A Book Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

How will you describe WWII and those who were involved in it?

If you were raised and living in the west, then the answers are most likely to be something about the Allied and the Axis forces; such as the nuclear bombings in Japan, the Battle of Britain, the Nazi concentration camps, or the Normandy landings. You might even supplement your descriptions with Hollywood productions, like Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, and Dunkirk. But if I ask you to describe what was happening in the other parts of the world during WWII, such as in China, for example, then the chances are you have a very vague idea of what was happening over there.

In some Asian countries, such as Taiwan, their history classes are teaching both the West and the East's roles in starting and ending WWII, including the historical contexts and the build up to WWII and its aftermath. However in the western history class, we learn about WWII mostly from the western perspective only. If the purpose of studying history is to learn from humanity's past so we can better understand ourselves and each other, then it seems in the west we are learning from only half of the picture instead of the full one. May I suggest, perhaps this is one of the reasons why the 21^st century geopolitics remains a minefield despite the universal desire for peace.

It seems more discussions are needed in this area.

Popular culture is a good way of getting people to think and discuss an issue, and this is where poets and artists can lead the way. Perhaps this is why a young Chinese American author, R.F. Kuang, chose to write a grimdark fantasy novel inspired by the (second) Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre. The book is called, The Poppy War, and it has generated a great deal of buzz since its release in 2018. A quick search for The Poppy War on Youtube can return dozens of positive reviews. In fact, this book appeared on my radar because dozens of booktubers have recommended it. The Poppy War thoroughly entertained me, but upon further reflections I also realized its cultural significance. 

Synopsis:

Rin had two choices in life; she could either fulfill her guardians' wish and marry a merchant thrice her age, or she could get out of  servitude and despair by climbing the ladder of meritocracy. When the exam results were announced Rin surprised everyone. Not only did she pass the exam, but she scored the highest mark in the Rooster Province, which meant a ticket to the most prestigious academy in the empire – Singegard.

And so Rin arrived at the empire's capital city with hopes and dreams, only to find herself becoming a target of discrimination by her classmates and teachers, all because she is a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south. For Rin, though, acing the academy is the only way forward, because the alternative is going back to her hometown and fulfill the arranged marriage. Therefore Rin worked hard at the academy, and in the process she discovered she has a talent for the mythical art of shamanism, which was as dangerous as it was unearthly.

The third Poppy War broke out when the federation of Murgen resumed their invasion of Rin's country. Rin had a tough decision to make: her shamanic power could save her country and her people, but it would cost her humanity and perhaps even more, so should she do it? 

My thoughts on this book:

The Poppy War is an impressive book. There is no mistake this book is grimdark. The story is very violent. Chapter 21 contains graphic depictions of genocide, from wholesale slaughter, beheadings, rapes, human experimentations, infanticides, so on and so forth. Whatever horror and suffering the mankind is capable of imaging and inflicting on their fellows, this book has it. But here is the thing, the genocide in this book is not entirely fictitious but a close description for the Nanjing Massacre which took place in 1937. But what happened in the real event was far more brutal and horrendous than its "fantasy" counterpart.

At this point, some readers may protest against the inclusion of heavy and graphic violence. However, the violence here is not gratiduous entertainment, nor is it used for the purpose of shocking its reader. No, the violence in The Poppy War serves a purpose - to show the readers what it is like to be the surviving victims of a genocide. It is to show its readers the depth of sorrow and hatred felt by the surviving victims in the aftermath. The book described those feeling so well and it let me share the characters' emotional journeys. I was able to feel what they felt.

The Poppy War is not content to stop here and simply let us grieve with its characters. Instead this book went deeper to explore more questions.

Is it justified for one to repay a genocide with another genocide?

And how does one become a person capable of killing millions? How does such as person go from point A, to point B?

I leave the readers to discover the story and the answers for themselves. Despite its heavy themes, The Poppy War does not forget it is fantasy fiction and that it should be interesting and fun to read. Characterization and worldbuilding can both make or break a fantasy novel. I already stamped my approval on characterizations, so what about the worldbuilding in this book? Most English fantasy novels are set in the pseudo medieval European world, but The Poppy War is set in the puesto late 19^th century China, so is the worldbuilding here convincing?

The answer to that question is a resounding, yes. The worldbuilding in The Poppy War also has my stamp of approval. The author pulled from classical Chinese literatures and culture into her worldbuilding, to create a world which feels like a real and authentic version of the late 19^th century China. I believe western readers may find The Poppy War a refreshing change from the pseudo European setting which have been rehashed to death in the English fantasy literatures. However, the author embedded so many references to the Chinese culture and she left plentiful of easter eggs and I am not sure the western readers can spot them all. Here are a few examples:

1. Rin's teacher, Jiang Ziya, is a direct reference to the famous chancellor of the same name, who helped King Zhou to overthrow the tyrannical king Shiang in the 11^th century BC.
2. Two supporting characters, Baji and Suni, are from the Chinese classic novel, Journey to the West.
3. The Keju examination system in this book is a very accurate portrayal of the Confucian meritocracy system in ancient and medieval China.
4. In the book, a character called Kitay discussed a military strategy about "borrowing" arrows from the enemy by sailing boats full of strawmen into the enemy terrority on a misty night and get the enemy shooting arrows at them, this is a direct reference from a Chinese classical novel called Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Those are a few examples, but there are more easter eggs and cultural references in the book and they may be difficult to spot by western readers who are not familiar with the Chinese culture and classical literatures. This is why I believe the author could have helped her western readers by including footnotes in the book. Otherwise the world in The Poppy War feels as real and authentic to the medieval Chinese culture as Tolkien's Middle Earth feels real and authentic to the medieval English and Nordic culture. The great worldbuilding and the compelling characters made this book a blast to read, and there is no doubt this is one of the finest fantasy books of 2018. It is even more impressive considering it is a debut. Despite my praises, however, I do think The Poppy War has one tiny problem.

What is the problem? The Poppy War felt disjointed in the middle. The book's first half narrated Rin's life in the military academy, and the story introduced us to a host of supporting characters, such as Rin's teachers and classmates. Then about half way into the book (minor spoiler ahead), the war broke out, forcing Rin to graduate prematurely from the academy and joining a squad of imperial assassins, and over here we are suddenly introduced to another host of new supporting characters, leaving the supporting characters from the first half undeveloped and off-stage until much later on. I thought the transition, from the first half of the book into the second half, was not well handled. As a result the narratives did not feel cohesive and the pace slowed in the middle, it made me feel like I was reading two separate but very good books rather than one excellent and cohesive novel.

The seamed transition at mid book, however, is but a very small flaw. On the whole, The Poppy War tells a compelling story, with deeply flawed but likable characters. The worldbuilding is masterful and it will surely be refreshing to the western eyes. Furthermore, the book's connection to the Sino-Japanese war and the Nanjing Massacre serves as a sombre reminder of humanity's cruel tendencies to each other, but it is also culturally significant considering it is a part of the WW2 history not well known by the populace in the West. The Poppy War has my recommendation. R.F. Kuang is grimdark's new and proud daughter, and I cannot wait to read her next book.

P.S. If you are a sensitive reader, then before you pick up this book you may want to check out the trigger warnings from the author herself.

https://rfkuang.com/2018/05/13/on-the-necessity-of-brutality-why-i-went-there/