"Braised Pork" by An Yu is a beautifully crafted novel that delves deep into the themes of loneliness, isolation, and the human yearning for connection. Set against the backdrop of Beijing, the story follows Jia Jia, a young artist who embarks on a transformative journey following the sudden and unexpected loss of her husband.

I both enjoyed and didn't enjoy this. I thought the characterizations were excellent and I really got a feeling for Jia Jia's life and world view. But at the same time the prose-style was a bit too removed for my tastes and I am also unsure that all narrative threads were sufficiently interesting. I did, however, absolutely love how this all came together in the end and I thought the surreal elements were well-integrated.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

I really admired this book. Beautiful, ethereal, strange. It's now a good few months since I read this and some of the imagery is still crystal clear in my mind. Looking forward to seeing what this author does next.

Had to read this book after hearing an interview with the author on the 'Literary Friction' podcast. A brilliant piece of contemporary Chinese fiction with a fair dose of surrealism.
*Trigger warning* that the novel opens with a potential suicide as the protagonist Jia Jia discovers her husband dead in the bathtub. You're set to expect the novel to unpack their relationship or be centred around why he ended up this way. However, Yu takes this novel in all sorts of unexpected directions as Jia Jia finds herself obsessed with a drawing of a 'fish man' with an inscrutable face that her husband completed before his death, and proceeds on a journey of self discovery taking her to Tibet and back.
I ws doubly impressed that this was the author's debut,. Yu deflty handles the melting between reality and the watery world that the protagonist falls into. Written in quite a direct style, it's Immensely readable whilst still being weird and fantastical.

Thanks to Vintage and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a rather strange little book. I enjoyed reading it...kind of, but I'm not sure that it would appeal to everyone. Let’s just say you’d probably have to know someone a little before gifting them this book.

The story begins in Beijing. Jia Jia’s husband has recently died in the bath, leaving nothing other than a mysterious drawing of a half man, half fish. Jia Jia both struggles with and relishes her newfound freedom and begins forming new relationships and starts painting again.

Jia Jia is also determined to solve the mystery of the fishman and to discover what meaning it had for her deceased husband.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It all got rather silly and surreal towards the end and not really in a good way. I finally lost the plot once the setting moved to Tibet towards the end of the book, Jia Jia’s life and relationships in Beijing were more interesting to me and the otherwordly and fantastical elements seemed to work better in a modern city setting, perhaps because the quirky weirdness contrasted with the more mundane setting.

I don’t often say this but I think it’s one of those rare books that might work better as a movie. I didn’t love it, but I certainly didn’t hate it either. I’m not against bizarre and quirky tales but I think there must be a thread of coherence running through it for it to work but I think this thread was lost towards the end of the book unfortunately.

Equal parts weird and wonderful, Braised Pork is not at all what I expected it to be and in the best possible way.

I have to admit that it was slow to start and I ended up reading two other books before finishing this but once it got going it was definitely worth pushing through. An Yu's book about a woman who's husband dies in their bathtub under suspicious circumstances takes you on the most unexpected of journeys.

It's surreal and strange but also a story about living your life and finding your purpose when you think there's nothing left.

I don't want to say much else to avoid giving it away because I think this is the kind of book that is best read with no expectations but suffice to say it was a brilliant read and one that has stayed with me long after I finished the book.

I can see why people would rave and love this book but it wasn't really for me. I'm afraid that this was both a little too weird and too mundane for my personal taste. There are simply too many dead ends and emotional flatness to feel like I could invest in this book. The overall message felt too simple or mundane to have had to wade through all the symbolism.

Elegant, surreal, insightful and set in contemporary Beijing, Braised Pork follows the story of Jia Jia, whose life changes forever when she finds her husband dead in his bath with a drawing of a strange half-man half-fish creature close by. Having lived a fairly passive and submissive life up to that moment, Jia Jia's reactions to her widowhood and newfound freedom, as well as her quest to find any clues about the man-fish, make for a very intriguing story.

It won't be for everyone but if you like literary fiction heavily seasoned with magic realism, then this will be an enjoyable read - the writing and imagery is quite beautiful and lyrical, and the insights into grief and identity are powerfully rendered.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you to Random House UK and Vintage Publishing for my review copy. All opinions stated are my own.

