China Mountain Zhang

Another one of those books that remind me why I've stuck with the S&L book club for so long. I'd never heard of Maureen F. McHugh, as unlikely to ever hear of her at this stage. The book isn't in my library, isn't available in audio, and I don't know any fans of her work to clue me in. And this book is great. Her prose and internal monologue overcomes the dated feel to the science fiction aspects (a 45 minute delay to print out your messages.... oh 1992, if you could see us now). The mosaic layering, rich characters, and worldbuilding around of the humdrum everyday life in a communist-dominant world, though, all made this a fantastic read for me.

That said, it is a book about a mixed race gay man written by a white woman, which is always a bit of a red flag. It's progressive for its time, but I'd be curious to hear reviews from people of Chinese descent and the LGBTQ+ community. There wasn't anything to trip my own yikes meter, but I'm a cishet white woman too, so my meter only goes so far.

I would advise you to check the trigger warnings or skip “Three Fragrances,” however if you're in need of such things.