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A review by theeuphoriczat
A Single Swallow by Ling Zhang
4.0
WOAH!!!!!!!!!!! Why is this book not more popular than this? This absolutely blew me away!
Set during the second world war, we follow three souls who wait upon their love based on a pact they made while alive during the war. With the jubilations of the second world war, Pastor Billy, Ian Ferguson, Liu Zhaohu made a pact to stay in contact after the dust of the war settles but things did not go their way. Through the book, we follow each characters perspective of the war and their role in it. From Pastor Billy who served not just as religious leader but a doctor for the small community constant beaten down by war, to Ian Ferguson (a solider) who took Liu Zhaohu under his wings during the trainings and finally Ah Yan, a village outcast. She is also known as the Swallow and honestly her life was soo tragic. From escaping an absence marriage to being sexually assaulted, to sowing a man's head back to his body (not gonna spoil it) and to having a child with a man who abandoned her.
Their story unfolds slowly through the book, broken and brought together by war, each these men fell in love not just with Ah Yan but with each other as they were the only ones who each understood what the other had been through.
So when this book starts with the ghostly voice of Pastor Billy waiting at the crossroads for the others, having waited years for some of them to grow old and die to join him, you can tell that you are in for a ride.
I absolutely loved this book. It was so heart wrenching and it gives a more community insight into the war and the role different countries played in the destruction of millions of lives.
Set during the second world war, we follow three souls who wait upon their love based on a pact they made while alive during the war. With the jubilations of the second world war, Pastor Billy, Ian Ferguson, Liu Zhaohu made a pact to stay in contact after the dust of the war settles but things did not go their way. Through the book, we follow each characters perspective of the war and their role in it. From Pastor Billy who served not just as religious leader but a doctor for the small community constant beaten down by war, to Ian Ferguson (a solider) who took Liu Zhaohu under his wings during the trainings and finally Ah Yan, a village outcast. She is also known as the Swallow and honestly her life was soo tragic. From escaping an absence marriage to being sexually assaulted, to sowing a man's head back to his body (not gonna spoil it) and to having a child with a man who abandoned her.
Their story unfolds slowly through the book, broken and brought together by war, each these men fell in love not just with Ah Yan but with each other as they were the only ones who each understood what the other had been through.
So when this book starts with the ghostly voice of Pastor Billy waiting at the crossroads for the others, having waited years for some of them to grow old and die to join him, you can tell that you are in for a ride.
I absolutely loved this book. It was so heart wrenching and it gives a more community insight into the war and the role different countries played in the destruction of millions of lives.