Braised Pork is a difficult book to summarise. The protagonist finds her husband dead in the bathtub. Next to him is a drawing of a fishman. With this event, Jia Jia is both freed from a lacklustre marriage and swallowed up by a mythology and mystery that haunts her. She forms new relationships and revisits old ones with her estranged father and distant grandmother and aunt. She throws herself into her art, something she once wished to make a career out of until her husband disapproved. She paints, she drinks and she dreams that she has fallen into the world of water.

The magic realism of the book is done masterfully; we never know if the world of water actually exists, if it's more a sign of her inner journey that the reader is meant to see is not real, or if it is a larger symbol in the book. Yu conjures up Beijing and Tibet with a few strokes of description and positions her almost fairytale-like characters in amongst settings that feel more alive than the characters themselves. Her prose is very plain, which makes it feel even more like a fairytale. We are told what characters do and how they feel and that's pretty much it. And yet, the simplicity of the prose, like water, pulls us along. The mystery of the fishman and what it is kept me reading on, desperate to find out the answers. The true journey of the piece is not, I think, the protagonist 'finding herself' but in fact, finding peace and resolution with the important people in her life.

The first half of the book was good but I loved the second half more. The myth-like quality of the book worked best in the second half, with lots of symbols and strange characters that were interesting and intriguing. The dreamy quality of the book made most sense in the setting of Tibet in the second half, rather than busy metropolitan Beijing. You could allow yourself to accept the surrealism more in the second half.

Overall, this was a really interesting read that swept me along effortlessly despite it not having a big, obvious plot. I think the only thing I didn't like about it was the plain prose style. It worked in some places when it made the story feel like a fairytale or like a translation of a text or myth in another language. But at times, it just felt very bland and like it was telling rather than showing. I couldn't feel much for the characters because the plain prose wouldn't let me. Despite this, I would recommend the book to people as a fresh, intriguing read that I really enjoyed.

Magic as metaphor... 4½ stars

One morning, Jia Jia finds her husband dead in the bathtub in an odd position that leaves it unclear as to whether his death was accidental or suicide. Beside him is a piece of paper on which he has drawn a strange picture of a fish with a man’s head. As she tries to come to terms with the sudden change to her life and her expected future, Jia Jia finds herself thinking more and more about this fish-man, and decides to retrace her husband’s last trip to Tibet to try to find out its significance. Gradually she finds herself drifting into a place where the lines between reality and dreams become blurred...

This is an oddly compelling novel, beautifully written in a rather understated way. Jia Jia’s dream water world, where the fish-man exists, takes us into magical realist territory – never my favourite place – but again this is somewhat underplayed so that it never begins to feel too much like fantasy. While the “magical” aspects of it are presented as real, they can also be easily read as a metaphor for depression or despair, and the question is whether Jia Jia will become lost in this other world or find her way back to seeing a possible future for herself in this one. The water world is intriguingly ambiguous as a place that is both frightening and yet oddly comforting, where the deeper one goes the less there is, until nothingness becomes the main feature.

I’m not sure I fully got all the nuances of the water world metaphor – my mind is too resolutely rational to easily sink into fantastical symbolism. I wondered whether it arises from Chinese or Tibetan superstition or is wholly a creation of the author, and don’t know the answer to that. But it’s a tribute to how well and subtly it’s done that I was able to go along with it, and even to feel that it added to rather than detracting from the “real” story.

Jia Jia’s marriage was a rather cold one. She had never felt her husband had a passionate love for her – younger than him and beautiful, she was something of a trophy bride and suitable to be a mother for his children. On her side, he, as a settled, wealthy man, represented security, but there are signs also that she felt restricted in the marriage. She is an artist but although her husband was willing for her to continue to paint as a hobby, he did not feel it was appropriate for his wife to try to sell her work. There is a suggestion that he was emotionally controlling and that Jia Jia had reached a point where she was second guessing her own actions with a view to ensuring she met his expectations rather than her own. So his death, shocking as it is, plunges her into a state of uncertainty rather than deep grief – her secure future gone, the children she had anticipated having with him gone too. However, this new loss has taken her back to another, much greater grief – the death of her mother when she was a young girl. As she tries to discover the meaning of the fish-man, she will also learn more about her parents’ marriage and her mother’s life and death.

