Review of A Town Called Hibiscus by Gu Hua

*A Small Town Called Hibiscus* by Gu Hua (1981). Published by Panda Press.

As a book and entertainment blogger, something that has always fascinated me is my aversion to Chinese literature and dramas. I took Mandarin Chinese for over ten years, and am really good at understanding and reading putonghua, but I watched a drama once I didn’t like and then never returned. It’s the same story with the books, although I will read Chinese diaspora writers frequently.

I recently learned to overcome that aversion. I did watch and adore Chinese film, which made it even weirder, but I’ve been watching a lot more Mainland Chinese dramas lately. I think going to Malaysia really helped me, as it inspired me to learn more Chinese again and study the culture.

Next up is trying to overcome that mental block for Chinese literature. I usually never buy new books unless I’m traveling, then I try to pick up a copy of a book as a memory, but I thrift at the local thrift store a lot. Savers is my go-to place in the US to pick up used books; they seem to always have something in my taste.

I was in the “literature” part of the book section when I found A Town Called Hibiscus. I had never heard of the book before, but I found it cute that it came from Panda Press. After reading the back cover, I decided to pick it up, as I’ve been reading a lot of literature set in 1930s-1990s China lately.

Let’s get into the review. I don’t want to ramble too much in the introduction!

A look into the lives of one village and its families in the midst of the Cultural Revolution.

This is a novel that feels like a show focusing on an entire village. Those kinds of shows are rare, but when they’re done well, they work. But for this novel, one of the key plot points revolves around the fact this is the early 1960s, Mao Zedong is alive and well, and the Cultural Revolution is ongoing.

It’s based on Gu Hua’s own experiences growing up in the mountains of Hunan, and during this time, it was really difficult. One could remember the Great Leap Forward if you learned it in your history courses; this meant a lot of people were actively starving and very poor.

We get to know who the people in the village are, as well as the key players in this novel. A lot of the people in the novel are just trying their hardest to get by, even if it means selling bean curds on the side of the road for some spare change.

However, this puts them in the potential path of the revolutionary guard. Remember: these are typical people who don’t have a lot. So when the new order is installed, this means everything they know is also upended in some ways.

And one of those ways could be a mode of survival, or their jobs for their lives. We see as certain characters are taken in by the guard and begin reeducation under the Communist system. Sometimes there are betrayals, which makes this even sadder to think about. In war, sometimes neighbors will give each other up if it means surviving for another day.

Others have been targeted by the new guard, wearing their plaques designating them as landowners, business owners, etc. This was a common tactic in Mao’s China to distinguish the old guard versus the near guard. Under the Communist system is is discouraged to be a landowner especially, or own property.

What really sticks out to me is the sheer amount of trauma created by all of this. This becomes more apparent as the novel goes on, as well as the dawning horror by these people. There was hope for the new system and that the country would become “greater,” whatever that means in their minds.

Instead, there is suffering. And when it comes time to move on, people will do so, even if it means burying a part of themselves and their memory in the process.

Overall Thoughts

Of the Chinese literature I have read throughout the years, I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel from the 1980s. This was so interesting to me in how I found it in a Baltimore thrift store, and how I managed to fly through these pages while on a mini vacation.

The writing is vibrant and unflinching, the prose clear. There may have been some small knots in the translation somewhere, as I thought some words or phrases felt a tad out of place, but overall the quality of the translation is good in conveying this story.

That said, I’d say pick this up if you are interested and can find a copy. I found it very much worth reading at least once; I don’t know if I’ll return to it any time soon though,

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.