Family Drama
6th century
Zhou Dynasty, China
Written mostly in
flashback, Ng’s lyrical debut is the story of Lao Tzu’s vibrant and turbulent
life. In the beginning of the novel, Lao Tzu is an old man who is captured when
he rides a water buffalo into a military camp. I didn’t know you could ride
water buffalos, but that is beside the point. The captain of the camp is at
first understandably untrusting because spies abound and take all manner of
appearances in his experience. But upon questioning him in more depth, the
captain soon realizes that the old man is actually who he claims to be - the
renowned scholar Lao Tzu - and he quickly commands for a scribe to come and
record his tale of escape from the royal Zhou palace. As it is eventually
revealed, Lao Tzu and the captain’s tales are very closely linked, to the
captain’s astonishment, proving to him that The Way has many wandering paths
that diverge and intersect but all have a larger purpose in life.
Ng’s novel is a
superbly written tale, full of intrigue and drama and rich with cultural
narrative. All of the main characters are vivid and multidimensional, and even
the secondary characters are distinct and memorable. The writing itself is
lovely. There are so many turns of phrase throughout this novel which are
simply pretty that I took quite a
long time to read the novel as I spent a lot of time highlighting those
passages and phrases. The philosophical discussions embedded within are welcome
food for thought, and I learned a lot about Taoism. It piqued my interest and
inspired me to go learn more about it. I think to say that a book made me want
to learn something new is the highest praise I can give.
Highly recommended.
© Kristen McQuinn
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