This is a short book, and every word counts. It has an easy flow that makes it very readable – I read it in a couple of sessions and was fully absorbed all the way through. The magical aspects are introduced so gradually that they don’t become fully apparent until around halfway through, and seem to arise very naturally from what we have come to understand of Jia Jia’s state of mind. The rather muted imagery of the water world makes it easier to accept and yet the images linger once the last page is turned. Along the way we get some insight into the position of educated women in contemporary urban China, at a kind of halfway point where they have gained some social freedom but are still often judged within the conventions of more restrictive traditional codes of behaviour. Jia Jia is beautifully complex, with the minor flaws we all have, and her emotional journey is entirely credible. I found myself fully invested in hoping she could find a new path, perhaps even a more fulfilling one.

An excellent début that has left me eager to see how An Yu develops as an author in what I expect to be a glittering future. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Harville Secker.

A somewhat interesting book, but not one I found very enjoyable. It felt like I needed some context (which I lack) to fully appreciate the book

What a memorable start to a book! I was immediately intrigued and wanted more. Unfortunately the rest of the book lacked the punchy boldness of the first few pages.

As a young widow there world was opened up to Jia Jia and I hoped that she would seize the opportunities that came her way. She did get involved with a bar owner and she decided to go travelling. However it all got rather convoluted with the introduction of the fish-man and some dream water.

I recently read 'The Water-Dancer' in which there is a hefty dose of magical water and I had the same reaction. In both cases I was really enjoying the story and the characters, and then it all went mystical and my interest waned. Perhaps I struggle when the magical realism suddenly appears, if I knew from the start that that was the path the story is going to follow I would be on board, but when I have accepted the characters are real people and then they start swimming in magical waters I get lost.

Braised Pork begins with Jia Jia discovering her husband dead in the bath with a drawing of a half fish half man next to him.

Through her trying to discover what the drawing is, and what it means. Jia Jia ends up on a journey of self discovery and investigation into the world of water.

The writing is enjoyable, surreal but also real all at the same time. It has a fantastic flow to the story and is truly a unique read. Although admittedly I have finished wondering what I just read.

Thank you NG and An Yu for allowing me to read this pre-release in exchange for an honest review.

This was a journey of self discovery. I liked the main character and how real she was. I found the narrative very real and how she found her purpose in life was really a moving journey.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

A woman in her thirties find her husband face down, drowned in the bath tub, with a sketch of a half man-half fish by his body. It's a bizarre premise, but one that immediately captivates and makes you want to find out more.

However, what ensues is no murder mystery or thriller. Instead, An Yu, weaves an intricate and wonderful tail of the life of a young woman, alone in Beijing, trying to make sense of her life.

Jia Jia is a woman in her thirties, with no children and no job. So when her husband dies, leaving her alone in their apartment, with only a month's allowance, she must find a way to regain some of the life she had before, as an artist, as a daughter niece and grand-daughter, as a single woman, as well as a new life going forwards.

As well as utterly realist, grounded moments of her relationships, we experience a dream-like foray into Jia Jia's search for the 'fish-man', first though her art and then physically, as she retraces her husbands footsteps. Don't expect these moments to make sense - like Jia Jia you need to simply follow where the book takes you, because it does come full circle. The ending is one of those that makes you smile to yourself as you read - a revelation which suddenly makes all of the bizarre, hallucinatory moments of this novel make sense.

The writing is so evocative and it almost seductively pulls you under, but in such an understand way you barely even notice how this book, it's concept and imagery haunts you, in the same way Jia Jia is haunted by the elusive fish-man.

This book is an astonishing insight into what it means to live as a woman in the world, as well as what it means to search for meaning in our lives. It is perfect for fans of Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin a book I also loved. This is a book which I will happily reread and which I think will linger with me for a long time.

I absolutely loved this novel and have been raving about it to every one on instagram and on my youtube channel. Jja Jja has been on my mind ever since reading the book and I do wonder how she is. For me that is a perfect sign for a book, I loved.

I have entirely mixed feelings about this book. I don't enjoy giving star ratings as they're arbitrary, but in the end, I gave Braised Pork two stars.

The book starts off very strongly. The language the author uses is beautiful and the opening sentence/scene is truly absorbing and I just found myself reading page after page without wanting to stop. I was fascinated by the culture and issues raised within the book and tried to be open to the dream-like scenarios.

