The Language of Solitude

March 20, 2017
Set in Hong Kong, Sendker’s thoughtful, politically astute sequel to 2015’s Whispering Shadows finds grieving expatriate Paul Leibovitz’s tentative new happiness with Christine Wu imperiled after Christine receives a letter from her long-lost brother, Da Long. His wife, Min Fang, is a victim of a recent cluster of mysterious ailments, which Paul realizes are caused by a chemical conglomerate polluting local water. Min Fang can’t be healed, but more will suffer if the corporation is not held accountable. Da Long and his two children, elegant musician Yin-Yin and anxious Communist Party member Xiao Hu, have misgivings about Paul’s call to action. Indeed, the eyes of the state track Paul and a newly emboldened Yin-Yin’s probing, and she must decide whether justice is worth risking what’s left of the shattered family’s safety. Sendker draws on broad knowledge of Chinese politics and mores to craft scenes both comic and tragic, illuminating how ordinary people struggle to navigate opaque, omniscient systems of power. Despite a too-neat resolution, this novel offers a rich portrait of compromise and courage under a repressive state.

March 1, 2017
German novelist Sendker's second novel (Whispering Shadows, 2015) about a German-American former journalist battling crime in China.Readers of the author's previous book will be glad to find the protagonist, Paul, leading a quiet life on the island of Lamma, a ferry ride from Hong Kong. He's still grieving for his dead child, but his relationship with travel agent Christine has deepened. After a reading from her astrologer, Christine fears she will bring harm to Paul. Paul visits the astrologer himself to assuage her concerns but is unsettled by the astrologer's three-sentence prophecy (which is annoyingly withheld from readers for almost 200 pages). Then Christine receives a letter from her older brother, Da Long, whom she'd always assumed died during the Cultural Revolution, around the time she and her mother escaped the mainland to Hong Kong 40 years ago. He asks for help and wants to see her, so Paul accompanies her on what is supposed to be a 48-hour visit. They learn that Da Long's wife has fallen mysteriously and incurably ill, and so have other neighbors in Da Long's village as well as the local cats. When Christine returns to Hong Kong as scheduled, Paul stays behind, ostensibly to support Da Long during the visit from a Shanghai neurologist arranged by Da Long's estranged but politically connected son, Xiao Hu. In fact, Paul begins investigating his suspicions that a factory may be poisoning the water in the nearby lake. He enlists help from Da Long's daughter, Yin-Yin, a music student, and her journalist friend, Wang. But in his righteous anger, Paul ignores cultural differences as well as the cost to Chinese citizens who speak out against power. He also pays less attention than he should to what's happening in Christine's life until circumstances force him to realize what matters most. Sendker's considerable knowledge of China is not enough to overcome too much philosophizing by self-consciously sensitive characters and a plot that holds few surprises.

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Starred review from February 15, 2017

This provocative sequel to Whispering Shadows continues the story of expat journalist Paul Leibovitz and his new love, Christine Wu, by introducing us to Christine's brother Da Long and his gravely ill wife, Min Fang. Paul suspects the illness killing Min Fang is environmentally based when he walks to the river near their village and sees numerous dead fish and the skeletal remains of other wildlife lying on the bank. Neighbors tell him of the mysterious deaths of their cats and of people living nearby who have the same symptoms as Min Fang. After investigating, Paul reports his findings to Da Long and young sister Yin-Yin, who ends up in prison for posting the results of Paul's investigation on the Internet. Her imprisonment, and what it takes to get her released, elucidate the powerful and corrupting influence of big business on the government of mainland China. Vivid descriptions of the food, buildings, tropical climate, and landscapes transports readers to this country with its profoundly unique history and people. VERDICT Beautifully translated by Lo, this new novel gives readers another vivid, fascinating, and haunting look at today's China. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 11/21/16.]--Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH

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