Fang Fang's »The Running Flame« is a powerful exploration of a woman’s struggle against societal constraints in China, set against the backdrop of the transformative 1990s. The novel opens with Yingzhi, a young woman on death row, reflecting on her life choices and the circumstances that led her there. This framing device creates immediate tension as readers are drawn into her desperate need to recount her story.

Yingzhi's journey starts in a rural village, where she dreams of something better. Joining a song-and-dance troupe brings excitement and new experiences but things take a turn when she gets pregnant unexpectedly. Forced into a troubled marriage and an unwanted life, Yingzhi's emotional rollercoaster and growing desperation lead to a violent act, which also serves as a commentary on gender roles in China.

Fang Fang paints a vivid picture of China in the '90s, contrasting the lively buzz of economic change with the harsh reality faced by women like Yingzhi. The mood is heavy with tension and despair, underscoring the weight of outdated tradition. You can feel Yingzhi's loneliness and frustration as she tries to navigate a world that doesn't understand or support her situation.

The writing is both poetic and raw, bringing Yingzhi's inner thoughts and emotions to life with striking clarity. Fang Fang doesn't shy away from tough subjects like violence and inequality, making readers confront uncomfortable truths about gender-based violence in today's society. While the narrative is gripping, it sometimes leans heavily into melodrama, which may detract from its overall impact.

Fang Fang is a prominent voice in modern Chinese literature, known for tackling social issues head-on. Her background in journalism adds authenticity to Yingzhi's experiences and the larger social commentary within the book. »The Running Flame« not only tells an engrossing story but also sparks important discussions about women's rights and societal change in China.

In the end, the novel is a thought-provoking look at the struggles of women caught between tradition and modernity. It invites readers to think about the broader issues raised by Yingzhi's story while giving an intimate glimpse into one woman's fight for independence in a rapidly changing world.

This is a book worth reading for its cultural insights into being a young woman in an oppressive regime - however, something about the prose feels flat and rather superficial.

I also didn't appreciate the language feeling so American ('you are such an asshole!') which feels like a disjunction between the setting and the writing.

Worth a read for the Chinese setting.

This was a good book with a lot of emotion. The strong themes of gender, money, power, choice, and loss or so well spoken in this book. The author did a good job at covering these themes for multiple viewpoints. I also loved learning about different cultures in this book.


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This is a translated novel, set in a village in China. It is set in the late 90s, which I gathered from Michael Berry’s (translator) note, as the the novel itself does not explicitly reference the time (although there may be cultural/historical cues that I may have missed given my limited understanding of Chinese contemporary history). But in a way, the time it’s set in doesn’t matter because the author, Fang Fang, wrote this over 20 years ago, but the cultural setting is still the same when it comes to patriarchal cultural systems and beliefs! It was surprising that some of the dialogues between the characters could very well have been set in any other country, and they’d still be frustratingly relateable. Hence, the story is timeless, although what that says about human societies is very sad.

This was a short read, and quite fast-paced. I definitely want to read more from this writer, and I’m crossing my fingers that her other novels will also be translated soon!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!