Alfred loves books. He often finds comfort in the words written when life around him is stressful. And as a Captain in the Royal Marines, responsible for two-hundred men and navigating the politics of being caught between the navy and army hierarchies, those stresses can be a heavy load to carry. Several books have travelled with him from ship to ship; some more well-read than others with their covers fraying at the edges and corners discoloured from the constant page turning. But of these books there is one that Alfred turns to most when he needs to escape the world around him, a book of poetry by Lord Tennyson - he can recite In Memoriam A.H.H by heart, finding both sadness he recognises within its verses and a joy he wishes he could experience. He carries it with him even when deployed landside, tucked beneath the rounds of ammo in his satchel.
It isn’t hard to imagine that with his love of books that Alfred would also be drawn to the literature of China, even if his language skills had not yet progressed to a level where he could read them himself. By this era several of the more famous pieces of Chinese Classical Literature had been translated into English, there would be many that hadn’t been… and maybe Zhang takes pleasure in reading them to him.
Works like…
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong: Written during the fourteenth century. I must admit I haven’t read it yet, though I do own an older copy – three volumes, hardback and in slip covers. One of those I-can’t-leave-this-here finds at the op-shop – but many of the characters were already familiar to me, whether it’s because of their connections to history, or the many many references to them in games and television shows.
- Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en: Another iconic Chinese Literary Classic written during the sixteenth century that is well known in the west and is referenced a lot. Is on my must buy list.
- Dreams of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin: This was another find at the op-shop I couldn’t leave behind – actually, I won’t leave any books like this behind if I see them, unless I can’t afford it, because it rare in my small town to stumble on them. Published in 1791 it is one of the four great literary works of China, and its first English translation was done in 1868.
For something a little more…contemporary:
1899, political tensions are rising with the emergence of the Boxer Movement in Northern China, straining ties between the Chinese Imperial Government and the Eight Nations with stakes in the country. As a Captain in the Royal Marines, Alfred Cartwright is deployed to Shanghai, where he discovers more than he'd dared to dream of – Love. Not even the struggles with language or the fear of reprisals if their relationship is found out, can stop Alfred from falling for the Chinese man he encounters. But as the ant-foreigner sentiment of the Boxer Movement grows in strength, their relationship will be put to the test.
Where do Alfred's loyalties lie? With the man he loves or his country, as they stand opposite each other on a battlefield neither can escape.
Author Bio
Naomi would love to runaway to Japan or China and live there for a few years... but she can't. Instead she goes there in her books, hoping to drag the reader into a world they've never been to before.
Historical. Contemporary. Time offers no constraint to the stories she writes, happily dabbling in both so long as there is a happy ending.
She is a mother of three teenage children, one of whom loves to tell people that her mother writes romance stories about gay men just to see their reaction. While she could never claim to be fluent, she has just completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Chinese, with minors in Creative Writing and Japanese.
Her stories are based predominantly in Japan or China and her historical stories often involving time periods or situations not often talked about with her characters often being actively involved in the events occurring around them.
Twitter: @naomiaokiauthor
Pinterest: naomiaokiauthor
Facebook: @naomiaokiauthor
FB Reader's Group: Kiwi Authors Rainbow Reads
Amazon: amazon.com/author/naomiaoki
- Love in the Fallen City by Eileen Chang: I read this collection of short stories for a Chinese literature paper and enjoyed them.
- The Gunpowder Chronicles by Jeannie Lin: A series set during the Qing Dynasty; steampunk/fantasy; female protagonist and political intrigue…. Lots of fun to read.
- Three Months to Forever by Hudson Lin: Set in Hong Kong it is a sweet romance that doesn’t gloss over the culture shock a foreigner would encounter. It will also leave you hungry with all the mentions of food.
Length: 51,835
Blurb
Where do Alfred's loyalties lie? With the man he loves or his country, as they stand opposite each other on a battlefield neither can escape.
Dec 6 - We Three Queens, Dec 7 - The Novel Approach, Dec 8 - Drops Of Ink, Dec 9 - My Fiction Nook, Dec 10 - Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Dec 11 - Love Bytes, Dec 12 - Valerie Ullmer, Dec 13 - Bayou Book Junkie, Dec 14 - Mirrigold, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Lilian Francis - Author, Dec 15 - MM Good Book Reviews
Naomi would love to runaway to Japan or China and live there for a few years... but she can't. Instead she goes there in her books, hoping to drag the reader into a world they've never been to before.
Historical. Contemporary. Time offers no constraint to the stories she writes, happily dabbling in both so long as there is a happy ending.
She is a mother of three teenage children, one of whom loves to tell people that her mother writes romance stories about gay men just to see their reaction. While she could never claim to be fluent, she has just completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Chinese, with minors in Creative Writing and Japanese.
Her stories are based predominantly in Japan or China and her historical stories often involving time periods or situations not often talked about with her characters often being actively involved in the events occurring around them.
Twitter: @naomiaokiauthor
Pinterest: naomiaokiauthor
Facebook: @naomiaokiauthor
FB Reader's Group: Kiwi Authors Rainbow Reads
Amazon: amazon.com/author/naomiaoki
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