Prfoundly moving and sometimes mystical story told by three men whose paths cross in China during the war with Japan. They agree that their souls shall meet in the village once they are dead and the story is told as they reflect and wait for all three to die. It's not morbid, but it is set during WW2 so there are atrocities that happen so what is a lyrical read sometimes jolts the reader into reality when humans behave barbarically towards other humans. The actual story is about the life of the girl who grows into a woman and who all three love during her life and who draws them together. It's a gorgeous read.

I'm not entirely sure how this ended up on my Kindle, I suspect I accidentally clicked it whilst browsing the Unlimited section. I am so glad I did.

Wow! I love books featuring stories from the far east and throw in a four-way love (square) story and the WW2 background of the Chinese fending off the Japanese and it's a compelling and utterly mesmorising story.

Three very different characters at very different stages of their lives come together as the battle to hold off the Japanese invasion increases, all irreversibly touched by the same young girl. Vowing to meet up after they have all died at the village where they all met, each one takes us through their personal journey and how Ah Yan's troubled and often painfully brutal and heart-rending life had intertwined with theirs.

The men don't come out as heroes here, far from it. In fact, their selfish obsession with Ah Yan often serves to cause her further hardship and pain - both physical and emotional.

It's an incredibly sad tale, told from 4 different aspects (including somewhat bizarrely by a couple of dogs at one point), but it's a riveting read with some genuine gut-wrenching moments.

Did Not Finish @ 23%

Wow, it's my first time DNFing a book! So, the reason I didn't finish is the writing. Sorry to Zhang Ling and her translator, Shelly Bryant, but I just absolutely hate the writing. It came off to me as wanting to be vivid and flowery, but the reality of it was stilted and flat. I don't know if this is due to translation (as it's very difficult to translate sentences that flow well) or if it's how the book was originally written in Chinese. I didn't care for any of the characters, I felt like there was an arm's length put between me and the characters and none of them resonated with me at all. I could put up with distant characters if I appreciated other aspects of the book, but I just... didn't. The only thing I did appreciate about the book was the historical Chinese setting.

I looked at other reviews of the book to find out if I should continue or not, and seeing how the plot develops later on in the story... yeah, I'll just pass. Thanks.

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.