by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Reviewed by Lori Eads
I knew this book was being sent to read and review, and I waited eagerly by the mailbox for its arrival. The moment I ripped open the shipping envelope and glimpsed the book within I was immediately intrigued. For starters, the jacket photograph and color design is gorgeous. It features a profile view of a delicate woman in a beautiful green silk blouse – although we aren’t able to see her face. As someone who often chooses a book from the shelf because the cover drew my attention – I knew this is one that would have absolutely caught my eye.
I started reading it that evening and then had to force myself to put it down and get some sleep at around 3a.m. I resumed reading it as soon as I could after waking up the next morning.
It often happens that I get so caught up in a novel that I rapidly devour it - but with this novel I had a different experience. After the first page I was utterly captivated by the story – I didn’t want to read it too fast and miss savoring even one word.
“Captivated” is the best word I can use to describe my experience with Jennifer Cody Epstein’s novel, which is based on the life and works of Pan Yuliang. Many more adjectives spring to mind: lush, savory, tender, heartbreaking, hopeful and of course, as it is the story of an artist, colorful.
As the author’s note states, Epstein has taken the meager information she was able to gather about Yuliang and created an “impressionistic portrait” of her life, adding depth and nuance to the story.
We meet Xiuquing, (which means “Clever Innocent”) who has lost both her parents and is living with her opium-addicted Uncle Wu Ding by the age of 7. One day, when she is 14, he tells her they are going on “journey.” An understatement if there ever was one, as well as a foreshadowing indication of the rest of the novel – the unfolding of the incredible story of this girl's abrupt and forced entrance into womanhood, as well as the journey of the rest of her life.
She finds herself being sold by her uncle to the Hall of Eternal Splendor, a brothel in Wuhu. Given a new name, Yuliang (it means “Good Jade”) she begins her new life of beatings, abuse and a retreat into her private world – where Mirror Girl, the girl she sees in the reflection in the glass -endures the sexual demands of her customers.
Yuliang finds an ally and friend in Jinling, the current “top girl” of the Hall, who teaches and mentors Yuliang in the ways of the “new leaf” – the newest addition to the brothel.
The resigned yet hopeful, and then shattering cycle of Yuliang’s days continue as she meets Inspector Pan Zanhua, who sees her as more than a prostitute – and then she endures the loss of her closest friend in the Hall.
But her life and soul truly begin to open and flower, however tentatively, with her introduction to art – drawing and painting. It is here that we see her begin to realize that she can make choices and decisions for her own life, however restricted they may be by her position in society and the oppressive governmental influence.
Put most simply, she gains her voice, and expresses it without self-censoring in her art. No matter what losses befall her, she holds on to her art, her painting … her passion for it … while standing firm against the suffocating forces around her.
I made some random notes during the reading of this novel, and however disjointed they may be, I think they help express my admiration for the story itself, and the skill and artistry of the author herself.
I am captivated by the vast array of descriptive colors, the feel of textures and materials, and the scents described. My heart honestly ached for this lost young girl. I was startled by the jolt back to reality when I put the book down and was suddenly aware of present – modern day.
Most of all, I am envious of the multitude of solitary hours she spent devoted to her art and am awed by her single-minded compulsion to learn and perfect her craft … and her passion to create and draw and paint.
In short – this is a work of art that mustn’t be missed by any woman, any artist, any writer, any student of history, any human being that is interested in reading about someone who lived quite a few years ago, in a time and place that is foreign to most of us and yet is still so easy to relate to and care about.
And I can’t wait to read it again.
A native of the Las Vegas valley, Lori won her first writing contest in fifth grade and knew that writing was going to be an important part of her life. From then on, even during her 18 year career as an ophthalmic technician and surgical assistant, she has dreamt of writing for a living.
She left ophthalmology in 2007 to work full-time on her first novel, take writing classes, start a blog, and write freelance articles. She spends her free time haunting the shelves of her neighborhood library, or curled up at home – lost in a book.
Lori, her husband and their two kids, two cats, two birds and spoiled rotten dog still live in Las Vegas, close to grandparents and her favorite used book stores.
