend-sucking of China's rising entrepreneurial class almost overcome the erudite, but never pedantic, detective's belief in his country's ancient wisdom and current potential.' (Raleigh News and Observer )

'Another wonderful novel featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau.' (Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Sino-Sequel, 11 Feb 2003
By A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
The second book in the Inspector Chen series is equal in many ways to outstanding predecessor, Death of a Red Heroine. Once again, the reader is drawn into an excellent mix of detective procedural and portrait of China in economic and social transition during the early '90s. Shanghai-based Inspector Chen is assigned to baby-sit a U.S. Marshal who has been sent to collect the wife of the key witness in a federal case against the smuggling of illegal immigrants into America. However, when the pregnant woman disappears without a trace, Chen, Detective Yu, and Marshal Catherine Rohn have only a week to track her down before the trial starts—and without his wife, the witness won't cooperate. At the same time, Chen insists on investigating the bloody murder of an unidentified man in Chen's favorite park (echoes of, or homage to, Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park).

Since Chen and Yu's histories were established in the first book, there is much less of their personal lives in this volume, which is a bit of a shame. There is also somewhat less about politics and the Party's influence on private life in this book. Instead the hidden hand of the triad gangs menaces Chen and his investigation, with unclear motives and unclear allegiances. In addition, the history and impact of the Cultural Revolution (a subject at the heart of the recent novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress) becomes more directly relevant to the plot. Another main element is the proliferation of a "gray market" economy, where bribery and corruption are nibbling away at the Communist system. Distasteful as it is, Chen must involve himself with unsavory elements with no solid political backing in order to pursue his investigation, and indeed, possible leaks within his own department.

This sequel is quite good to be sure, however there is a running flaw which undermines it somewhat. The brilliance of the first book was in its complete immersion in time and place, by introducing an American outsider as a main character in this story, the author cheapens the experience somewhat. It instantly moves into the realm of "unlikely partners battling crime", which we have seen time and again in fiction and film. This is exacerbated by the rather stilted romantic tension between Chen and the American woman which always seemed rather forced to me. It's also unfortunate that near the end there is a plot contrivance whereby Chen makes an absolutely incredible blunder—it's such an unlikely mistake I had to stop and reread the passage three times to verify that I had understood it properly. Still, there are running mouthwatering descriptions of food, plenty couplets of classic Chinese poetry, and an exciting climax to finish things off. It's well worth reading, both as a crime novel and as a picture of China a decade ago.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read, 26 Oct 2006
This review is from: A Loyal Character Dancer (Hardcover)
I've been a fan of Qiu Xiaolong's novels since I came across the US editions on Amazon a few years ago. And now there's a UK edition of the second one, A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER. It is a police procedural set in Shanghai, featuring the delightful Chief Inspector Chen Cao, poet and gourmet. I don't read Qiu Xiaolong's novels primarily for the plot - though they are satisfying as mysteries - but for the pleasure of following Inspector Chen around a s fascinating and unfamiliar world, dropping in with him at the Moon Breeze teahouse to drink bubble tea or sampling chicken and duck blood soup in the bazaar.

[...]
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4.0 out of 5 stars still great but somethings missing :P, 17 Aug 2009
By FUTURESTARdelux (united kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Loyal Character Dancer (Hardcover)
"death of a red heroine" was an amazing book and a great introduction to the inspector chen mysteries, "a loyal character dancer" lacks none of the charm that made me love its predecessor but theres just something missing :P

its still a great book and i will read it again and advise anybody to buy it but i hope the spark returns soon! ;D
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4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but not as good as 'Death of a Red Heroine'
Set in China in the 1990s, `A Loyal Character Dancer' sees the return of Chief Inspector Chen and Detective Yu. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Snapdragon

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