Dave Emmerson
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This month CM Lowry is talking to author Flora Qian about Little Reunions by Eileen Chang in ‘This Book I Read…’
Topics covered include:
- The fact that Eileen Chang actually wanted Little Reunions to be destroyed, not published. It was not published until after her death.
- Flora shares a quote from Little Reunions with us, that illustrates the autobiographical nature of Little Reunions and the sadness that surrounded the relationships between Eileen and her parents.
- CM Lowry asks Flora to share her favourite thing about Little Reunions. Flora lays out the fact that this novel is written during an incredibly interesting time in Chinese history and this provides a really wonderful backdrop to the lives of the protagonist and other characters.
- Flora also then shares some of the things she doesn’t like about this novel.
- The protagonist, Julie, has a great deal of flaws, along with being quiet original. Her relationship with her mother and lover are explored in great detail – Julie is quite cold and uncaring. Flora wonders if this is born out of Eileen’s own childhood trauma Flora suggests that if, perhaps, Eileen Change had some therapy, she would have been able to portray the protagonist with more depth and develop her character further.
- There is a lot of denial in the novel as well – Julie’s denial of obvious character flaws in her lover suggest that Eileen also overlooked abuse and infidelity within her own romantic life. Flora wishes that the author had been able to throw off her patriarchal gender roles and write a stronger female protagonist.
- Flora then shares some recommendations for anyone who enjoys Little Reunions:
- The Fall of Pagoda by Eileen Chang
- The Book of Change by Eileen Chang
- Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang
- CM Lowry also asked Flora about her novel South of the Yangtze. It’s semi autobiographical and deals with the realities of living as an only child during the era of the one child policy. Flora also gives us a sneek peek into her next writing project.
Links to things we discussed:
- Terry Pratchett (Author)
- Wild Swans by Jung Chang
- The Rice Sprout Song by Eileen Chang
- Naked Earth by Eileen Chang
- South of the Yangtze by Flora Qian
- The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
More about Flora
- Flora on Instagram
- Flora’s Website – floraqian.com
- Flora on Goodreads
More about us
- Beyond Cataclysm on BlueSky – @beyondcataclysm.bsky.social
- Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
- Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
Music by CM Lowry. Editing by Dave Emmerson
