Between The Covers :: 'The Seventh Day' Yu Hua

The Seventh Day is a vision of a novel that has struck me quite unexpectedly as I searched through my reading pile at the beginning of 2015... 

Typically the new year is a time of reflection, resolution and promises of renewal. Even the best of us; those who cynically deny the tricolon and maintain that the new year is simply another day (albeit with more dehydration and nausia). Instead my faux-contemplation was interrupted by musings on life and death far more poignant than promises to eat less and read more.

The Seventh Day follows the recently deceased Yang Fei as he struggles to negotiate his world and the spiritual realm of 'The Land of the Unburied'. Yang Fei wanders for seven days throughout his own life and the lives of his fellow travelers amongst the recently deceased.

Throughout these wanderings Yu Hua does not seek to evoke an all-encompassing vision for the life beyond, nor does he attempt to reconcile spiritual faith(s). Yang Fei's journey feels both incredibly personal and strangely universal. It's a death I'd happily claim as my own.

I am unabashedly a fan of this novel and of Yu Hua's writing, via translator Allan H. Barr. Of course the book I have read is the work of both writers and the issue of translation is one I've enjoyed revisiting on Final Draft. That I found common themes in a work ostensibly foreign to my experience is testament to the power and paradox of the translators work.

In a recent interview Yu Hua reflected on the absurd realities of modern China and their reflections in The Seventh Day's 'The Land of the Unburied'. While these elements are undoubtedly integral to the novel I could only fully appreciate them after having my attention drawn to them through this interview. Instead I found in the land of the unburied immensely entertaining as a conceit examining our lifelong quest to acquire, achieve, and belong. Through Mouse Girl and Wu Chao we vicariously enjoy a bitter requiem to the modern malaise of FOMO.

In short The Seventh Day is a discovery; a book that rewards in the story it tells and the thoughts it provokes. Well worth your time...

For the past eighteen months I have been a producer and presenter on 'Final Draft', 2SER 107.3FM's flagship literature program. Between the Covers is my attempt to share some of this wonderful world of books and writing...

Follow me on Twitter @rightzblock
Catch me on Goodreads... goodreads.com/AndrewPople

Between the Covers :: 'Foxglove Summer' Ben Aaronovitch

Science Fiction and Fantasy are my intellectual pizza... 

While naysayers may demean it as junk-food, even unhealthy, I prefer mine loaded with lashings of thoughtful, all natural, healthy ingredients that explode across your palette. With that in mind Foxglove Summer is quite the deep-dish farm house fair; with the provenance of each topping clearly listed on the menu.

Now while that metaphor gently recoils, I must confess that this edition of 'Between the Covers' will be a de facto review of the entire Rivers of London. That's because I systematically discovered and devoured the five PC Grant novels in quick succession (and you'll not be wanting to wait for me to pump out five of these, you've got better things to do!)

Peter Grant is a copper, Nightingale's a Benjamin Button-ing practitioner and The Rivers of London are the anthropomorphized gods of the many tributaries of the Thames. Oh and there's magic, not a lot mind you, but it's coming back into the world. The comparisons to Harry Potter have already been made and those who don't want to believe are probably kicking themselves that they've read this far.

A better comparison for the Rivers... series might be Sergei Lukianenko's Nightwatch series. Both center themselves within the reality of their cities (LOndon and Moscow) and allow their protagonist  to live more within the real than the fantasy. PC Grant's adventures explore the trials and tribulations of multicultural London, neatly wrapped in the bow of tightly researched police procedural.

See the thing that PC Grant's guvner, Ben Aaronovitch does right is to drip feed us the hyperreality and focus on building his characters. Aaronovitch is clearly a man with a plan, and five books in PC Grant is still an accomplished novice and the villain of the piece a mystery. Each story, while complete in it's own right, contains the seeds of things to come.

Foxglove Summer is something of a departure from the previous Rivers... books. Moving from London to Rushpool, there is a hint that PC Grant may not be inundated with magical shenanigans. Of course this is never going to be the case but Aaronovitch successfully grounds us in the provincial setting, using it to explore traditional supernatural mythology that steeps English history.

As well as removing PC Grant from his city, Foxglove Summer also sees Grant divested of most of the supporting cast that populate his world. Perhaps a risk for the series; undoubtedly many fans are waiting impatiently for origins of both Nightingale & The Faceless Man. However PC Grant's time in the wilderness comes feel like an inevitable consequence of the startling conclusion of the previous novel Broken Homes (no spoilers here!)

My main criticism of the Rivers... series, and of Foxglove Summer, is that the tightly written development of PC Grant and The Folly et al. really promotes a comprehensive reading of the series. I wouldn't recommend dipping in on Foxglove Summer, there is nuance and plot threads that you'll miss and the characters will lack the dimension that Aaronovitch has invested them with.

This may be a problem for the casual reader, but not the fan(atic). My wonder is whether Aaronovitch, clearly a man with an eye on the long game, is crafting the Rivers... series for the savvy modern consumer of narrative. The sort who downloads a the whole season of 'House of Cards' to watch in a sitting.

That's been my experience of the Rivers... series anyway, and while Foxglove Summer did not give me all I could have hoped for it certainly piqued me for what is to come!

I just really hope subsequent installments don't lead with a "Previously on Rivers of London..."

For the past eighteen months I have been a producer and presenter on 'Final Draft', 2SER 107.3FM's flagship literature program. Between the Covers is my attempt to share some of this wonderful world of books and writing...

Follow me on Twitter @rightzblock
Catch me on Goodreads... www.goodreads.com/AndrewPople