A Single Swallow is a beautifully interconnected story about a young woman during WWII China told from the perspective of three men whose time together was defined by her presence. The three men agree to meet back in China in the afterlife, and so WWII veteran Ian Ferguson, missionary and village doctor Pastor Billy, and former National Army recruit Liu Zhaohu reunite in Yuehu Village and reminisce. Each of these three men reflect on their love for the woman, piecing together her story from their personal narratives.

Each chapter is told from a different perspective with chapter titles alerting the reader to the narrator and hinting at the chapter’s contents. As Pastor Billy elegantly puts it, Ah Yan is “in the foreground, center, and background of this story,” and thus, each varying perspective works to further the reader’s collective understanding of her. Though the majority of chapters are told from the perspective of one of the three men, endearingly, a number of chapters are told from the perspective of two dogs, telling their parallel romance and highlighting in juxtaposition the absurdity of human courtship.

At the surface, the novel is about a woman’s coming of age and her journey towards independence; but more critically it’s an observation on the uniqueness, and perhaps blissful forgetfulness, of individual perception. Ah Yan’s story is not only narrated by the three men but also punctuated by their insistence on calling her each by their own chosen name:

"Ah Yan, Wende, Stella. Swallow, Wind, Star. Those were her three names, or rather, three sides of her person. If you separated them, they were three entirely different parts, and it’s hard to imagine that they were all of one body. But together, you could hardly see the seams between them."

The structure of Zhang’s novel suggests that a single story, as also suggested by Chimamanda Adichie in her popular TED Talk, will never provide a complete understanding of who someone is. By providing different looks at Ah Yan, theoretically the reader sees something closer to actuality, or at the very least, a melding of multiple biased accounts. Regardless, the telling is memorable and heartfelt, a driven story with beautifully translated prose that still makes a statement about human nature.

I initially encountered this book as an Amazon First Read that I received as a free Kindle download earlier this year. But it has asserted itself as a novel that I want to read over and over again and that I itch to hold in its physical form. Re-reading this gem of a book garners further appreciation. Even just in preparing this review, I found myself alerted to new harmonies and foreshadowing throughout that further deepened my love of this multi-perspective narrative. While I normally ascribe to supporting indie bookstores and publishing companies, I must admit that Amazon Crossing, Amazon’s international imprint, has wowed me multiple times. I thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to seeing more from this author-translator duo.

At the start I thought this was going to be very religious, was convinced it wasn’t half way through, then realized at the end it’s just a basic Christian story of suffering, forgiveness, and redemption. The author used and abused a female character to drive the story arcs of 3 male characters, which is very disappointing from a female author. That’s pretty damning, but there are other major problems. Each character tells the story by talking to another character, so it's awkward. For instance, "You came to my house and we talked about..." Yeah, that person knows that! They were there! It's telling, not showing, and it reminds me of when I used to watch daytime soaps in college. If you missed a day, the characters would awkwardly tell other characters something they already knew to catch you, the TV viewer, up. Then there are the dogs’ stories. That really jumped the shark. This gets 2 stars instead of 1 because I was curious about the conclusion of the story, and there is some beautiful writing.

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DISCLAIMER : Thank you, AmazonCrossing for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

DISCLAIMER : Trigger warnings for rape, sexual assault, violence, war, horrific deaths of animals.

A Single Swallow is the story of a young woman Ah Yan. Ah Yan's life story, her journey from a naive young girl to a courageous young woman, is told from the perspectives of the three men in her life. After Japan's surrender, bringing an end to World War 2. The three men, after a day of joyous celebrations, take a vow to meet every year at the village. It was where they have lived, fought a war, and survived challenging times. Now seventy years later, they get to fulfill their promise. The American missionary Pastor Billy, the gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and a local soldier Liu Zhaohu come together and tells us their story and how each of them was connected to Ah Yan. The three of them loved Ah Yan in their unique way. The story is mostly an exploration of their individual lives and how tangled all of their lives were with Ah Yan's. As each of their stories unfolds, we get to see a clearer picture of how Ah Yan affected their lives. Ah Yan's history and her story are unveiled fascinatingly with the most beautiful writing and descriptions.

The story and the premise were so unique that I found myself being drawn to it and wanting to know more about this woman who stood with her head high despite having faced inexplicable atrocities in her short life. It was also interesting to see that even though this was a character study for Ah Yan and the three men, it simultaneously portrays the Chinese culture as well. The pacing is slower, and the stories told do not follow any particular order but more like the characters reminiscing the olden days when they met each other, how they all worked closely, and also their complicated relationship with Ah Yan. The three men in their own way take and take from her while Ah Yan gives herself unconditionally to each of them. Ah Yan has different names, and these are given to her by the men in her life. As a reader, we get to know her in relation to the men in her life. We do not get a perspective from her, and yet she is one of the most admired and respected characters in this book.

The story was quite simply brilliant. It tells an intimate tale of love, sacrifice, betrayal, abandonment, and forgiveness. It paints the story of a young girl who is forced to grow up too soon and under horrific circumstances. I believe this story will help in bridging the gap between the East and West with this beautifully written story. It's poignant and introspective, and you will need to savor it slowly to grasp the beauty of it. I gave this book 4-4.5 stars, and as you can already tell, I had an amazing time reading this book. I highly recommend this story to all of you, historical fiction readers out there. If you love slow-paced, multiple POV stories with a compelling character-driven narrative, you need to check this out.

Would have been 5 stars if not for the manic pixie dream girl in the refrigerator

A poignant and evocative read. Absolutely enjoyed this book for the slow burn it gave. It takes the reader to a time long gone, and showcases a very different world. An excellent read!

Excellent storytelling! The English translation is superior. The sprinkling of woo-woo was a bit different but by the end of the story, it was just a delivery method.

The best advice is to get the audiobook with full cast narrators. They nailed the cadence and provided exceptional context. I got the free ebook from Amazon but I am so glad I purchased the accompanying audiobook.

I got emotionally invested with every single character especially Ah Yan/Swallow/Stella/Wendy and the ending was as satisfying as it should have been. Nobody gets out unscathed in the story or in the real life - FACT! The historical aspects were grisly and accurate, and that alone was worth the hours spent listening to the audiobook. The author created a realistic atmosphere throughout the novel and I loathed any interruptions and finished the book as fast as I could.

Definitely recommend.

I was really excited for this book because I knew it would give me a different perspective of WWII than what I had read before. A Single Swallow follows the journey of three men who all knew the same girl in a different way. Pastor Billy knew her as Stella, Ian knew her as Wende and Liu knew her as Ah Yan. She played a different, yet similar role in each of their lives before, during and after the war. Ah Yan is truly a remarkable woman who goes through a lot of hardship as she lives through the war. I really enjoyed the character development and the way their stories all intertwined. Each man had a purpose in a different part of her life. The whole premise of the book however was a bit odd. All three men had agreed to have their souls return to the Yuehu village every year after they had died. The beginning of the book is told in present day, than it goes back to the beginning. While reading I often found myself confused as to if the narrator was reminiscing about earlier days or telling the story as it was happening. I think the part about their souls returning could have been taken out and the story would have been just as enjoyable, if not better, but also less confusing.