I was a
little dubious when I saw this looked like a
typical “women’s book” about an acupuncturist. I was a little worried it
might turn out a little too “Jilly Cooper” – and there is absolutely nothing
wrong with that, it just isn’t really my cup of tea. But Lin Hong has an
intriguing style and oh boy does she know how to set up a mystery… I love a
good mystery… I dove right in.
This is the
story of Lin Jung. She is an acupuncturist trying to make a new life for
herself in a small clinic in rural England. She is a foreigner in this land and
acupuncture is definitely a foreign concept in the little town. Dr Lin tries
her best to settle in but caught between her traditional beliefs and her pushy
boss, she is not sure she is going to settle in very well. Her clients aren’t
really any better ; some are there just out of loneliness, some out of
desperation, but some, like Lucy, seem to venerate her and her science like a
new religion. Dr Lin doesn’t know what she makes of it all, especially Lucy.
But there is something about Lucy that makes her different from the rest. Is it
that they are close in age? Is it Lucy’s unwavering and slightly naïve belief
in herbal remedies? Or is it something altogether different that reminds Lin of
her past… A past that Lin would much, much rather forget…
I think
this little book is a real bargain; it’s one of those books that actually
present you with two stories for the price of one. The story of Lin’s present
day life is intercut with reminiscences of her childhood in rural China and her
impressions of a very important part of China’s history – the Cultural
Revolution. Chairman Mao is now well and truly settled at the helm of the
country and the effects of the Cultural Revolution have begun to seep out into
the provinces, into the day to day lives of the regular people. Little Lin is
sent to live with her grandfather, a renowned acupuncturist and herbalist of
the region. Lin learns his arts and the traditional cures he uses, but is also
able to observe, sometimes without understanding, the clash of this old way of
life with the new. Lin captures the outlook of a child so perfectly in her
writing it is very hard to believe it is not, at least in part,
autobiographical. The little girl is faced with a lot of adult dilemmas, family
secrets that she doesn’t quite understand and clashes between people she thinks
should be natural allies. The books spells out very little for us in an “adult”
way. We are left to puzzle out what is going on for ourselves for the most part
of the book – and this, for me, is the true charm of the book. We feel as if we
have stepped back in time and are walking though rural China, quietly observing
the goings on.
I have
become very partial to this kind of book recently. It reminds me of another
bestseller I have recently read, Child 44 byRob Smıth . The book is a murder
mystery loosely based on the antics of prolific Russian serial killer Andrei
Chikatilo but the main conflict of the book is not between the hero (a
policeman, obviously) and the serial killer but between the policeman and
Stalinist Russia. The writer beautifully captures the oppressive atmosphere of
Stalinist Russia, the eyes everywhere, the fact that you can trust no one… The
atmosphere in China is similar – but different in some ways; here we feel there
is less subterfuge, less of people sneaking behind bushes out to get us. No,
the people aren’t behind bushes they are there, out in the open, with big
sticks, ready to really hurt you at the least slip up. Little Lin describes the
red flags everywhere, the big black crosses over the “shamed” houses and
establishments. The public “self-criticism” sentences where people are forced
to admit their “crimes” publicly and shame themselves. It must have felt like
being hemmed in on every side, unable to breathe or move, even in one’s own
private life. It must have been even more confusing in places like rural China,
where things like traditional medicine, and various other traditional practices
and beliefs had been alive and well for centuries. The villagers are abruptly
told that the way they had been doing things for generations is now prohibited.
They have a completely new, “modern”,
“scientific” way of doing things, that is “in keeping with the principles of
Chairman Mao” that they must adopt. The pace at which modern life changes is a
bit scary at the best of times, having it forced down one’s throat at gun point
must be a hundred times worse.
Then there
is Lin’s modern life, the trials and tribulations of settling in a new country
and adapting to a new culture. All this may well make you think that The Touch
is a rather sad book. It actually is not. It is a wonderful, tender, emotional
book about family secrets, a painful past and coming to terms with it all. The
book teaches one a lot, about acupuncture and also about the Cultural
Revolution and does it beautifully and subtly, mixed up in a rather
extraordinary mystery story, resulting in a rather extraordinary book. Definitely
one not to be missed.
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