The Library of Legends

I have been patiently waiting for Janie Chang to publish her next book since I finished reading Dragon Springs Road last year. Last week I received an advanced review copy of The Library of Legends from William Morrow through the Early Reviewer's Program at Librarything. The book will be published on May 12, 2020. The story takes place in China in 1937.

When Japanese bombs begin falling on the City of Nanking, nineteen-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of students, professors, and staff must walk a thousand miles to the safety of China's western provinces, their journey under constant threat of aerial attack from the Japanese. More than refugee lives are at risk. The students are carrying a priceless treasure, a five hundred year old collection of myths and folklore called the Library of Legends. Their duty to safeguard the Library forms unexpected bonds between them. Lian finds friendship and romance with the wealthy and handsome Liu Shaoming. After one classmate is murdered and another is arrested, Lian realizes that she must escape before a family secret is revealed, putting herself in danger of being arrested also.

I enjoyed this book but at the midway point I got bored with the students constantly marching through China. Not much happened with the characters at this point in the story to carry the plot forward while the students walked for hours and then rested. There were approximately 60-75 pages that were sluggish. The story soon picked up when a professor and then a communist student were murdered. In addition, there is an element of fantasy in the plot. The Library of Legends has a folklore story about celestial beings, gods and guardian spirits living on earth to help humans. There are several of these guardian spirits woven into the plot. I wouldn't normally like the fusion of the historical fiction and fantasy genres but it fits the setting of this book. It takes place in China which,  even today, has a focus on ancestor worship.

The author chose a great historical subject to write about. In 1937 China, when the Second Sino Japanese War broke out, the universities were evacuated. The students, called liuwang, school administrators and professors all walked through China to safer areas where they could continue their school activities. They carried luggage, lab equipment, library books and kitchen ware. They stopped often at Buddhist and Daoist temples where they could rest for a few days before resuming their walking. The author chose this subject because her father was a liuwang from Nanking University.

4 out of 5 stars.