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grayjay's review against another edition
4.0
Writing in the early 90s, McHugh imagines a future where China has become the global superpower, and America has become a communist country. Zhang, half Chinese, half Latino, is a construction tech who wants to stay in New York City where it's safer to be openly gay, but too expensive to live. His search for stability and a place in the world takes him to a labour job on Baffin Island, and then an Engineering school in Shanghai, where being gay can still earn you a bullet in the head. He learns to prefer happiness over wealth and the value of building community.
I thought the novel was well-deserving of both the Nebula and Hugo nominations it received. The structure, however, may have been the main weakness. She seperates the point of view characters into their own chapters, but doesn't give all of them the treatment they deserved-having been given their own chapters but not their own endings, it felt as if McHugh was just trying to make use of all her ideas in one novel. I wanted to know what happened to poor San-xiang and Alexi.
I thought the novel was well-deserving of both the Nebula and Hugo nominations it received. The structure, however, may have been the main weakness. She seperates the point of view characters into their own chapters, but doesn't give all of them the treatment they deserved-having been given their own chapters but not their own endings, it felt as if McHugh was just trying to make use of all her ideas in one novel. I wanted to know what happened to poor San-xiang and Alexi.
glkrose's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While I wouldn't call this an easy read subject-wise, I did find it well-paced and interesting. I liked the characters and relationships. It was eerie seeing how much of our current reality was written about back in the '90s in a dystopian kind of way? A solid read.
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
‘China Mountain Zhang’ by Maureen F. McHugh was the September pick for my online book club. It’s also a novel I’ve been wanting to read for a while.
This is a mosaic novel set in a future America that has been ‘cleansed’ by China. The main character lives a couple of dual lives and keeps his identity hidden. He takes engineering jobs in Baffin Bay and China and tutors a man living in a commune on Mars. There is the strange world of cyber-kite fliers as well as the illegal pressball game. Through it all the life of China Mountain Zhang, also known as Rafael, weaves.
I really enjoyed this series of linked stories. The worldbuilding is pretty tremendous, and I liked the themes of isolation and loneliness.
This is a mosaic novel set in a future America that has been ‘cleansed’ by China. The main character lives a couple of dual lives and keeps his identity hidden. He takes engineering jobs in Baffin Bay and China and tutors a man living in a commune on Mars. There is the strange world of cyber-kite fliers as well as the illegal pressball game. Through it all the life of China Mountain Zhang, also known as Rafael, weaves.
I really enjoyed this series of linked stories. The worldbuilding is pretty tremendous, and I liked the themes of isolation and loneliness.
gab1one's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape
mdpenguin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I got to the copyright page at the end of this and was amazed that it said 1992. The tech in this makes sense based on the current state of the art. And it's really cool: I love the idea of the modular busses in China and the system integrations and meta materials described in it seem like logical extensions of what people are working on now. The world-building is excellent – it's not just believable, but so fully fleshed out, from technology and economics to education and on through fashion and entertainment – and the author did a good job of letting it slowly explain itself (at least until an almost incongruous part near the end when the protagonist talks a bout the basics of what happened to make the world the way it is).
More than that, though, is that the book is really about the people and how they live in the society, which is very different and yet almost exactly the same as our own. The characters are relatable and likable. The interstitial stories between the chapters from Zhang's point of view stand well as short stories on their own while also contributing a lot to the world building and helping make the jumps between periods in Zhang's life feel more natural. I think that the author did an amazing job with the writing, both in terms of phrasing and pacing, so that it was easy to care about what was going on and be interested in what would come next.
lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
This book was on my to read list for so long that I forgot why it was there and even what it was about. I was so pleasantly surprised by this book - mostly the story of a life, of the decisions that shape us and the directions we take - set in a possible future. I loved the inclusions of madarin and spanish in the text. I was not expecting to get sucked in so quickly but I really enjoyed it.
eletricjb's review against another edition
3.0
Too disjointed for me, would have preferred a whole book about Martine and the goats on Mars. I did like the chapter in fancy China though. Also, thumbs up for being unexpectedly gay.
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ruxandra_grr's review
3.0
Okay, this is... complicated. It's a really beautifully written work, with a different sort of structure that is, in its way, linear or at least chronological - chapters about the main character Zhang/ Rafael alternating with chapters from other POV's, distinct characters with the narrative, tangentially related. If I were to describe the structure, I would use the word 'system' - so a system-like structure -, because the concept of systems is thematically relevant and is the specialization of Zhang in engineering.
Aaaaaanyway, getting back on track. The writing just flows and the characterization is beautiful, so is a lot of the plot. I am positively in love with some of the chapters (Baffin Island, Homework) and they show such wonderful, human, painful but touching and *real* moments. People huddling around someone suffering from 'winter depression' and holding them emotionally. The first real fight of a marriage, happening in the center of a kitchen filled with goats! Gorgeous stuff.
At the same time, this book has a bit of an ass - which I would describe as 'released in 1992' - and it shows a bunch of times. In the third paragraph of the book we get the C-slur a couple of times, from the first person perspective of our main character, an ABC - American Born Chinese. That felt jarring and leads me to a wider point: this book about a half-Chinese, half-Latino gay man is written by a white woman and I'm in none of those groups, so I don't know how to look at the representation (I will for sure seek out reviews from these groups).
