China

China is the latest historical fiction novel by Edward Rutherford. He has written several prior novels on Paris, London, Manhattan, Russia, Ireland, New York and Dublin. His books remind me of another chunkster author James Michener. This particular novel begins in 1839, at the dawn of the First Opium War, and follows China's history through the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. We see the rising and falling of the fortunes of Chinese, British and American families as they navigate the tides of history. Along the way, the readers sees a deeply researched portrait of Chinese history and society, its ancient traditions and upheavals to its emergence as a global power. Rutherford has also given us some romance and some adventure too.  

I knew this would be a good book so I read slowly to savor each page. I was not disappointed. There are seven alternating storylines which were hard to follow in the beginning. However, as each storyline got fleshed out it was easy to make the transition. We read about a mandarin Lord Lin and his protégé Jiang Shi-Rong, Chinese pirate Nio, British missionary Cecil Whiteparish, peasant Mei- Ling, a Manchu soldier, British opium trader John Trader and a eunuch who works in the palace. Eventually all of the the characters' lives intersect and we meet their descendants too. Three particular events in Chinese history are told in detail:  The Opium War, Taiping Rebellion and Boxer Rebellion. While I was familiar with these events, it was good to read how they affected people from various walks of life. 

China is a long saga to relish. 5 out of 5 stars.