Will I love Love in a Fallen City?

Written in the 1940s, this book takes readers to Hong Kong as the Japanese occupation replaced the British colony. It’s mostly a love story in which the intensity of war reflects the passion of emotions and the restraint on actions. 

But like all of Eileen Chang’s works, it’s also beautifully written. Though the fall of Hong Kong is at the heart of the novella, I’ve always found the city less important in the story than the domestic settings. When the Bai family talks, I’m in the room, sitting in a wingback chair, sipping green tea, and listening.

Though these collected stories were popular in Chang’s native China when first published in the 1940s, decades passed before they were translated into English. The title story brings war-torn Hong Kong to life, but even against the most dramatic political backdrop, Chang’s focus is firmly on women and relationships. Though the time and place may seem remote, readers will find universal emotions in these carefully constructed tales. 

Many of Eileen Chang’s novellas are revered as classic these days, including Love in a Fallen City. Prolific in the 1940s, the tumultuous time in China when writers faced prison terms for their work, the talented and ambitious Eileen Chang avoided politics and wrote about women’s desires, their failed romances, and their troubles with their families. This collection features an array of ordinary characters, a college student in Hong Kong, a divorced woman in Shanghai living in a cramped apartment, a married woman engaging in an illicit relationship with a relative, and others, all flawed, realistic but full of… show more.

Shanghai. White plaster walls frozen green. Steamed buns stained by the ink of their newspaper wrapping. Hong Kong. Neon reds, oranges and pinks reflecting on lush green water. Tram lines winding like noodles. Blood on silk; manners over emotions. These six short stories are both an introduction to a master stylist and an evocation of two distinct cities at two distinct times in modern Chinese history. Many of the book’s subtle details can still be seen or felt today.