I can say that I absolutely despised the Three Fragrances chapter, the next to last one.. This event and chapter fails to connect to other parts of the story, there is a distinct lack of gender commentary in the book, it feels like gender equality has been achieved (at least on some fronts, the fact that prettiness matters is a signal that it has not) and there are plenty of women in positions of power, so I genuinely don't understand this choice or what it brought to the narrative.
There is also a 'bury your gays' moment, and I can understand this choice better in the narrative, but at the same time I'm uncomfortable with it being in a book not written by a gay man, since a lot of straight writers (especially in the past) tend to exploit the tragedies of gay people.
Beyond the book, there's a blurb from a review at the end that says Good science fiction has never been predictable and politically correct. and this feels very head-scratchy to me. I still don't know what to make of this book, politically, the first chapters seemed to talk about the importance of being political and how even if you claim to not be political, the choices you make are, which feels undermined by and then the book ends with .
And then you have an interesting chapter about overt political action, aka getting involved in political life and that failing and then deciding to solve a problem via marriage thus revealing how marriage is in and of itself a political choice, whether intentional or not!
So I am hugely conflicted about this one, I am so glad I get to talk about this at book club and maybe have more clarity. If that happens, I'll amend my review!
Aaaaaanyway, getting back on track. The writing just flows and the characterization is beautiful, so is a lot of the plot. I am positively in love with some of the chapters (Baffin Island, Homework) and they show such wonderful, human, painful but touching and *real* moments. People huddling around someone suffering from 'winter depression' and holding them emotionally. The first real fight of a marriage, happening in the center of a kitchen filled with goats! Gorgeous stuff.
At the same time, this book has a bit of an ass - which I would describe as 'released in 1992' - and it shows a bunch of times. In the third paragraph of the book we get the C-slur a couple of times, from the first person perspective of our main character, an ABC - American Born Chinese. That felt jarring and leads me to a wider point: this book about a half-Chinese, half-Latino gay man is written by a white woman and I'm in none of those groups, so I don't know how to look at the representation (I will for sure seek out reviews from these groups).
I can say that I absolutely despised the Three Fragrances chapter, the next to last one.
Spoiler
The one in which 'ugly' political girl San-Xiang is raped, after she prettifies herself via surgery. I'd really loved the character in the first chapter, but this one seems to exist to show that she is so naive and when she gets pretty, she gets raped. It is such a reductive view of sexual assault that I can't even. Ffs, sexual assaults are not about beauty, they're about power. I find it hard to believe that a political woman such as San-Xiang would be that naiveThere is also a 'bury your gays' moment, and I can understand this choice better in the narrative, but at the same time I'm uncomfortable with it being in a book not written by a gay man, since a lot of straight writers (especially in the past) tend to exploit the tragedies of gay people.
Beyond the book, there's a blurb from a review at the end that says Good science fiction has never been predictable and politically correct. and this feels very head-scratchy to me. I still don't know what to make of this book, politically, the first chapters seemed to talk about the importance of being political and how even if you claim to not be political, the choices you make are, which feels undermined by
Spoiler
having your overtly political character raped with apparently her not understanding any feminist theory about gender dynamics???Spoiler
the main character becoming an entrepreneur and starting a small business and I was like wtf??And then you have an interesting chapter about overt political action, aka getting involved in political life and that failing and then deciding to solve a problem via marriage thus revealing how marriage is in and of itself a political choice, whether intentional or not!
Spoiler
Which once again, kinda gets undermined when Martine and Alexi were already into each other and then fall in love while married.So I am hugely conflicted about this one, I am so glad I get to talk about this at book club and maybe have more clarity. If that happens, I'll amend my review!
hank's review against another edition
4.0
These are the slices of "normal" life that I like. Usually when I read non sci-fi literature relating to the human condition and pieces of everyday life, is either too much like what I see all the time and I am bored or I can't actually relate at all. For some reason the blend with clearly fantastical backdrops give me enough interest or wonder to keep me engaged.
China Mountain Zhang is really just a glimpse of an everyday life, someone who is trying to figure out where he fits in the world, along with some other characters and events to fill everything out. The kite flyers could be any sort of modern day daredevil racers, motocross, cliff divers, etc. why I am more interested when it is a futuristic flight structure? I am not sure but I am. The communistic colonization of Mars could be something else found on Earth now but the fact that it is on Mars and fantastical, allows me the possibility of hope instead of focusing on all of the sure to doom issues I can think of happening right now.
The job search, the repression of gays, the finding and losing of friends are all easily written about in normal literature but it never has the same pull as if you add a bit of unreality to it. Zhang's path towards finding how he wants to live his life looked good at the end, my path in discovering why I like (to read), what I like (to read) has also taken one more tiny step.
4.5 stars rounded down for no real good reason
China Mountain Zhang is really just a glimpse of an everyday life, someone who is trying to figure out where he fits in the world, along with some other characters and events to fill everything out. The kite flyers could be any sort of modern day daredevil racers, motocross, cliff divers, etc. why I am more interested when it is a futuristic flight structure? I am not sure but I am. The communistic colonization of Mars could be something else found on Earth now but the fact that it is on Mars and fantastical, allows me the possibility of hope instead of focusing on all of the sure to doom issues I can think of happening right now.
The job search, the repression of gays, the finding and losing of friends are all easily written about in normal literature but it never has the same pull as if you add a bit of unreality to it. Zhang's path towards finding how he wants to live his life looked good at the end, my path in discovering why I like (to read), what I like (to read) has also taken one more tiny step.
4.5 stars rounded down for no real good reason