While writing up my notes from the discussion and interview with author of the Inspector Chen novels, Qiu Xiaolong, I had the pleasure of reading the fourth book in the series, A Case of Two Cities. This highly-relevant thriller pits Inspector Chen against criminal land barons and corrupt, high-ranking Communist Party members who are increasingly involved in shady business deals associated with the dramatic economic development in China.
I've written elsewhere (at Blogcritics Magazine and on my own environmental blog) about the environmental problems (and some sparse good news) resulting from China's rapid industrial expansion. The realities of China's New Economics are brought to life by author Qiu in many ways. For example, we meet loyal state workers who live on a fixed pension and can barely survive in the face of inflation, and we learn of people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes in preparation for new skyscrapers and country clubs.
However, there are far more nefarious deeds for Inspector Chen to contend with: the murder of an old friend, threats against his elderly mother and attempts on his own life all occur while Chen deals with intense political danger, in the course of trying to bring rogue officials and businessmen to justice.
The language in A Case of Two Cities is a pleasure, with occasional quotes from classical Chinese poetry and T. S. Eliot, and phrases that echo Eliot's lines sprinkled throughout to capture the mood. Poetry is part of Chen's personal language in the same way that a soundtrack or inner dialog for contemporary U.S. detectives might be based on Rock & Roll, Soul or Hip-Hop lyrics; Qiu's language works so well because he is a poet and translator of poetry, so he can call upon classical Chinese or post-modern poetic imagery to fit a mood as easily as I might conjure up a Bob Dylan lyric.
The heart of the case is a series of lucrative land deals that could only have been made with insider knowledge of city planning, such as where new subway lines will be constructed and where land will become valuable overnight. The ringleader in the case, Xing, has already fled to the U.S., probably tipped off by colluding officials before an arrest could be made. Xing is now living in Los Angeles, in a mansion next door to the son of a Chinese Politburo member. Xing has also applied for political asylum in the U.S., claiming to be persecuted for political reasons. Outwardly, the Chinese authorities are angry about this request for asylum, but many of these same authorities are Xing’s millionaire partners in crime.
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