A review by rpmiller
A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling

4.0

Two things make this book worth reading. The way the story is told is different than other stories, ghosts gathering at a place where the people had spent time together. The background detail, at least for westerners, bring to light the extraordinary differences between life in Chinese villages and life in the European and American cities, towns and villages in the 1940s. In addition, although with few historical details, the large scale interactions among Japanese invaders, Chinese nationalists and Chinese communists is brought out in small scale episodes among just a few characters.