Yiyun Li

The Vagrants is the story of a small village in China, in 1979, shortly after the cultural revolution. It's the story specifically of a few characters, all wrapped up in one way or another in an attempted rebellion. The book begins with the execution of an enemy of the state, someone who was brutally put to death, after years of imprisonment, because she dared write something against the government. The people of this sleepy little town, after hearing about the Democratic Wall Movement are inspired to speak up about the conditions they live under, knowing that going against the omnipresent government could result in death.

We follow a mouthpiece for the government who begins to question the iron arm of communism; a small, lonely child who just moved to town and is just trying to survive with his dog; a 12 year old girl, deformed from birth, and hated and abused by her parents; a very strange 17 year old boy living with his grandmother, surviving on money the government gives to surviving members of heroes; an older couple whose daughter is the aforementioned counter-revolutionary. The husband a cranky school teacher who just wants to be left alone, the wife slowly realizing that authoritarianism isn't all it's cracked up to be; and another older couple, nomads who have lost multiple adopted daughters because the state capriciously decided they would be better off with other adults. Li brings all of these people to life, diving deep into their thoughts and lives, making them real, in only 300+ pages.

I imagine this book would have been even better and more fulfilling if I had additional knowledge about the history of China. I know the country has been ruled by a serious of viscous communist governments, but don't really know about who led when and what order events happened in. Still, even if I knew less, I can't imagine reading this wouldn't have at least been entertaining.… (mais)

3.75/5 stars rounded to 4 stars

I found the first third of this book to be brilliant and was thoroughly invested in Fabienne and Agnes's relationship. However, as the story progressed, I felt as if I was growing distant from the connection I had immediately made with those two characters. I couldn't help but feel that the back end of this book felt rushed. For a book just under 350 pages, it didn't feel like a whole lot happened.. or rather, a lot happened but none of it felt overly impactful. There was so much more that I wanted from these characters and this narrative, but none of those things were fully fleshed out or brought to light. I'm eager to read more of Yiyun Li's work as I found her writing incredibly stunning. While I did really enjoy this book, I think I just expected a tad bit more.… (mais)