However, about two-thirds of the way through, the book lost me entirely. There was a sudden change of location and it just got progressively more obscure. I love unusual narratives but I just couldn't get what the author was trying to say. Maybe it was just too abstract for me.

I think some will love it but it didn't hit the mark for me.

A strange novel that begins with the death (likely suicide) of Jia Jia's husband but really had nothing to do with that.

Jia Jia, uncertain about where her life is going and lost without the security her husband offered searches for meaning in anything she can.

Ultimately, discovering a myth and the magic of her family, the novel ends with what I choose to interpret as a note of hope.

I'm not sure how memorable Jia Jia is as a character but there's a lot to think about in this story.

An Yu grew up in Beijing and received her M.F.A. from New York University. Although she is now based in China, she writes in English. Braised Pork is her debut novel written during her time spent in New York. From my research on the internet Ms Yu received an advance of six figures for two books so there is lot of expectancy for this novel and I can understand why.

First of all, the title is brilliant, it draws the attention and makes you want to find out what made the author to choose a dish as a name for a novel. Apparently I am not the only who found the title arresting, her agent said that “The author wrote me an email - I get a lot of submissions and have a lot of authors - but I was surprised by the title. I loved the title because it was so exciting and that’s the main reason I looked at it.” I found about what gave this book its name but the reason behind it is not entirely clear.

The novel is placed in contemporary Beijing, a city burdened by a constant haze due to pollution, a perfect setting for this surreal novel. One morning, the main character, Jia Jia, finds her husband dead in the bathtub, a freak accident or a suicide we never find out. Near the bath tub she finds a drawing of a fish man which seems to be the only clue left by her husband.

Even though Jia Jia’s marriage was one of convenience, she finds it difficult to come to terms with her lost. Her husband was a successful business man but after death she lefts Jia Jia with little money and an unsellable apartment. Confused, aimless, short on money and out of touch with her chosen career as a painter since her husband did not approve of her passion, Jia Jia needs to learn how to live, maybe for the first time

‘It’s like I’ve been walking up the walls of a tower my whole life,’ she explained, putting the glass down. ‘My body parallel to the ground, and then, the world turns and I’m standing straight up, and the tower is lying flat on the ground. Everything is now distorted but my head is up again, I’m walking forward. But the truth is, I don’t even know which way is up. “

She also needs to find out how to love. Married because she wanted a reliable man that would not make her suffer, she does not know what physical want is, she never felt the touch of “simple love” as one of the characters calls it. While drinking her sorrows in a bar, she meets Leo, the barmaid, a man of her age with who she develops a blossoming romance.

"The touch of his hands on her skin seeped into her pores like water. It was as if there was a place inside her that no one had reached before, and it had been shaken awake by this man’s warm embrace. She had never felt such yearning for another person’s body–it was beyond the flesh and the consciousness, it was not merely lust, neither was it love. Perhaps the best way to describe it, she thought, was like being a lone traveler in a desert, exhausted and desolate, when the most beautiful and fruitful peach tree blossomed in front of her."

After finding the drawing with the fish-man, Jia Jia becomes increasingly obsessed to understand its meaning. She is repeatedly visited by a dark, all consuming, “world of water” and a creature similar with the one in the drawing which always seems to escape her. Her quest for grasping the meaning of her “visions” takes her to small village Tibet and then back to her childhood and family.

I did try to understand what the world of water meant and after reading the novel it is still unclear to me. It might me a symbol of pain or depression, an unhappy past that is dragging her into dark depths. I am not sure we are meant to really figure it out.

As I wrote before, the atmosphere of the novel is dreamy and surreal and does remind me of Murakami from time to time. Disconnected almost lifeless characters, the bar conversations, the man whose wife disappeared, they all have a vibe of the Japanese writer in them. I have no problem it has similarities with his work as I found the book unique and interesting enough.

On the downside, I did not quite understood the aim of the novel , some of Jia Jia’s decisions left me perplexed, she kept changing her mind. Also I felt like the characters were not fleshed well enough but I don’t think I can expect much from such a short work. I also felt a bit disconnected with the characters, for a book that is about love and life it did not make me feel too deep.